[Sca-cooks] Mezzalunas

[Phil Troy/ G. Tacitus Adamantius]

Also sprach Phlip:
>Ene bichizh ogsen baina shuu...
>
>>  This is a question for the knife people, mostly:
>>
>>  In the volumes of stuff that I acquired when my grandmother moved,
>>  there is a shallow bowl and a mezzaluna. The problem with this particular
>>  mezzaluna is that my table knives are sharper. How do I sharpen a curved
>>  blade like this? Or am I better off finding a professional and letting
>>  them do all the work?
>>
>>  Margaret
>
>Well, sharpening a curved blade is really no different from sharpening a
>straight blade- same principles apply. Throuble is, most people don't know
>how to properly sharpen ANY blade, particularly SCAdians- one of the biggest
>lies I've found in SCA is, "_I_ know how to sharpen a knife!!!" right next
>to, "Careful, that knife is really sharp".

What the H**l is it about SCAdians??? While many ordinary Americans
have their priorities properly and firmly set on lying about their
cars, their ability to consume alcohol without effect, and their
sexual prowess, many SCAdians seem to find it a point of honor to lie
(or be sadly mistaken) about the sharpness of their knives and their
tolerance for capsacine.

>I'd suggest finding someone who REALLY knows how to sharpen a blade, and
>learning from them. I know how, but I lack the patience to do it properly,
>so I usually get someone I trust to do it for me, then carefully maintain
>the edge with a hone.

This is probably the best bet. A good honing (of an otherwise sharp
blade) keeps the edge better and longer, overall, than does repeated
sharpenings. It occurs to me that you might do worse than to go to
your local butcher on a slow day, armed with your knives and a
freshly made blueberry pie (or whatever), and ask for a lesson in
knife sharpening.

FWIW, if you do a Web search using something like Google for the
phrase "how to sharpen a knife", there are several Web pages
specifically devoted to the various methods.

Adamantius