I love my global knives and use them a lot. Especially the GF-33 chef’s knife is in constant use and requires maintenance and sharpening.
The web site of Yoshikin, the manufacturer of global knifes, provides advice on maintenance. Sounds good in theory. But in reality it requires purchasing several ceramic sharpening whetstones; setting them up rather precariously on a wooden board as foundation, near the sink with water running for rinsing during sharpening; and finally meticulous sharpening technique to get the angle of the blade just right while sharpening.
Simply too difficult.
So instead I would bring my knife to the shop for sharpening about once every six months. This worked fine for me although I always thought it was expensive (EUR 10+), below expectations in sharpness and also meant not having my knife for at least a few days.
So I was quite happy when recently I discovered the minoSharp – a handy little tool specifcally made for sharpening global knives.
It has two ceramic whetstone wheels – a coarse and a medium one – mounted at exactly the right angle. You fill it with water which will rinse the whetstones wheels when they turn during sharpening. Simply draw the knife through the wheel seven or eight times and voila!
The minoSharp is super easy to use, less than 15cm large and also a good deal for about EUR 20!