I bought a ceramic knife sharpener from IKEA the other day. I already had a steal one but it was a very cheap one that worked fine for a few years but now it is a nightmare to use as the steel is too soft and leave serrations on my blades. I did not realise how blunt my knifes were until I used my brand new IKEA ceramic knife sharpener. I have spent some time sharpening all my knives and OMG they are sharp. I used to think that I kept my cooking knives sharp, but now I know what sharpness really is. I no longer chop carrot or onions with the false belief that my blades were doing all the work. Now I slice through my vegetables with such ease that I had never known before. The other thing about using the knife sharpener is the sheer satisfaction that I get when I hear that swishing sound of the blade running up and down the ceramic sharpening steel.
It reminds me of when I used to do the cabinet making and I kept my chisels and plains super sharp. I always got great satisfaction when I heard the smooth swooshing sound as I ran my wood plain over a peace of timber leaving a beautiful transparent paper thin ribbon or when I sliced through the end grain with my chisel, to pair the joint to fit snugly. Unfortunately they were rear memories as we mostly used MDF which is very abrasive on your tools. That was another reason why I kept my edged tools as sharp as the MDF would have a tendency to tear once the blade was dull. I kept a piece of glass with fine wet & dry grade 2000 paper stuck to it, and every now and again I would hone my chisels as I was using them which brought the blade to a super sharpness once again. The biggest secret to having sharp chisels is to have the back of the chisel honed to a mirror finish which meant the sharp edge would be free from serrations. The biggest reason why I used to love having sharp tools was that nobody were I worked at the time, were able to sharpen as good as I could. Using some one else’s chisels would be like using my knifes before I bought the IKEA knife sharpener. Once you really know what sharpness is, you would never use a blunt knife or chisel again. Plus there is a certain satisfaction when you sharpen things yourself.
MDF (medium density fibreboard) is a manmade particle board that is used in making furniture.
It is made by pulverising or grating wood so it is the same consistency as cotton wood. This is then mixed with Urea Fumalgahide glue and the heated and pressed into sheet form.
The MDF can then be used to make everything from kitchen cabinets to laminate flooring.
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