BCN stands for "Beloved Chef (k)nife"
Hey guys, what's up? It's Alex... So Happy New Year! I'm so glad and so blessed to have you on board this year again.
Today it's gonna be a bit special.
I want to make the most understandable sharpening guide.
I've seen countless tutorials or guide on how to sharpen your knife, and none of them is clear.
So in the previous video I made this contraption right here.
A secret knife cabinet where all my knives are properly display(ed). That is a joy for a chef.
What is less of a joy is that...
..those knives are totally dull
Yeah, I know it is scary. It is scary for me too, but trust me. They are completely dull.
Of course it doesn't remove any hair. It's not even brushing for that matter.
The reason why I am very much worried about this is that I do
sharpen my knife. At least...I thought... let me just elaborate.
This one, it's called an any sharp. I'm not doing any advertising for it.
In fact, it's quite the opposite. Because as I run my knives through those tungsten blades right here,
which are supposed to sharpen it, they just damage it.
At the same time using like a small little device to get my knife
just a touch (sharp?), is that what we do?
No, that's not what WE DO!
So let's just agree that it's time to just bring our sharpening game to the next level. Like not this level, like this level.
Okay, let's just go and buy something way better.
Japanese wet stone. Exactly what I (wanted?)... like let's just order it. Okay.
You've got a two side whetstone. One side is a bit rough, a 1000 grit.
And on the other side you've got a very fine...
Hey, that's nice. Wow. I love the sound. Got a nice plastic stand...nothing is nice about this.
And very important, I've got a cleaning. What is this? *ding* Right first things first. Let's soak this bad boy.
Okay, so while the whetstone is busy getting wet. Let me just give you a quick heads up on what's happening on a
microscopic level. Currently the section of my knife looks like this. You see that rounded stupid edge
That's why it's not cutting anything. We basically want to turn it into a
pointy section. By removing matter on the side using an abrasive
surface as known as a whetstone.
Let's get the knife.
I know I said, I was gonna sharpen my BCN, but just to be on the safer side
I'm gonna start with my
ALBCN okay? The stone must always be wet. Now you want to angle it at 15 degrees
and then you want to actually move the blade back and forth. Using as much as the whetstone as possible
and you slowly walk your way along the whole blade, from the heel to the tip, and back from the tip to the heel.
So yes um you should be sharpening at a 15 degree angle
Which means that the blade should be tilted, and also you should keep that same angle of the way. Some people rely on
putting one finger behind the blade or just a few coins
it's stupid because it depends on the width of the blade. Like this is 15 degrees
what about this one? 15 degrees? probably not, and so I guess there was a very simple question:
How do I **** get a 15 degrees angle?
Well let's use basic geometrics to do a perfect 15 degrees, with Alex.
No PhD required. So you want to use a piece of cardboard,
Ninety degrees. Using a stick...
This this this. 60 degree angle. 30.
Holy moly. A quick check. Yes!
Yeah, that's all well and good.
But how do you know when to flip the blade and do the other side? Like 10 times? 20 times? 5 times? 3 times?
Yeah, I think you get it. Well you know that, when you can feel the burr or the wire edge.
Something is, you know, gently scratching the pulp of your thumb.
Let me just give you a bit more context about it.
So if you did a good job at sharpening, your blade should now look like this.
But the only problem is that, you could be sharpening and getting something flat, like this
I mean, that's so tiny you wouldn't even see it.
So if we say that the stone is this way you want to keep sharpening until the tip is so thin that it basically
curls up, and you see that little ridge we just...which is created. It's super thin
you still can't see it, but you can feel it with the pulp of your thumb.
So I guess it all comes down to a simple thing,
your job when you're sharpening, is to create that burr, and then to polish it off.
Super simple right? Next step.
So good, so good. Why is it moving?
Shh. of course it's moving all around,just because there's water everywhere.
Look trust me, now I fully understand why some people use their sink.
You don't create a mess, you can rinse the blade. It's just a perfect setup ever.
So I'm basically
thinking of a setup where I could put this down, and just set it in place.
And I think I can achieve that by just placing something...
right here.
That's what we do! I can perfectly feel the wire edge.
It's been on this side at first, but now I can't feel it anymore and now it's on this side.
Which basically means that we need to move on, to the other side of the whetstone.
The edge is now sharp and shiny.
I can't feel any burr on this side, nor can I feel it on this side, meaning that the sharpening job is complete.
But in fact we can still go a bit further, by
stropping it onto leather.
Basically, I'm gonna perform a simple cutting test, just to see if we did a good job.
Apparently yes. Clearly wonder how it's gonna turn out, on a better knife.
So guys, that's it. I hope you enjoyed this sharpening video, I'm gonna be truly honest with you guys now,
It is the first time, ever, that I really understand what I'm doing
while I'm sharpening my chef's knife. The first time! How many years have I been you know?
Sharpening in the dark? Now everything makes sense. I really hope it's gonna be useful for you, too.
If you do enjoy this video then please give it a big thumbs up, like it, and share that all over your
social media. You know how it works. Slice it like butter. Now
I mean
I mean spread it is too nice for this video. Last people, click subscribe, because I make new videos every week
and you know it's always about food. It's not about the small picture. It's about the big picture.
It's about getting better in the kitchen. It's about getting smarter in the kitchen. I mean - sort of. Take Care. Bye. Bye. Salut!