In a nutshell, I'm left-handed, (actually ambidextrous) but left-hand dominate, and I have read that the angle on the edge of knives is irrelevant and I've read that it absolutely does matter. I have tried no less than 5 or 6 different kinds of knife sharpeners, from the little handheld ones to the more elaborate 3-stage machine ones that you plug in and even whetstones (which I've had the least amount of luck with overall). I'm sick of having to basically buy new knives when they start to dull and I can't seem to find a "left-handed knife shapener", or something that will put an edge on a knife that favors left-handed people. When I get a new knife, the edge on it is great, but it obviously never lasts and I don't know what to do. I've purchased inexpensive knives and even single chef's knives that are over $100. I don't know what my next move should be.
Knife advice
- Thread starter Puggles
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garlichead
Über Member
The only consideration for a left handed knife would be a single bevel Japanese knife which h would also require a whetstone. Otherwise it doesn't matter. You would then specifically purchase a left handed knife.
Are you having them professionally sharpened every so often? That makes a huge difference with mine.
I use a steel daily, just about every time I pick up a knife, but that never gets it back to the way it was new - for that, I have them professionally sharpened once a year.
I’ve used those manual and electric ones, they didn’t do as well as a steel.
You could be like Jacques Pépin and sharpen them on the back of a plate!
View: https://youtu.be/I43UcNGj32E
I use a steel daily, just about every time I pick up a knife, but that never gets it back to the way it was new - for that, I have them professionally sharpened once a year.
I’ve used those manual and electric ones, they didn’t do as well as a steel.
You could be like Jacques Pépin and sharpen them on the back of a plate!
garlichead
Über Member
If the blade edge is ground on both sides into a V configuration then it's a double edge blade and it doesn't matter, there is no left or right and you can use any knife with a V and sharpen it with any of the methods described above.
If one side of the blade has no bevel and is completely straight right down to the cutting surface and other side has a bevel, that's what is referred to a single bevel blade and when you cut through an object the side with the bevel is always on the outside, so if your left handed the food will fall to the left and away from the food your actually cutting. A right handed person couldn't really use that knife properly or minimally they would feel something isn't quite right and it would feel awkward. This type of blade cannot be sharpened in the traditional manner. The flat side without the bevel will be concave so when you lie the blade down on the whetstone it must be flat against that whetstone while the bevel side needs to be sharpened to whatever angle it has been ground from the factory and most single edge blades will be in that 15-20 degree angle. A sushi knife is a good example of a single edged blade and when the knife is run through a piece of fish the fish falls to the side with the bevel and because the bevel side is always on the left for a left handed person the food falls left and away from the fish being cut. A Deba is another Japanese fish knife that is a single bevel knife.
All western knives are double bevel knives and it's only Japanese or similar that have a single bevel and these knives are for specific purposes and there is no reason that a person would ever need one unless they are professional chefs doing a specific job where that small advantage is even appreciated. Basically get yourself and double bevel knife and don't give it another thought. Cheers.
I hope that makes better sense than my first post.
If you problem is you can't sharpen a knife well and your not aware of single or double bevel knives then it would probably be cheaper to get your knives sharpened professionally imo.
If one side of the blade has no bevel and is completely straight right down to the cutting surface and other side has a bevel, that's what is referred to a single bevel blade and when you cut through an object the side with the bevel is always on the outside, so if your left handed the food will fall to the left and away from the food your actually cutting. A right handed person couldn't really use that knife properly or minimally they would feel something isn't quite right and it would feel awkward. This type of blade cannot be sharpened in the traditional manner. The flat side without the bevel will be concave so when you lie the blade down on the whetstone it must be flat against that whetstone while the bevel side needs to be sharpened to whatever angle it has been ground from the factory and most single edge blades will be in that 15-20 degree angle. A sushi knife is a good example of a single edged blade and when the knife is run through a piece of fish the fish falls to the side with the bevel and because the bevel side is always on the left for a left handed person the food falls left and away from the fish being cut. A Deba is another Japanese fish knife that is a single bevel knife.
All western knives are double bevel knives and it's only Japanese or similar that have a single bevel and these knives are for specific purposes and there is no reason that a person would ever need one unless they are professional chefs doing a specific job where that small advantage is even appreciated. Basically get yourself and double bevel knife and don't give it another thought. Cheers.
I hope that makes better sense than my first post.
If you problem is you can't sharpen a knife well and your not aware of single or double bevel knives then it would probably be cheaper to get your knives sharpened professionally imo.
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zuludog
Veteran
Knives with a single bevel are really only used in Japanese and similar cookery where you need to do a lot of fine slicing, as explained by garlichead
Let's assume that you just want to do typical Western cookery, so we can ignore single bevel and stay with typical 2- bevel Western style chef's, paring, and similar knives
In which case all the sharpeners you have described will work OK, within the limits of the particular sharpener you've chosen, and it shouldn't make any difference whether you're left or right handed
So IMO the problem is not that you're left handed, but rather that you simply don't know how to use a sharpener in the first place; and my apologies if that is a bit blunt (no pun intended!) but I'm trying to explain the situation and help you
So IMO (again!) what you should do is to learn how to use a sharpener better, and here are some suggestions -
A lot of people don't like the pull through type of sharpener as they think they're too severe, but in your case you might have to accept that if you can't sharpen a knife any other way. Try a good quality bench mounted type
Also try, and learn to use, a straightforward sharpening steel, there are loads to choose from. I don't think it should make any difference whether you're left or right handed, unless the steel is specifically labelled so
Search YouTube for videos about How to Use a Sharpening Steel; How to Sharpen a Chef's Knife with a Steel, and so on; there are loads of them, you should be able to find a method that suits you
Now & again, you could have them, (and your stash of blunt knives!) professionally sharpened
Is there a butcher or a good restaurant near you? You could ask them to give you a lesson, at a quiet time, perhaps a mid week afternoon
Most of the time I sharpen my knives on a steel, occasionally on an oil stone
I've tried whetstones, ceramic, and diamond stones, but I prefer oil stones
Sometimes you can find knives that are not supposed to require sharpening, and given brand names like staysharp, eversharp, and similar. They usually have a very fine serrated edge
I don't like them, but they're something to consider if you can't manage anything else
If you're really having problems, Search t'Net & YouTube for The Lansky Sharpening System, but it's expensive compared to a simple mid priced steel
Let us know how you go on
EDIT - the other advice, of course, is not to let your knives get blunt in the first place
Use a steel constantly, more or less every time you use your knife, certainly every few times, and before & after a long cookery session
Once a knife has become blunt it is much more difficult to bring it back to a good standard than keeping it in good condition all the time
And a sharp knife is safer & easier to use.
And of course, you're using a soft chopping board such as wood or plastic, and not something hard like glass ..... aren't you?
Let's assume that you just want to do typical Western cookery, so we can ignore single bevel and stay with typical 2- bevel Western style chef's, paring, and similar knives
In which case all the sharpeners you have described will work OK, within the limits of the particular sharpener you've chosen, and it shouldn't make any difference whether you're left or right handed
So IMO the problem is not that you're left handed, but rather that you simply don't know how to use a sharpener in the first place; and my apologies if that is a bit blunt (no pun intended!) but I'm trying to explain the situation and help you
So IMO (again!) what you should do is to learn how to use a sharpener better, and here are some suggestions -
A lot of people don't like the pull through type of sharpener as they think they're too severe, but in your case you might have to accept that if you can't sharpen a knife any other way. Try a good quality bench mounted type
Also try, and learn to use, a straightforward sharpening steel, there are loads to choose from. I don't think it should make any difference whether you're left or right handed, unless the steel is specifically labelled so
Search YouTube for videos about How to Use a Sharpening Steel; How to Sharpen a Chef's Knife with a Steel, and so on; there are loads of them, you should be able to find a method that suits you
Now & again, you could have them, (and your stash of blunt knives!) professionally sharpened
Is there a butcher or a good restaurant near you? You could ask them to give you a lesson, at a quiet time, perhaps a mid week afternoon
Most of the time I sharpen my knives on a steel, occasionally on an oil stone
I've tried whetstones, ceramic, and diamond stones, but I prefer oil stones
Sometimes you can find knives that are not supposed to require sharpening, and given brand names like staysharp, eversharp, and similar. They usually have a very fine serrated edge
I don't like them, but they're something to consider if you can't manage anything else
If you're really having problems, Search t'Net & YouTube for The Lansky Sharpening System, but it's expensive compared to a simple mid priced steel
Let us know how you go on
EDIT - the other advice, of course, is not to let your knives get blunt in the first place
Use a steel constantly, more or less every time you use your knife, certainly every few times, and before & after a long cookery session
Once a knife has become blunt it is much more difficult to bring it back to a good standard than keeping it in good condition all the time
And a sharp knife is safer & easier to use.
And of course, you're using a soft chopping board such as wood or plastic, and not something hard like glass ..... aren't you?
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You can find professional knife sharpening services in some unusual places. I take mine to Sur La Table (fancy-schmancy cooking shop) because they usually do a sharpening event where the first knife is free, and the rest are $5US a knife. I have six knives and that’s it, so it’s not too bad and I trust them.
However, the butcher shop at the gourmet grocer I go to, they’ll sharpen your knives for free, but it takes them a week or more to get around to it, and they knicked a handle on one of mine, which is why I don’t go there any longer.
In town…Ace Hardware will sharpen them, and I even found a machine shop that will sharpen them.
Growing up, Dad sharpened them on a turning grindstone and finished them on an oiled whetstone.
However, the butcher shop at the gourmet grocer I go to, they’ll sharpen your knives for free, but it takes them a week or more to get around to it, and they knicked a handle on one of mine, which is why I don’t go there any longer.
In town…Ace Hardware will sharpen them, and I even found a machine shop that will sharpen them.
Growing up, Dad sharpened them on a turning grindstone and finished them on an oiled whetstone.
JAS_OH1
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I'm also a lefty. My right-handed husband sharpens my Western knives and I have never noticed any difference.
The Velvet Curtain
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I too am sinister, my knife is very sharp, thirdly, this evening I am throbby.
Ouch, years ago my finger lost a fight with a mandoline.
also, I'm far too paranoid nowadays to go "side-cut" when dicing an onion, so I just slice the lines and then do a cross-cut. My body tingles just thinking about the knife slipping. 
The Velvet Curtain
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I have a mandolin, I always use the slidey attachment. Everytime I watch a cookery show especially masterchef when they are using the thing with their big floppy fingers a micron away from the blade my hands form fists and I have to look away.Ouch, years ago my finger lost a fight with a mandoline.
JAS_OH1
Forum GOD!
I got my youngest daughter a mandoline per her request for Christmas 2 years ago and I made sure to get one of those "cut resistant" gloves to go with it and made her promise to use it, explaining how her hands were too pretty to get mangled trying to use the damn thing without it!
There is a mandoline on Amazon I was looking into that can do more than just slice etc.. And apparently you don't even have to do anything with the blade. It's just a lever you push.
Doing salad cucumbers are the worst for me when I make pickles because it's so tall and awkward and the guard attachment thingy doesn't really help in that way until the cucumber gets shorter. I'm looking into a new one, but my kitchen is so small, I don't have room for more stuff. I wish I could win a contest or something that would get me my dream kitchen
Ouch, years ago my finger lost a fight with a mandoline.
You too? I threw my brand new mandolin in the trash, and will never get another after the second time I cut myself in two uses.
CD