2010-01-09 - How to sharpen a knife

Learning proper knife care can extend the life of a blade by years. A good knife is worth the money so long as you treat it right. A dull knife is obviously less effective- and actually a lot more dangerous to use because you begin to use the knife with bad form. The more dull a knife is- the more force you need to use and that increases the risk of hurting yourself.

One of the oldest and most effective tools for sharpening a blade is the whetstone. It takes a lot of practice to get the technique down- but is well worth learning. The knife is one of the oldest and most useful tools. You can find uses for them everywhere; work, camping, gardening and the kitchen. I always have one handy- it helps when you need to MacGyver things. But what good is a knife if it's not sharp?

A whetstone will only run you a few bucks but it can save you a lot of money in the long run if you don't need to have someone else sharpen your blades. I used this helpful guide to get some of the basics of sharpening blades. I'm not going to regurgitate their instructions verbatim- but I'll address a lot of the key points I took from it.

Some things to consider are what you want from the sharpening. There are different ways to do it with different outcomes. You can get a really sharp edge that won't last very long- or sharpen with the longevity of the blade in mind. If it's a really good knife you're probably looking more for longevity- but it will take a bit more skill and patience to achieve that.

A whetstone typically comes with two sides- one side is for coarse work and the other side for fine sharpening. Start with the coarse side to get out any large defects and impurities. Hold the blade at a 22.5 degree angle (half of a 45 if that makes it easier to visualize) against the whetstone. Push the blade across the whetstone in a forward motion- simultaneously engage the entire blade from tip to the hilt in a rocking motion while maintaining the forward movement.

On the coarse side you'll be able to feel the stone catch the major impurities. Once you work them out you should be able to move the blade smoothly across the coarse side without it snagging on anything. Once all the big impurities are out- run it 10 times on each side of the blade- and then switch to the fine grit side. I like to use a damp paper towel to wipe the blade clean before switching to the fine side. While sharpening you generate both metal and stone debris that if carried over to the fine side can make a more jagged finish. Think of the fine grit side as more of a polishing surface- only for the finishing touches.

Repeat as necessary. The more coarse side will remove material faster so you can hone the blade- but be careful not to take too much material away while trying to get the right shape. Blades will wear down eventually and the more material you remove the faster that will happen. The fine side is more for finishing touches- not for major changes in shape.

Things to remember:

• 22.5 degree angle
• Grip the handle with one hand- apply downward and directional pressure to the blade with the other.
• It's called a whetstone, not a wetstone. Water can actually ruin the stone.
• It doesn't matter if you go forward or backward on the stone- so long as you are consistent with every pass. Never use a back and forth motion- pick a direction and stick to it.
• Get all the big impurities out using the coarse side- smooth it out with the fine side.
• After you finish sharpening the blade wipe it clean with a wet paper towel and dry it.
• Test the sharpness of the blade by running it down a piece of paper- if you did it right there will be a noticeable difference from when you started.

If anyone has anything they need sharpened let me know- I can use the practice.

2010-01-05 - How to get to Logan by car

GPS - duh. I've lived in Boston for four years now and I know my way around really well by just about every means of transportation other than car. It's something that I don't need to know how to do so I never cared to learn it. On the rare occasion that I need to go someplace by car I just use GPS like every other civilized human being. I don't like that. I feel that things like GPS are undeniably useful but at the same time incredibly bad for your brain. You don't need to think anymore and you don't need to remember anything anymore. I've been to Logan a number of times but still use the GPS as a crutch. It's not that hard to remember!

So last night we had to go from my apartment on Mission Hill to Logan. There are a few ways to get there and I've probably taken them all at one point or another. When it came time for directions I immediately went for the GPS and immediately got frustrated with myself. It's not that hard to find your way downtown- then to Storrow drive- and then there are about 100 signs that say 'Airport'. The GPS did more harm than good because I spent more time looking at it for directions than I did looking at signs and using common sense/sense of direction. I knew how to get there but I had more faith in the GPS than I did in my own memory. Another factor is that it's always more difficult to remember a route if you're not the person driving.. When you're using GPS it's basically the same thing; you're not actively looking for sites or signs or mental landmarks to retain for the next time you go there.

We got to the airport just fine and I made it a point to actually remember how I got there and vowed to never use GPS for such a short and simple trip again. GPS is great for uncharted territory or when you're lost- but for the sake of fighting off premature Alzheimer's I'm going to encourage you all to rely on your GPS less often. Back when we were kids people knew how to use maps and their heads and I think there's something to be said for that.

2010-01-04 - How to make a blog

So with my goal of learning something new every day for an entire year I needed a way to catalog all of it. Making a 'blog' is a really easy way for me to do that and simultaneously share it with all of you.

I guess it's not just that I 'learned to make a blog' - it's also generating the idea and method for writing this thing and learning how to write- that's a big one to work on. I'm figuring out the format or style for the posts. Some of them will be instructions and some will be more just reflections. It's a way for me to quantify and qualify all of the things that I'm learning.

I could take the higher, more philosophical view of the whole thing- the value of knowledge and learning and living. Really though, I just want to know how to do a bunch of stuff. My friends are really smart and capable people- a wealth of knowledge from various backgrounds at my disposal. It would be a waste not to take advantage of knowing people like them (you).

Enough with the mission statement. I learned how to make the account- make posts- choose and edit a template. I'm pretty particular about things so everything had to be just right. I didn't like the width of the body of the text with this template so I had to go into the html and change it; I had to look up how to do that. So even in just setting up a blog to keep track of all the things I'm learning I had to learn how to do something else. Try to go a day without learning something- I dare you.

2010-01-03 - Drive in snow

Leaving the mountain was a bit of a process. Over the course of the weekend 20 inches of snow accumulated on the car with more on the way. Great for snowboarding- bad for trying to leave in a Hyundai Elantra.

Driving in the snow is more of an intuitive thing if you grow up in New England- but there are a few helpful tips to be aware of. I guess I'm sort of cheating on this one because I already 'knew' how to drive in the snow- just never really thought about what I was doing. It's not that difficult of a thing so long as you understand and respect the snow and the physics that go along with it.

Depending on whether or not your vehicle is front or rear wheel drive you're going to want to have weight over those wheels. It's easy with a front wheel drive vehicle because the engine is there. With a rear wheel drive vehicle it helps to have some weight in the trunk or some heavy people in the back seat. More weight means more downward force which means more traction with the ground; Traction is good.

So we dug the car out and got it moving. The next challenge was getting out of the parking lot. The only way out was up a small but steep hill that hadn't been plowed or sanded in a while. The trick to getting over this sort of thing is momentum- and persistence. The steeper the hill gets the more gravity you're fighting- and soon gravity beats traction. To get by this you need to have a decent amount of speed built up to get over the top of the hill. Give yourself a good runway to get up to speed. It also helps to be in a lower gear if you have the option. It took a few tries to figure out just the right amount of distance/speed/acceleration to get over it- hence- the persistence part.

Almost all of your actions should take twice as much time as normal when you're driving in snow. Drive slow, turn slow, accelerate slow and stop slow. Never slam the brakes and never slam the accelerator. Patience and a level head are key. Brake on straight-aways - never going into turns. If your wheels lock up while braking, take your foot off the brake. If your wheels spin while accelerating, take your foot off the accelerator.

The bottom line is- go slow and don't be a shithead. Explaining how to drive in the snow turned out to be more difficult than I expected- either you get it or you don't. If you don't get it- just stay home- or let a guy drive.