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Does anyone know of a place in Chicago that sharpens knives by whetstone, and not on giant grindstones?

I get most of my knives sharpened at NW Cutlery Supply, but I have two that are very special to me which were custom made in Japan--given to me as a gift by a chef friend who lives there. Rightly or wrongly, I'm not comfortable with the idea of them going on the industrial grinders they use at NW. Basically, I'm looking to get special treatment for them, and know enough to know that I'd do more harm than good if I tried to use a sharpening stone myself.

Back in NYC (where I used to live) there used to be a woman who did nothing but sharpen knives on a whetstone, and where I used to take these. I'm looking for something like that, if it exists out here.

If anyone knows of a place, or knows enough about the differences between the two processes and can explain why my fears aren't well founded, I would appreciate it.

Mr. B,

If by NW Cutlery you mean Northwestern Cutlery, simply ask them to do the knives on whetstone only. Though the two grinding wheels they use hardly, at least in my mind, equates to the metal reducing fully automatic sharpeners used by commercial sharpeners.

If still not comfortable with Northwestern Cutlery, another option is to send the knives to Korin in New York which offers a hand sharpening service. I've not had knives sharpened, but have purchased knives from Korin and been pleased at all my interactions with them.

Enjoy,
Gary

Korin Japanese Trading
http://www.korin.com/

Northwestern Cutlery
810 W Lake St
Chicago
312-421-3666

_________________
Sauce on the side, always, implied, axiomatic..........never a doubt, BBQ sauce without.

Low & Slow

I think NW Cutlery is the best of the limited options in Chicago. If you want to splurge, Dave at http://www.japaneseknifesharpening.com/ always provides impeccable service. His prices are fairly steep, but if you don't trust yourself to do it, I'd say that he's the best out there for Japanese knives.

That said, you could always buy some waterstones and the sharpening DVD from Korin. Once you get the hang of it, you may even find it addictive

Gary:

Thanks for the tip. Korin is just what I was looking for!

Northwestern Cutlery does a fantastic job and I definitely don't equate what they do with automatic knife sharpeners. The desire to go with an outfit like Korin comes from a (probably irrational) desire to give these knives special treatment given the emotional attachment I have to them.

Thanks again.