Used to rush my knife honing every morning until a line cook called me out

For years I'd just run my chef's knife across the steel a few times before service, barely paying attention. Last month a new line cook named Marco pointed out my blade was chattering and told me to slow down and match the angle better. Now I take a full 90 seconds to hone each knife, using a 15-degree angle on my Wusthof, and the difference in how clean my cuts are is huge. Has anyone else picked up a basic habit change from a younger cook that actually stuck?

2 comments

2 Comments

craig.nathan16d ago

Marco sounds like he knows his stuff... I had a similar thing with a 22-year-old dishwasher who showed me I was oversharpening my Japanese yanagiba to the point of creating a micro-burr. Now I just do three passes on a 6000-grit stone and leave it alone. Makes me wonder what other simple tricks I've been missing all these years.

emma_perry16d ago

@craig.nathan A light touch on high grit stones is all you need, just let the edge develop on its own.