Where's the best place for knife sharpening?

Please smack me lightly if you think i should have posted to "General Topics"...I posted here because I need to know place in NYC.

I got my best knife sharpened by the woman who sits outside the kitchen supply place in the Chelsea Market (Samurai Knife Sharpening). I'm sorry to say, she didn't do a very good job. After sharpening I cut myself for the first time with this knife because the knife didn't cut into the thing I was cutting but slid off it into my finger and wasn't even sharp enough to cut me very much! Jeez!

A friend went with me and had about 7 different knives sharpened and was also disappointed with the quality of the work.

Anyone have suggestions for a favorite place that does a great job of sharpening for a reasonable price? I see the Broadway Panhandler does it. Any good? Any borough would be fine. Thanks!

[rifkind81]

When I was at the CIA, this steel was everywhere. After one professional sharpening (for which I suggest Westpahl on 26th), this steel will keep your knives razor sharp indefinitely.

http://www.amazon.com/Dick-Multicut-K...

[erica]

Does anyone know if Henry Westpfal is still operating?

I've phoned them and got no answer..hopefully just closed for the holidays, or on a break (??)

[erica]

Answering my own question again, Henry Westpfal are still going strong. (Sigh of relief when I peeked in to check today). Open daily Monday through Friday.

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Henry Westpfal & Co.
115 W 25th St, New York, NY 10001

[JeremyEG]

They are open and do a great job. My last experience was less than ideal but overall they are wonderful. I called on Wednesday to see if they could have my knives back by Friday as I needed them for a party over the weekend. They said yes, but not until 2PM and warned me that if I didn't show up by 5PM, they would be closed and I would be out of luck. I showed up at 4:30 and the ladies asked if I was dropping off. I said I was picking up and I was told 'no you aren't because he didn't finish anyone's order today. They've all been pushed to next week.' They then explained that they aren't able to call customers to inform them if orders are to be completed late. They just don't do it.

It was of course annoying to make another trip back the next Monday to get the knives but when I finally did, the knives had been sharpened beautifully. They also don't charge very much and I find the shop charming. I do recommend that you call ahead to make sure your order is ready when promised but the work is very good.

JeremyEG
HomeCookLocavore.com

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Henry Westpfal & Co.
115 W 25th St, New York, NY 10001

[egit]

Just picked up my knives from them last week! They do good work, they don't charge much, and I know it's not really all that important... but I really like the vibe of the place.

They're still fairly cheap. I dropped off 8 knives of various sizes and shapes, and the cost was around $40.

[edwardv]

I had a Chef's Choice 110 and it did what I thought was a decent job. It broke. I then got a Minosharp 3 Sharpener which does an incredible job and is both faster and easier to use than the Chef's Choice.

http://www.amazon.com/Minosharp-3-Sha...

I had all my knives sharpened at Broadway Panhandler and was very dissappointed. Their service and products are usually superb but I could not see one bit of difference in my knives after having the sharpened there. Go to Henry Westphals (sp?). Their work is wonderful and your knives will feel like new.

Ace Grinding on Mulberry Street.

Amazing, cheap, they do scissors which strangely not every one does.

very old school.

Spend the dough for a couple of Kyocera ceramic knives, and you'll never have to sharpen a knife again. At least, that's been my experience; however, if you DO have to sharpen them, I understand you can send them back to the factory, and they'll do it free.

But wow, are they SHARP.

Well, I use stones myself. Here's some sharpening 101's. Stones come in two basic variaties oil and water. It's what you put on them to "lube" the stone for sharpening. The stones come in varying grits from rough to medium to fine and very fine. You should take your knife through a progression of grits to get the edge your looking for.

A steel does not sharpen a knife. A steel aligns the edge (at the microscopic level) and therefore improves the edge. That's why you see butchers constantly fixing the edge with a steel. If your knives are sharp then a steeling is all they may need. If the edge is very worn then a true sharpening is required.

I have a Chef's Choice sharpener, but I much prefer Morty the Knife Man's sharpener I got for $60 from Chowmarket (link below). It is incredibly easy to use, attractive to look at, and produces an incredible edge quickly and reliably without damaging my knives. As an added bonus my purchase helped support this site. Wow. Everyone wins.

Link: http://chowhound.safeshopper.com/22/c...

The Bridge (kitchen supply) recommends Henry Westphal and Co at 105 East 30th Street..212-563-5990. I have used them and been pleased. Supposedly, they are the only company left who use a cold water sharpening method..whatever that means I do not recall but I belive it is good for your knives.

i second westphal. i believe it's only about $7 or so to have a chef's knife sharpened.

though as posted earlier, if you use a steel every time you use your knife, you probably won't have to get your knife sharpened for a long while.

I suggest you buy yourself a Chef's Choice knife sharpener and do the job at home. I am the world's lousiest knife sharpener but after someone got me this machine for Christmas about ten years ago, I am a goddess. It's idiot-proof. Your knives (and fingers) will thank you.

I used a Chef's Choice knife sharpener for years until I learned from a number of pros, both personally and via cookbooks, that I was ruining my knives. CIA has a great book on knives with very clear instructions on how to sharpen them using a stone. Recently I saw what I think was a rerun (on the Food Channel)of a Martha Stewart show which had Nobo Matsuhisa as the guest. A part of the show was devoted to his demonstrating how to sharpen knives using a stone. While it took me a few tries to learn to do it smoothly, I'm now a fan of this technique. Very important, however,(and you may already know this) is to keep your knife blades in allignment- I use a diamond steel prior to each or every other time I use a knife. Keeping the blade alligned significantly reduces the need for sharpening. Good luck !

How about using a Chantry knife sharpener? It claims to replicate the action of butcher's steel. I use this method and my knives seem sharper. However, I've been told that the Chantry only "hones" the knives and doesn't "sharpen" them. Do I need to use a stone as well?

Hm. Well, I've had this machine for about ten years and have been using the very same two knives all this time. You may be quite right about the ruination issue but if I haven't noticed any deterioration in a decade, I guess things are still OK. I guess it depends on whether you are a professional chef, using your knives for many hours each day, or a casual cook like me who uses them for a few dinners a week. All I know is that I am just hopeless at the stone thing.