How to Sharpen a Kitchen Knife
Gather the necessary materials., Soak your whetstones in water until no air bubbles pop up anymore., Place the stone on a non-slip service to prevent any dangerous issues., Begin with the course grit side of the stone, the one with the lower...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Gather the necessary materials.
You will need a double-sided (coarse and fine grit) synthetic sharpening stone.
You will also need a honing steel, which is typically sold in the form of a lightly-grooved, magnetized iron rod.
Both of these materials can be found at your local hardware store.
Sharpening stones have two sides with different grits.
The grit measures how rough the stone is, and thus how severely it sharpens.
Higher numbers stand for finer grits meaning the lowest number is the roughest surface. -
Step 2: Soak your whetstones in water until no air bubbles pop up anymore.
The stone is porous, and it needs to fill with water so that the blade doesn't catch.
This decreased friction and helps prevent scratches and nicks.You'll want to keep getting the stone wet as you work, so keep some water nearby. , You can use a damp towel or a silicon baking sheet or hot pad.
You do not want the stone moving as you sharpen, as this is the number one way to accidentally end up in the ER. , Splash some water on top before beginning.
You always start with the rougher side of the stone, with the lower grit rating.
Many stones start at F 400 (European measurement) or J 1000 (Japanese measurement).
Professional chefs may have multiple stones with many different grits to smoothly craft a point.
More variety means you can get a better edge by slowly increasing the resistance.
If you have a broken tip on the knife, fix this before sharpening. , This can be hard to find, but just do it in pieces.
Perpendicular to the stone (blade touching the stone, as if you were cutting), is 90-degrees.
Now, angle the blade so that it is halfway between perpendicular and laying on the stone.
This is 45-degrees.
Now angle the stone to be roughly halfway between this angle and the stone
-- you've got it! A steeper angle always leads to a more durable knife, but too steep and you will risk cracking the edge., This hand provides the control and keeps the edge down on the stone as you work., These fingers are your guides, keeping the knife down and moving it smoothly as you work.
These fingers will naturally slide to help the area you're working on since most stones are not big enough to fit the whole knife. , This motion should be smooth and fluid, almost like you were lightly slicing off an impossibly thin piece of the stone. , Friction, when not controlled, is not your friend.
Keep the stone wet to prevent accidental damage.
It is often a good idea to wipe any grit off the blade each time your wet the stone again , With your non-dominant hand, move up to the tip of the blade and focus on that.
Then slide down and sharpen the meet of the blade before moving down to the hilt.
Try to use the same number of movements for each section.
Don't try and push the blade down into the stone.
You want it to stay flush to the stone with every pass, but you don't want to be digging it in., You want both sides to be evenly sharpened, otherwise, the knife will be misaligned.
The exact same strategy should be used as the first side.
Feel the opposite side of the knife from the one you've been sharpening.
If you feel a little burr or catch on the unsharpened side, it means it's time to flip., Make one pass on the right side, flip the knife, and make another on the left.
Both the angle and motion are still consistent, as is the need to keep the stone wet.
However, since the finer grit is making smaller, finer changes, you want to ensure that you evenly balance them by alternating sides.
You only need very light pressure down on the knife with the fine grit stone.
Keep the stone extra wet, and wipe the grit from the knife frequently with a damp towel. , Take your sharpened knife and "slice" down the edge of a wooden cutting board, as if you were trying to cut into it.
You only need to do it one
-- but simply dragging the blade across the cutting board to clean off he cutting edge. , The next step is to use your steel honing rod (sometimes known as a steeling rod), to make sure the blade is properly aligned.
Make sure you use a few passes on each side, and keep honing the blade every time you use it. -
Step 3: Place the stone on a non-slip service to prevent any dangerous issues.
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Step 4: Begin with the course grit side of the stone
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Step 5: the one with the lower number.
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Step 6: Tilt the knife so that the blade makes a roughly 22-degree angle with the stone.
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Step 7: Hold the knife with the handle in your dominant hand so that your index finger is on the edge of the blade
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Step 8: almost where it meets the stone.
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Step 9: Spread your non-dominant hand fingers on the back of the blade itself
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Step 10: applying even pressure across the whole blade down into the stone.
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Step 11: Keeping the angle of the knife consistent throughout
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Step 12: push the blade evenly across the whetstone.
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Step 13: Splash the whetstone with water every few minutes to keep it wet.
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Step 14: Repeat as many times as necessary
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Step 15: moving your fingers across the blade to sharpen the whole thing.
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Step 16: Flip the blade over and repeat with the other side
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Step 17: making the same number of passes.
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Step 18: Switch to the finer grit stone and alternate sharpening each side.
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Step 19: "Cut" a wooden cutting board with the knife to even out the cutting surface.
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Step 20: Hone the blade.
Detailed Guide
You will need a double-sided (coarse and fine grit) synthetic sharpening stone.
You will also need a honing steel, which is typically sold in the form of a lightly-grooved, magnetized iron rod.
Both of these materials can be found at your local hardware store.
Sharpening stones have two sides with different grits.
The grit measures how rough the stone is, and thus how severely it sharpens.
Higher numbers stand for finer grits meaning the lowest number is the roughest surface.
The stone is porous, and it needs to fill with water so that the blade doesn't catch.
This decreased friction and helps prevent scratches and nicks.You'll want to keep getting the stone wet as you work, so keep some water nearby. , You can use a damp towel or a silicon baking sheet or hot pad.
You do not want the stone moving as you sharpen, as this is the number one way to accidentally end up in the ER. , Splash some water on top before beginning.
You always start with the rougher side of the stone, with the lower grit rating.
Many stones start at F 400 (European measurement) or J 1000 (Japanese measurement).
Professional chefs may have multiple stones with many different grits to smoothly craft a point.
More variety means you can get a better edge by slowly increasing the resistance.
If you have a broken tip on the knife, fix this before sharpening. , This can be hard to find, but just do it in pieces.
Perpendicular to the stone (blade touching the stone, as if you were cutting), is 90-degrees.
Now, angle the blade so that it is halfway between perpendicular and laying on the stone.
This is 45-degrees.
Now angle the stone to be roughly halfway between this angle and the stone
-- you've got it! A steeper angle always leads to a more durable knife, but too steep and you will risk cracking the edge., This hand provides the control and keeps the edge down on the stone as you work., These fingers are your guides, keeping the knife down and moving it smoothly as you work.
These fingers will naturally slide to help the area you're working on since most stones are not big enough to fit the whole knife. , This motion should be smooth and fluid, almost like you were lightly slicing off an impossibly thin piece of the stone. , Friction, when not controlled, is not your friend.
Keep the stone wet to prevent accidental damage.
It is often a good idea to wipe any grit off the blade each time your wet the stone again , With your non-dominant hand, move up to the tip of the blade and focus on that.
Then slide down and sharpen the meet of the blade before moving down to the hilt.
Try to use the same number of movements for each section.
Don't try and push the blade down into the stone.
You want it to stay flush to the stone with every pass, but you don't want to be digging it in., You want both sides to be evenly sharpened, otherwise, the knife will be misaligned.
The exact same strategy should be used as the first side.
Feel the opposite side of the knife from the one you've been sharpening.
If you feel a little burr or catch on the unsharpened side, it means it's time to flip., Make one pass on the right side, flip the knife, and make another on the left.
Both the angle and motion are still consistent, as is the need to keep the stone wet.
However, since the finer grit is making smaller, finer changes, you want to ensure that you evenly balance them by alternating sides.
You only need very light pressure down on the knife with the fine grit stone.
Keep the stone extra wet, and wipe the grit from the knife frequently with a damp towel. , Take your sharpened knife and "slice" down the edge of a wooden cutting board, as if you were trying to cut into it.
You only need to do it one
-- but simply dragging the blade across the cutting board to clean off he cutting edge. , The next step is to use your steel honing rod (sometimes known as a steeling rod), to make sure the blade is properly aligned.
Make sure you use a few passes on each side, and keep honing the blade every time you use it.
About the Author
Sophia Hart
Writer and educator with a focus on practical hobbies knowledge.
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