How to Make that Dull Knife Sharp

Knife sharpening devices and gimmicks don't work, unless you want to grind your precious chef's knife like an Axe. Knife sharpening is an art, and if you doubt your abilities, I wouldn't recommend trying it. I have been sharpening knives for 40 years, and I was taught by the best ... my father.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Dual Grit Whetstone
• Sharpening Steel

1. Dull knives are far more dangerous than sharp ones, due to the extra force needed to cut something. When a dull knife slips and contacts skin, it has a tremendous amount of pressure behind it. This usually results in serious injury that could have been avoided with a sharp knife.

2. A kitchen knife, unless serrated (which needs no sharpening) will need to be sharpened on a stone when it gets difficult to use. In between sharpening, you need to use a butchers steel to hone the edge. This doesn't sharpen the knife, it realigns the edge, which becomes bent and irregular with use. A few passes, either before or after EACH use, will keep your knife in good shape for a long time.

3. When the knife gets dull and has to be sharpened, you will need a medium stone and a fine finishing rock. Mine is a combination stone, one side is medium, and the reverse is fine grit. Hold the medium grit stone in one hand, being careful to keep your fingers clear of the top. Take the knife in the other hand, and holding it at a 15 to 20 degree angle, pretend you are slicing a thin layer off of the stone. Make certain you use the ENTIRE length of the blade, repeat this 5 times. Now, flip the knife over and do the other side, pull this slice toward you, opposite of the other side. Do this slow and deliberate, applying equal pressure at all times.

4. After several rounds of this, switch over to the fine grit stone and repeat all the above. If you have done this properly, you will have a sharp knife by this time. If it is not sharp, go back to the medium stone and repeat the above steps.

Tips & Warnings

• If you will take care of your knife, and don't cut anything it wasn't designed for, it will only need occasional sharpening. If you don't own a steel, get one, if will make a difference in the way your knife cuts in between sharpening

[karileighk]

on 6/24/2009 I'll be using this info *5

[mweise]

on 6/16/2009 I needed this information!! Great article! 5*s!