Keep Your Knife Sharp, with Barn the Spoon
Saturday 17th July 2010
Barn the Spoon has a unique way of doing things. He finds his way by experimentation and observation, a process to which he is fully and joyfully committed.
So he’s done a lot of knife sharpening, trying many configurations and possibilities. Always, his trials are informed by a thorough grounded understanding of the tool itself, and the job it has to do.
Man at Spoon
And having found a good way to ensure a sharp blade, Barn on this video shares with us his findings in keeping a knife keen.
Many thanks to Barn the Spoon. Look out for him on a footpath somewhere, fresh green spoons lining his smock, small knives glinting in the wooded sunbeams.
In my experience as something of a blacksmith, stainless steel has alloying elements added which make it – notably the chromium that gives stainless it’s most notable property. Although the stainless used to make knives does include compositions of carbon which allow it to harden somewhat, the alloying elements stop this process from forming the proper crystals that you need for a good edge, and always leave it just ever-so-slightly soft.
That’s my two-penny’s worth.