Been sharpening my boning knives wrong for years, and it was costing me time.

I always used a 1000 grit stone and thought a finer edge was better. Last month, I timed myself breaking down a 140 lb hog and it took me almost 90 minutes just on the primals. On a whim, I switched to a coarser 400 grit stone for my main boning knife. The edge feels almost rough, but it bites into the meat and connective tissue way better. The next hog took me under an hour for the same work. I'm not going back. Anyone else find a rougher edge works better for heavy breaking?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_leo11h ago

Wait, you don't find the 400 grit edge tears up the meat more? I stick with a 1000 grit finish because it gives me a cleaner cut through the silverskin. A rougher edge can sometimes drag for me, especially on beef.

joel5369h ago

I mean, I had a similar thing happen with my kitchen shears. I was using a super fine file on them for ages, and they just slid off chicken bones. Switched to a rougher sharpener, and now they actually bite in and cut through joints. It's not pretty, but it works.