How to sharpen a kitchen knife to make it last forever
Using a whetstone and honing steel for sharpening kitchen knives is relatively easy once you get the hang of it.
With the exception of a paring knife and a Petty knife (Maintaining the edge angle of a paring knife is somewhat difficult and not necessary), most kitchen knife blades edges are beveled.
It’s a good idea to get your kitchen knives professionally sharpened every six months or so, however, if you don’t so a great deal of food preparation, a whetstone and a honing steel can keep them nice and sharp.
A whetstone is effective in getting putting a razor sharp edge on the blade followed by using a honing steel to even out the rough edge left behind by the stone.
Once you’ve gotten a nice sharp edge from that point on hone your kitchen knife blades before each use which will keep the edge finely-tuned.
As a suggestion it’s always a good idea to always keep them in a sheath or some type of kitchen knife holder.
Follow the easy directions below and you’ll continue to keep your kitchen knife functioning and performing every bit as good as it did when you first purchased it.
How to use a Whetstone
- Place the whetstone,coarse grit face up, on a hard surface such as a cutting board.
- Place a cup or dish towel between the stone to keep it from sliding around.
- With one hand grasp the knife by the handle and hold the edge against the stone point-first with the blade meeting the stone at a 20-degree angle.
- Using moderate pressure slide the entire knife blade forward and across the whetstone about ten times and then flip the knife over and repeat.
- Turn the whetstone over to the fine grit side and repeat the sharpening as you did on the coarse side.
- Always sharpen the blade in the same direction whether it’s front-to-back or back-to-front.
- Keep your whetstone dry (no oil)
This video illustrates the proper way to use a sharpening stone on all quality kitchen cutlery:
What is a sharpening (honing) steel
Professional chefs use a honing steel to maintain the edge on a kitchen knife rather than for intensive sharpening. Honing steel is often mislabeled as sharpening steel, but they don’t actually sharpen unless they are comprised of fine diamond grains. Honing steel was originally used to straighten the sharpened edge of a blade where repeated use had eventually pushed it to one side or the other (on a microscopic scale). This was preferred because it brought back the metal to its sharper state much quicker by restoring the existing edge.
A honing steel usually consists of a hardened steel rod with many tiny grooves scored lengthwise with a handle. It can also be made from a ceramic material specifically intended for sharpening hardened knives or a diamond steel, which has tiny specks of industrial diamond dust bonded to its surface. Both surfaces are equally effective for sharpening and honing the edges of knives, but they tend to wear away at the knife far more than do other kinds of steel.
Regardless of a Whetstone’s find grade side it will still leave the knife’s edge rough and uneven. This is where a sharpening or honing steel comes in. It finishes out the job by smoothing out the blades roughness and evenly bevels the edge.
How to use sharpening (honing) steel
Hold the sharpening steel point-down with its tip resting firmly on a dry cutting board.
With your free hand hold the knife crossways against the steel with the back of the blade (the part nearest the handle) touching the steel. Pull the knife toward you so you want to start with most of the blade in front of the steel.
Tilt the knife so that its blade meets the shaft of the sharpening steel at a 20-degree angle (approx.). Starting at the bottom of the steel and the butt-end of the blade gently push the blade like you are attempting to slice off a thin layer. Do this 5 times. Then pull the entire blade 5 times toward you along the shaft of the steel covering the entire length of the blade. Repeat the action 4 times, then 3, then 2, then 1 and you’re done.
Note: Honing should be done every 10-50 cuts depending on the cutlery and what foods you use your kitchen knives on.
Knife sharpener Whetstones and honing steel brands to look for:
- Chef’s Choice
- Smith’s Edge
- Wüsthof
