Knife sharpening debate: wet stone vs electric sharpener, and why I wasted 2 hours on a Sunday

So I had this big prep day coming up last Saturday, 20 pounds of onions and 15 pounds of carrots for a catering gig. My chef's knife was dull as a butter knife, and I figured I'd finally try that wet stone I bought 6 months ago. I spent 2 hours watching YouTube videos and grinding away, and the edge was still catching on tomatoes worse than before. Then I gave up and ran it through my $30 electric sharpener in 90 seconds, and it sliced through paper like butter. Now I'm wondering, is the wet stone thing just hype or am I seriously that bad at it? Anyone else find electric sharpening more reliable for busy weeks?

3 comments

3 Comments

wader714d ago

Wait, are you me? I used to swear by the whole wet stone thing, thought it was the only way to get a real edge. Bought a nice one about a year ago and spent way too many Sunday afternoons trying to get it right. Watched all those videos with the fancy angles and the water splashing, and my knives always came out worse, tearing up tomatoes and making me question my life choices. Last month I pulled out a cheap electric sharpener during a busy prep week and yeah, it was night and day. Now I just use the electric one when I'm in a hurry and save the stone for when I want to practice, but for actual results the electric wins every time for me.

felixm294d ago

Did a buddy of mine say the same thing about his electric sharpener @wader71? He called it a game changer.

harpercampbell4d ago

Honestly, I've been there and it's super frustrating. The wet stone has a learning curve that takes way more than one Sunday to get right, and if you're in a rush it's just not worth the headache. My advice is to keep the electric sharpener for when you actually need to cook and save the stone for a rainy afternoon when you feel like practicing.