For those of you that cook, sharp knives are essential tools. I have purchased a set of Japanese sharpening stones and have been teaching myself to sharpen, but I am no master and thus far I have only been using some old cutlery as I am too afraid to try my hand on any of my Japanaese blades. The guys (and gals) at Knife Merchant have been a tremendous resource and help, but I’m still learning. And if you’re unsure about your sharpening skills, the guys at Knife Merchants will sharpen your knives by stone for you on Wednesdays, but they are not open on weekends, so it’s hard for me to get there to drop off or pick up…
I’ve heard very positive things about Jim Green of Knife Savers and know from his posts on another site that he is extremely knowledgeable and experienced. We even exchanged a few emails a while back, but were never able to meet up. I believe he’s at the Little Italy Farmer’s market on Saturdays, Basically drop off and pick up the next week. I have not heard if he offers stone sharpening for Japanese blades, but I do know based on his posts that he has the ability.
Finally Ichi Yamada of Japanese Knife Select is at the Rancho Santa Fe Farmers markets on Sunday and besides a very nice offering of hand forged Japanese blades, he offers stone sharpening while you wait. Generally takes about 10 min - 15 min per blade depending on size and condition and he charges accordingly. He did a fantastic job on three of my knives this weekend ($25 Total). The guy is a sharpening master who learned from one of the best masters in Japan. He finishes on an insane 12K stone and produces a super finished edge! He and his wife, Krista, are just wonderful and friendly and extremely knowledgeable about Japanese knives and knife making. Highly recommend visiting them if only to check out their knife selection which is all available to demo.
The Knife Mechant is definitely San Diego’s best cutlery store and the owner, chef David Holly, is extremely knowledgeable and friendly. Highly recommend purchasing you cutlery needs there. I purchased my F Dick ceramic rod and 1K, 2K, 3K, and 5K stones at very reasonable prices and if you are local he will often offer a locals discount. I have also purchased 3 nice Japanese blades from him, all of which I was able to try out first. He generously gave me two 3D printed knife edge guides for stone sharpening. I have purchased some cool kitchen tools there as well. They even can re-handle your knives if needed. We’re lucky to have them in SD.
I have purchased 7+ knives from Ichi @ Japanese Knives Select. They are at the Scripps Ranch farmers market on Sat and on Sundays at the Rancho Santa Fe market.
Yes i had Ichi sharpen my Watanabe Pro Santoku yesterday, and it may be even sharper than it was originally. I can now comfortable shave with all my Japanese knives that have been sharpened by Yamada-San. They are crazy sharp. All knives you buy from him at Japanese Knives Select have lifetime free sharpening by Ichi. Yes, I highly recommend their knives and service.
Wow, more than 7 knives . . . I am jealous! I do have some very nice Japanese blades and even a couple Japanese blades custom made for me. Thus far I have purchased one small Honesuki from Yamada San and was extremely pleased with my purchase. I deboned a chicken with it last week and it was so sharp and nimble that it worked wonderfully (so much better than my Western style petty).
