Sharpening Process
Sharpening is the process of removing material from a cutting edge until a bur is created. Once a bur is detected the edge can be polished further before removing the bur with a strop. Once the bur is removed the cutting edge will be left sharp enough to shave with. The further you polish an edge the longer your tools will stay sharp. Finely polished edges will be more resilient towards chipping and cut ever so slightly finer.
Market Sharpening Company uses guided sharpening systems where ever possible. Guided sharpening offers more accurate results with a high degree of repeatability increasing the life of your tools by ensuring that only the material that is needed to be removed is, and that tools feel the same each time you receive them back after sharpening.
All kitchen knives are sharpened using a CBN grinding system which keeps the steel cool as its being sharpened. It is important to keep knives cool as they are being sharpened as the steel can burn rendering an edge less durable and able to hold an edge. By contrast, most sharpeners in winnipeg use a belt grinder system on knives which not only runs the risk of removing excess material from edges but also increases the risk of burning the steel ruining its abillity to hold an edge for a long time.
I finish the edge to a minimum 220 grit finish on a CBN wheel before stropping to a minimum 1000 grit finish to ensure long edge retention. This edge keeps most home cooks knives sharp for about a year and commercial knives sharp for about 3 months. Other sharpeners tend to finish at a much lower level of polish requiring you have your knives sharpened more frequently.
Knives
Knife Sharpening for straight edge knives like chefs or paring knives and serrated knives like bread knives or steak knives is performed using the Tormek guided system on a variable speed buffing machine with cbn wheels. This allows me to remove a minimal amount of material while always hitting the perfect angles when sharpening ensuring your knives feel the same each time you get them back and have long lives with generally less then 1mm removed from cutting edge when damage is not present.
Repairing broken tips and edge chipping is always included in price of sharpening*
Standard edge:
1000 grit finish
Flat grind
17.5° angle per side on most kitchen knives
20°-25° angle per side on EDC or hunting knives
~1 year edge retention for home cooks
Recommended for most knives eg. Henckel, Cuisanart, Ikea, ect...
Sharpened on a variable speed grinder with CBN wheels
Sharpening is guided using the Tormek System
Premium edge:
6000 grit finish
Flat grind
15° angle on per side Japanese, hand forged knives, or carbon steel
20°-25° angle per side on EDC or hunting knives
~1 year - 1.5 year edge retention for home cooks
Required for Japanese, hand forged, carbon steel, or super steel knives
Recommended on EDC or hunting knives
Sharpened on a variable speed grinder with CBN wheels
Finished by hand on King Japanese waterstone
Sharpening is guided using the Tormek System
Scissors/Garden Shears
Scissors, shears, and gardening shears are first disassembled (if designed to be) before sharpening. I start by sharpening each blade separately until an even yet fine burr is detectable along the entire cutting edge and all signs of damage is removed wether it be from cutting a pin with fabric shears or attempting to cut wire with garden snips. Once a burr is established and all damage has been removed from the cutting edges the inside ride line is polished bending the burr back before the cutting edge is then polished removing the burr. Scissors are then re assembled and lubricated before testing performance on denim. All scissors after sharpening will be guaranteed to cut denim cleanly along the full length of the blades. Gardening shears are tested on grass or small branches to ensure clean cuts.
Standard edge:
400 grit finish stropped on 8000 grit belt
Flat Grind
30°-70° angle per side matched to existing
Suitable for cutting cotton
Recommended for most scissors
Sharpened on a belt grinder free hand
Stropped on 8000 grit leather Surgical Sharp Belt
Premium edge:
6000 grit finish
Flat Grind
30°-70° angle per side matched to existing
Suitable for cutting cotton & silk
Recommended for Japanese or high end scissors
Sharpened on a variable speed grinder with CBN wheels
Sharpening is guided using the Tormek system
Finished by hand on King Japanese waterstone
Stropped on 8000 grit leather Surgical Sharp Belt
Axes
Axes are sharpened freehand on a slack belt grinder to a 400 grit finish. Axes will be sharp enough to shave with and have a convex edge. When getting your axe sharpened there is no additional cost for restoring large chips that may have occurred from striking unintended objects such as rocks or pavement.
Axe sharpening is completed on a slack belt grinder which provides a convex edge grind
400 grit finish edge polished to 1000 grit
Convex grind
20°-50° angle per side matched to existing
Ice Auger
Ice Auger Blades are sharpened freehand on a slack belt grinder to a 400 grit finish. Ice Auger blades will be sharp enough to shave with and have a convex chisel grind edge. When getting your ice auger blades sharpened there is no additional cost for restoring large chips that may have occurred from striking unintended objects in the ice such as rocks.
400 grit finish edge polished to 8000 grit
Convex grind
20°-50° angle per side matched to existing
Sharpened on a slack belt grinder using
Stropped on 8000 grit leather Surgical Sharp Belt
Hair & Fur Shears
Beauty shears, barber shears, and grooming shears are first disassembled before sharpening. There are two styles of hair and fur shears: convex edge, and bevel edge which each must be sharpened differently. Convex edge require a higher degree of precision and accuracy therefor cost more to sharpen.
I start by sharpening each blade separately until an even yet fine burr is detectable along the entire cutting edge and all signs of damage is removed from cutting unintended objets. Once the burr is established and all damage is removed from cutting edges the inside ride line is polished bending the burr back before then polishing the cutting edge and removing the burr. Shears are then re assembled, lubricated, and tested using an industry standard test on Kleenex separated to a single ply. All scissors after sharpening will be guaranteed to cut cleanly along the full length of the blades.
800 grit finish edge polished to 8000 grit
Convex grind
40°-50° angle per side matched to existing
Sharpened on a Twice as Sharp grinder using a 800 grit diamond wheel
Sharpening is guided using the Twice as Sharp Ookami Gold system
Inside line polished by hand on 6000 grit King Japanese waterstone
