How to Sharpen a Knife Like a Man | The MeatEater Podcast Ep. 575

Steven Rinella talks with Josh Smith of Montana Knife Company, Seth Morris, Randall Williams, Chester Floyd, Brody Henderson, Phil Taylor, and Corinne Schneider.
Topics discussed: Our new collab MKC x MeatEater Stubhorn Knife; Salty Phil; how Boudin changed Steve’s life; vats of hot sauce; it's an insult sandwich; Steve reads books so you ain’t got to--excerpts on Alaskan hunters, anglers, and trappers; becoming a journeyman smith at 15 and master blade smith at 19; the 90-degree bend; throwaway blades vs. passing down heirloom knives; the BLM revokes its permit for the proposed Ambler Road; Heffelfinger’s issues with bringing back mammoths; Larry challenging Steve on muskies; no more OTC archery tags for non-residents in CO; more on wolves; legislative wins in Michigan; First Lite’s brand new whitetail line coming July 30th!; how metal loses its magnetism when heated to a certain temperature; the Rockwell Score; how to properly sharpen a knife; edge geometry; hair farmers; and more.
#fueledbynature #meateater
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[@NickDockter-b8u]

Never watched a podcast - had to come here and watch how to “actually” sharpen a knife - like a man. Very informative and much appreciated!

[@shanemog6336]

I did the same

[@tschneid78]

Same!

[@brandond4805]

same

[@robertbarnard39]

Haha same here

[@mmoshenek]

1:31:07 for the sharpening

[@cymbolic_space1832]

gods work

[@jromo93]

Thank you

[@nono559]

Not all heroes wear capes 🫡

[@brianshort7921]

Found this very informative, I've been a full-time butcher for 34 years now, and I am fascinated with knives mainly because I use them every day. Josh obviously knows what he's talking about, and I think it's the first time I've ever heard someone explain the science of blades so clearly and concisely. Thanks for the great information hopefully folks will listen and start sharpening their knives properly LOL

[@user-qd9ts9is1y]

I take my knives to my butcher, $20 one day later they shave every bit as good as the one demonstrated by Josh.

[@hhhhippo]

How has Randall Carlson never been on the show, I feel like they could talk for 20 hours with him. Would help with Steve's confusion on the mammoths's/NA mega-fauna extinction and the 12k year-old asteroid impact.

[@TheProfessionalAmateur91]

I hope everyone likes this and comments on it. I’d like him on too. I don’t think he has been. But maybe those cats see this.

[@seanrichardson881]

Like the kids podcast. My 4-year-old was excited to hear that there was a kid's trivia game, as he listens to the adult game with me, but we were both disappointed that the kids game was missing both of our favorite part! " Game on Suckers! " Haha. It could have a larger section of guessing the animal sounds. That would help extend the reach to younger kids.

[@farmingfishingfamilyontari2814]

Starting a business 4 years ago to having 65 employees is outstanding. Bravo. This cast will sell knives

[@Swearengen1980]

They already do. Basically every knife that drops sells out in minutes or hours. I have a couple MKC and I couldn't get the scales I wanted because they sold out in 30 seconds.

[@dylanritter3660]

Selling out hundreds of those $500 knives I agree pretty unreal. Meat eater crew has everything money can buy.

[@WarkoSanchez]

I like the reading segment, because of the text selection. It seems like steve is most in his element when discussing mountain men and adjacent material

[@PhilDXT]

Shout out to Billy’s for hooking you up with the real deal. Scott, La. Boudin capital of the world!

[@hoya4448]

I was once one of those frustrated customers but now learning this story I’m on my 3rd MKC blades and will be a customer for life. Thank you for the sharpening tips. Much Love 🇺🇸

[@richardcowart7611]

My boy is loving the kids cast! Please keep it going. He really enjoyed the trivia. He enjoys listening and asking daddy did you know… after listening to the podcast.

[@nailbombx2311]

50Yr old Michigander here, been doing it wrong my whole life! Thanks to this video i can say, I own a sharp knife now! And im 2 hours into my collection, with a few more hours to go lol!

[@sheamcphail8138]

I really enjoyed learning from Josh. The only thing I would have enjoyed more is another camera angle for showing how Josh sharpens the knife. Maybe MeatEater can have a short Masterclass episode with only Josh talking and an overhead camera shot of him sharpening different types of blades (hunting and kitchen knives).

[@davidhoehler4366]

That’s why a well designed knife is a pleasure to use. That sharpening has everything to do with a well designed edge geometry with solid heat treat. Well executed 💪🏻

[@therealjohnny9]

I consider myself a blade nerd . By no means am I an expert, but I have made a few knives and have a nice little collection of knives and stones since I was a teenager. I'm pretty much self taught, trial and error since the 90s with a few tips from here and there over the yeas to refine my techniques. So I listened to this podcast at work today and couldn't wait to get home to watch Josh's technique which is similar to my own but a couple little things he does is going to bring my knife sharpening game to the next level I think. Learned a lot, thanks you guys!

[@TimmyTbone33]

Fantastic episode!!! One of my favorites you guys have done!

[@dylansandgren4124]

As a commercial heat treater for 12 years I definitely geaked out on the episode. Great stuff guys

[@stuffnsuch631]

I was under the impression that they were making a quality knife at a reasonable price. 450$ is pretty wild when pro butchers have no issue running 40$ vitronox knives. Was thinking 125$ range.

[@michaelcervantez3570]

I looked up the knife he was using. For what it is it should only be about $80.

[@BG-bx4ey]

$125 is still insane. I've processed 100 deer, 200 hogs, 20 bears, and thousands of fish and small game with 10 or so knives that don't TOTAL $125. This is pure hipster nonsense.

[@GrowinwithAJ]

im a disabled vet and use my knife many times a day even at the house. a knife was more important than my wallet when i was working and still is today. i will be buying me a montana knife for a elk hunt this sept cant wait.

[@techie13804]

I've been sharpening my knives that same way I learned back in Boy Scouts, counting the strokes and keeping them even. I started by listening to the podcast while mowing the lawn, then I had to watch. I tried it put on my favorite blade, SOG terminus with S35VN blade. So easy and fast. I used a Smith's Trihone, medium and fine stones only then spent about 3 minutes with a home made strop.

[@ScottWParson]

Tried it and liked it. It's a really simple way to sharpen a knife and they get real sharp real fast.

[@jackman6106]

I agree with the new Colorado OTC regulations. Only for the fact that everyone tried to draw tags elsewhere and if they did not draw they would buy the OTC tag in Colorado. Making it the overflow catch basin of every western elk hunter that is able to hunt every year.

[@georgebruton5132]

There's the shirt idea/podcast title Steve!! Get a mountain man about to start a field dress on a deer and nothing feels better than the first few seconds!

[@southboundeightyone4958]

Try the Smoked Boudin from Billy's!! Boudin Egg rolls are gonna blow your mind, too!! Scott, LA The Boudin Capital

[@christopheroleary2512]

Best podcast episode thus far! (IMHO)

[@troywehr4029]

On boudin, some of the best I've had was from outside of Houston, seafood, crawfish, gator, brisket, beef, chicken, it's all good. I've never had duck boudin, but I know some of those Cajuns make it.

[@lunkydog]

I made crawfish boudin once for my friends at a traditional archery tournament and to get a critique from a Cajun friend that was there. All the other people were jealous AF. The critique was that I didn't make enough 🤣. He did suggest I up the liver percentage some using chicken livers. Other than making sure the celery was softer before stuffing, it's been a recipe I've never needed to tweak.

[@mikethomas8934]

Billy’s is the best. Take half a link, remove the casing, and fry like a sausage patty. Top with a fried egg. Can’t beat it.

[@joeburke3553]

Great call on the color choice for the handle...Ive left more knives with black handles around gut piles, then i care to admit

[@thefishinglor6931]

Good knives i can tell just from the specs and materials i will love mine when I get one but they’re always out of stock so the search continues!

[@michaelcope2329]

FYI leaf spring steel is typically 5160, it is also referred to as OCS (Old Chevy Spring) just some lagniappe (a little extra in Cajun French) Good show

[@user-fl1kp1iw6y]

Used Outdoor Edge for years until they sold out to Walmart and still use Victorinox for butchering. May have just found my new hunting knives.

[@JamesClark-lw6sw]

MKC knives cost nearly TEN TIMES what comparble sized knives from Outdoor Edge and Victorinox cost.

[@stuffnsuch631]

Might wanna check the price first haha

[@hre2bviolent107]

I was just sharpening knives last night, very topical for me lol

[@johnwilliams2427]

Boudin is cooked pork, usually shoulder, liver, rice, bell pepper, white, and green onion in a natural casing...or fried into boudin balls without the casing...smoked boudin is really good too

[@andyprice4696]

What impressed me about that man’s sharpening skills, he went from a dull knife to screaming sharp in about 10 minutes.

[@JamesClark-lw6sw]

Every Hetero man should have thkse skills by the time they are 21.

[@daviddin8863]

Speaking of wolves people tend to forget, authorities kind of sweep under the rug, what happened to the North Cascades Caribou population. Washington wolves almost wiped them out completely.

[@brentdrift]

Many western states are getting overrun with new residents. They are now buying resident tags and THAT is causing crowding. Why is this issue never addressed? It’s shocking how bad it’s gotten here in Montana.

[@terrylandry1549]

We are blessed in Cajun country . Boudin is a staple of life for us ! And I am from Avery Island where Tabasco is made . So we eat it on everything . LOL . When you come down here I we can go the the boudin festival and get you some good hot sauce from Tabasco !

[@mczuy1]

Steve reads books so you ain’t got to is my favorite segment so far, I hope it becomes a regular thing, and damn am I tempted to buy this one.

[@leroyskinner4206]

Billy's is the best! Exit 97 off I-10 in Scott Louisiana.

[@michaelcope2329]

Billy's is in Lafayette, LA, Scott, LA and Krotz Springs by Sherburne WMA and the Basin when you have to take the backway to Baton Rouge on old Hwy 190. Lafayette location is best, again IMO.

[@dfoltz268]

Really enjoyed this episode... well All episodes really but knowing how to properly sharpen a knife seems like it should be something we all had passed down as a skill along with hunting/fishing/cooking yet It rarely is! Such an important thing to know yet most of us own countless knives which as Steve so elegantly put it "cut the best they are ever going to on that first outing". Not so anymore!

[@henrywilkins5865]

Still have my grandpas stone and learned to sharpen knives 40+ years ago as a fish monger. Razor sharp knives since. Same method. I use Arkansas stones and water stones. Need to get a MKC

[@dustinalderson6932]

Do you use a compound on the leather?

[@HeavyForge]

Josh smith is an excellent Bladesmith! I actually worked with Larrin the metallurgist he spoke of.

[@Icemanlb]

Almost every single non resident hunter I know is more respectful than the average instate hunter.

[@workinonitsteve]

Great podcast guys 👍

[@tommyheel2536]

Love this podcast its so informative,...btw....You guys need to add an overhead zoomed in camera...and maybe some over layed images for reference on certain things ....really cool topics you guys cover too.........🥪

[@b.b.5048]

I’m happy with my Lansky setup. But this is cooler.

[@TravisJennings-cd2bh]

Farley Mowat, People Of The Deer, or any of his books, good stuff . Hello, from West Virginia.

[@larrysawchuk370]

If you like fiction.

[@alexr3000]

What’s the ending song!?

[@Jase-E]

This blows my mind. YOU WANT THE BURR! What about broadheads? I have a single bevel broadhead that I sharpen and then remove the burr when im finished by flipping the head and hitting the backside once or twice. Is that still necessary?

[@adamdowning3892]

Billy’s is about an hour from me, some of the best you’ll find….

[@jimmylemons920]

Love the new segment

[@vanillathundr24]

Can we get chapters please?

[@joshwiedoff9012]

Awesome video! Interested in the bench sharpener! Wonder how you guys feel about the yukon blade designs own one and love it looks like steve and me handle knives the same working on animals Also youll have to change the work sharp photos on the meat eater web site they are doing it backwards 😅

[@Bulldog458]

Shout out to Billy's. Best Boudin in the world!

[@willcarmack7249]

I forgot what podcast episode it was, but Steve made a comment about someone saying he had peckers for fingers and I can't NOT see it now.... Thanks😢

[@STOPPROCASTINATING]

Yall should try rifle deer season in eastern Washington.

[@michaelcope2329]

Also, Billy's is good, but theres a small store near Dowtown Lafayette, LA called Johnsons that has the best IMO, what you need to do is cook it on the bbq grill either charcoal or gas it doesn't matter. Med heat about 20 minutes and you'll never have it out of rice cooker or microwave or any other way. Grill it. Billy's does have the best pork Cracklins either salt or seasoned and their chicken cracklins are FIRE, but Boudin is Johnsons all the way.

[@user-eh8qy6lj5n]

Super clear! Thanks!

[@GeorgeTudhope-mr7jx]

Thanks needed some Montana

[@OurLad]

The knives seem well built but the price is just a bit ridiculous though. Its awesome that the business is flourishing and good on you for killing it. Maybe one day I'll grab a second hander. But, there's plenty quality knives that are affordable and time tested. Take care of your knife and it will take care of you.

[@Marshall13Burke]

What’s the name of the food they’re eating? I’m intrigued.

[@JoeyB7615]

You want a blade to cut even longer sharpen it dual grit ..low grit on one side fine on the other..as the teeth break off or round over it has smaller teeth than remain sharp..look it up..for real use you need the teeth a working edge not instagram mirror polished edge

[@JGunit]

1:31 for the knife sharpening

[@joshfalk5956]

Beginner at sharpening my own hunting knives. My ignorant self always slid the knives towards the cutting edge. But the expert here slid the knife towards the back or the spine? Does it make a difference ? Is this trick he learned ? Any intel would be great

[@ChillyH2Omg]

Same. Most everything I’ve read/studied is a proponent of edge leading strokes. His demonstration was all edge trailing

[@wattswheelhouse]

I gotta get a link to that outtro song

[@normstorm93]

Boudin is king

[@Bardmusic66]

Might have to get me some, don’t believe I’ve ever had it

[@yankeehunter3466]

Anyone can get an out of state deer license in my state if they register and pay an out of state fee it’s easy like $20 more

[@doneime875]

Any different technique for sharpening a broad head?

[@Vera_AO73]

Sadly I submitted for the trivia game, a whole question about rockwell testing. That was about a year ago now and now it’s a pointless question….

[@People-are-strange85]

My kids love it

[@Swearengen1980]

I'd suggest the marker cheat for those who need help with the angle.

[@samuelolson3017]

Please up the volume in editing for the spotify shows . Very hard to hear soft speaking while working .

[@saltwateriv5735]

Bend it in 90 degrees is crazy

[@richardconnolly6102]

Does anyone know what grit the stone is that he is working the knife on?

[@joshfalk5956]

Pretty sure it's a worksharp

[@SmokeyRidgeRunner]

I don't know why this just clicked for me but Steven reminds me of a Calm Ted Nugent . :D

[@lunkydog]

Interesting concept from Dr Randall that pyramids killed the Mammoths😉

[@lisaannaallen6283]

billys is the best

[@randyjoy2199]

Hell ya boys

[@timdiekman]

In Australia it’s referred to as a sh*t sandwich

[@tommyrq180]

Corinne gets maximum points for hanging in tough in a testosterone-dominated room. She seems to have zero problems. Kudos! 😊

[@steven1751]

I wish the stubhorn was in stock with a handle other than blaze orange. A fine $300+ knife should have something nicer than that.

[@markdegroot1228]

Don't microwave paper towels wrapped around your food. It re-activates the glue that hold the plies together, and it leeches into the food, which you don't want to eat those glue chemicals. Paper towel companies don't have to put any labeling about this on the packaging because it's not the intended use of the product.

[@SB-eu3gc]

Wow

[@Tator83]

Check out how the whitetail populations are in U.P. and Minnesota. Wolf populations were kept smaller around livestock for a valid reason as well.

[@jacoblamb3535]

40:00 lets get randall carlson in to straighten out some of this nonsense please

[@jacoblamb3535]

The great pyramid had been structurally intact for 8 thousand years when the “last” mammoth died

[@mattmeidl2996]

Instead of hot dogs or sausage my buddy and I make venison boudin with our scrap meat every year

[@LionAstrology]

Steve just to give you a heads up..may want to research a little more about sharpening... but you got con'd with the old burr trick. kzbin.info/www/bejne/eonCZGyAgruIoc0si=aINrOK_lwhkpPpka Start the video at 2:10 🙏

[@joeetlinger3423]

Thanks for posting this. If you compare what Josh did here to how Alex sharpens in the linked video, they're both creating a burr on one side, followed by alternating strokes of decreasing pressure, and both stropping with alternating back strokes at the end to remove the burr. I don't think Josh explained his "working edge" very well here, and I don't think he actually left a burr on that blade at all. Josh's concept of the burr retaining it's edge longer than the actual apex does not make sense.

[@codyj7532]

Whats on steves mug??

[@mbowmanvfd]

I wonder how many people can honestly say they sharpen there knife just like this . I can say I'm one of the few

[@lil00chevy]

usually dont watch, all knife things aside, is Corrine single? I have a big crush!

[@HeathenHiker]

If molten metal doesn’t have a magnetic pull, how does Earth’s molten core pull a compass needle? 🤔

[@breakheartorchard4761]

Slob hunters are always a problem. Some local and some out of state. Nobody wants to see their own hunting restricted, and bad hunters poison the well and give people motivation to ban and restrict visitors.

[@HeathenHiker]

Makes me wonder how everyone sharpens their knives. This is just basic knife sharpening.

[@PCSbball]

The collective gulp around the room when he talks about Montana knife co taking no private equity money 😂😂😂

[@randyjoy2199]

Beer

[@pco315]

Didn't catch the stone brand

[@joshfalk5956]

Worksharp

[@codyhunter5330]

All the benchmade knives in the case beside Phil😂

[@Justjoe_804]

Wonder what the guys at Benchmade think

[@JamesClark-lw6sw]

"OUR GUCCI KNIVES COST LESS"..

[@Justjoe_804]

@@JamesClark-lw6sw lol

[@tommyrq180]

Benchmade actually sued MKC which is total BS and baseless. FYSA…

[@mattwillard]

Why do all of the “how to” video demonstrations instruct passing the knife with the blade facing into the stone instead of pulling it back?? I’ve been scammed!