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I know there were posts last summer about getting your knives sharpened at the Green City Markets, but where can a girl get her set of knives sharpened pre-season? I live in Andersonville but am willing to schlep me and the knives if it's not too crazy of a distance.

thanks in advance!

bjt

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"eating is an agricultural act" wendell berry

BJT,

I highly recommend Northwestern Cutlery. Here's a past past knife sharpening thread.

Enjoy,
Gary

Northwestern Cutlery
(312) 421-3666
810 West Lake St
Chicago, IL 60607

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

Low & Slow

bjt, chances are the Wooden Spoon is just a short walk for you. I don't know if knife sharpening's available whenever they're open, so you might want to call first.

I'd also recommend Northwestern Cutlery...you'll regularly see restaurant professionals in their getting their knives sharpened, which speaks volumes, in my mind.

One other suggestion: On weekends I've periodically seen a sign outside Sur la Table on North Ave. advertising free knife sharpening. I've never taken them up on it, and I'm not sure what kind of equipment they use (it's possible they're using one of those $100 appliances as a demo in an effort to sell you one). If they're using a really sharpening wheel (is that a whetstone?), presumably they'll take your money to sharpen your knives is they're not offering it for free.

just out of curiousity, how long does a professionally sharpened knife keep its edge?

Until you use it enough to dull it, basically.

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HI,

Just after getting your knives professionally sharpened, be very careful how you use your knives. As the knives get dull, they don't cut as well. Intuitively you begin to add more muscle, which means the likelihood of cutting yourself increases. A few years ago, MAG cut herself badly enough on freshly sharpened knives to require stitches.

Another usefull attribute to getting knives professionally sharpened, it rescues knives that might overwise get tossed. Like if you chipped the blade or knocked the point off or other travails.

I also keep a stone at home for sharpening my blades in between servicing. I really should say I used to have a stone, because it has disapeered which means all my knives need fine tuning now.

Regards,

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Cathy2

"You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
Facebook, Twitter, Greater Midwest Foodways, Road Food 2012: Podcast

_____Yeah, and another useful tip (no pun intended...see story to follow), don't use a mandolin without a guard. Or at least pay attention and take it slow.
_____Turning 3-0 last year was a milestone, no doubt, but cooking the meal for my family (I know that seems backwards considering it was my birthday, but that's how I roll) and slicing off the tip of my middle digit was no picnic. That puppy bled for half a day before I finally went to the local Prompt Care facility.
_____Not exactly the best day to receive your long awaited present, a 10 piece set of Wüsthof knives. Very difficult to use 'em for the first month.

...still have a scar and humility.

Z

While we're at it, microplane graters can be vicious little weapons if used carelessly. Last year my suggestion "wouldn't fresh nutmeg be better in the eggnog" led to some serious road rash on one finger. Conclusion: grate nugmeg first, then get over-served.

thanks everyone for the tips and the er, "tips" (and knuckles too?) I will definitely check out Northwestern Cutlery and also see if they have anything at Wooden Spoon. And Cathy2, thanks for the pro-active caution. My big chefs' knife is so dull it's more like chopping/sawing/hacking than slicing, so I can see underestimating its (hopefully) new sharpness.

bjt

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"eating is an agricultural act" wendell berry

I would also caution you folks about the serrated edge along the box of Target brand plastic wrap. It just took a nasty cut out of my thumb.

Throughout April have up to three knives professionally sharpened at Sur La Table.

Details Here

Unless they bring in someone with an entire grinding wheel rig, all I've ever seen them do at SlT is use one of those Chef's Choice machines.

I was in Sur La Table on North Ave. earlier this week, and they were indeed using one of those Chef's Choice machines to sharpen knives.

>I was in Sur La Table on North Ave. earlier this week, and they were indeed using one of those Chef's Choice machines to sharpen knives.

Is there something wrong with this method?

I was thinking of taking advantage of their April offer.

Roger

the chef's choice machines are a hack. they can restore a bevel quickly, but they are imprecise, get the edge of the blade hot, and do slighly hollow-grind the edge. A hollow ground edge is sharper, but dulls quickly...so a few days after you get your razor sharp edge, it is dull again. The "finished" edge of a chef's choice sharpened knife is rough like a saw, rather than finished and smooth as a kitchen knife should be.

Erik.

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The Sushi Gaijin

Taking all this good info to heart, I finally took my knives to Northwestern today for their first-ever sharpening.

I have to say, one of the things I love about the big city is that you can go to The Real Place. Not some local store where they do a half-assed job, but the serious no-atmosphere knife place where the famous chefs go, and guys who look like Harley mechanics do the work, and they treat you perfectly fine and charge you a pittance for a world-class job. ($3.50/knife, to be precise.)

While there I asked the guy about a couple of special knife needs I had, one a long carver for slicing my pork bellies into bacon, one a cheap but big knife for hacking chickens apart without messing up my better Wusthof knives. Soon I had, for a pretty small piece of change, two very nice knives for the purposes at hand, and for good measure a Lodge cast iron pan for $21, which is seasoning at this very moment.

I highly recommend Northwestern Cutlery as a big city experience.

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Watch Sky Full of Bacon, the Chicago food HD podcast!
New episode: Soil, Corn, Cows and Cheese
Watch the Reader's James Beard Award-winning Key Ingredient here.