I took the chef and Santoku knives from my Henckel's set to Chef's Toys to get them sharpened the day I bought the Shun 8" chef's knife. When I went back to pick those knives up, I dropped off my two paring knives and bought the Shun paring knife. Then I went back to Chef's Toys to pick up the paring knives and bought sieves.
The knives, because I didn't have any sheaths for them, were wrapped in paper. Finally, to see how these babies looked, I unwrapped them. I looked at each one, smallest to largest, and couldn't help but notice that my chef's knife was no longer the same. It was sharper, but not a fine edge.
The bevel was messed up. One side of the knife looked okay (above) but the other side was basically smoothed completely. No bevel. No 20° angle. And the edge had a bunch of pits on it, which caught on paper. Using the knife proved that it wasn't the same anymore. It doesn't cut worth a shit.
I'm not going to get all crazy and bash on Chef's Toys since the other knives seem to be okay. I am chalking this up to the fact that the number one go-to knife went way too long (4 years!) before sharpening. Guessing, Knife Sharpener Guy had a ton of blades to get through and can only dedicate so much time to each. Lesson learned: get knives sharpened frequently.
Rather than discard this knife, I'm going to figure out how to put a new edge on it. Any tips, tricks, hints, or offers to do this for me will be eagerly entertained! Meanwhile, I'll debate what I want to do with the Shun. I'm not exactly gunning to go back to Chef's Toys to have them sharpen that one even though I have a perfectly rational reason for why the Henckel's wasn't perfect upon return.
2 comments:
So because someone is busy you accept sub-par work from them?
That's a pretty broad question. In this case:
1. That Henkel chef was the primary workhorse in my kitchen for four years before I got it sharpened for the first time.
2. I paid $3.75 for that sharpening service. $3.75.
3. That knife was one in a set of 10 I bought for $200.
4. I didn't, and still wouldn't, expect a resurrection on a $20 knife for $3.75. I'm certainly not going to expect restitution of any sort.
If this Shun came back botched after having used it for only a year, then no, sub-par work would not be acceptable.
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