Finally nailed my knife sharpening technique after a chat with an old line cook at a diner in Portland

I was at this greasy spoon in Portland last month, just grabbing breakfast after a long shift. The cook saw me struggling with a dull chef's knife I brought in my bag and called me over. He showed me how to feel for the burr on the edge instead of just counting strokes on the stone. I had been sharpening wrong for like two years, always stopping too early. He told me to go a little slower and apply more pressure on the pull stroke. Since then, my knives actually hold an edge for a full service now. Has anyone else had a random stranger fix a basic skill you thought you had down?

2 comments

2 Comments

abby_carr573h ago

Respectfully, I gotta say counting strokes worked fine for me for years, not everyone needs to overthink it.

patel.leo12m ago

I read somewhere that some of the top ranked players actually combine stroke counting with a bit of feel for uneven lies and green reading. It's not one or the other, you know, just whatever gets the ball in the hole. If counting strokes kept your game consistent, then that's really all that matters at the end of the day.