Comments on: How to Sharpen Kitchen Knives

on 3/31/2009 This article provides a high level overview of sharpening, but doesn't provide enough detail to enable a beginner to sharpen a knife successfully.1. First, a steel doesn't sharpen anything at all. It merely realigns the micro edge of the blade that gets bent over during use. Steeling is important, but provides no help for a dull knife. BTW, the steel itself should be as smooth as possible, ideally with no pattern at all. A ceramic "steel" also works extremely well, but use a light touch.2. There are dozens of choices in stones, both in their composition and their degree of abrasiveness in the marketplace. Most people will need three stones -- a coarse for removing nicks or blade reshaping, a medium for the bulk of the sharpening work and a fine to put a finished edge on the knife. The stones themselves can be Japanese water stones, naturally occurring materials like Washita or hard Arkan

on 3/23/2009 Go to youtube.com and search. i found a decent one here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkPHyEOpl7I

on 1/15/2009 good article; it leads one to believe that either kind of sharpener is appropriate for any kind of kitchen knife, but I believe that different knives need to be sharpened at different angles according to what they are used for. Is there a difference between the two methods for different knives?

on 12/13/2008 Great, Chef - well explained, but how about the other side of the blade? Explain "switching sides" please.

on 12/13/2008 Chef Brian Dicey gives exceptional instructions...for one side of the knife! Don't you have to sharpen both side of blade? Or do you pull it back towards you? Dum-Dum

on 11/18/2008 the Anolon Universal Shapener is the best sharpener i've found on the market. it holds your blade in place, at the correct angel and all you do is drag the blade through the three stages. the ceramic "wheels" sit in a water chamber and it's smooth and sharpens like a dream. i bought one for all the cooks in my family as stocking stuffers.

on 9/3/2008 Good advice.

on 10/21/2007 ppl plz help me out! i bought a new grater set but unfortunately it turned out to be blunt, and this makes using it very difficult, so i dont know does n e one know how to sharpen its tiny little knives?

on 11/22/2005 1. Position a large, flat, two-sided stone on a non-slip surface parallel to your shoulders and toward the edge of your work surface. The rough side is up.
2. Add water or oil to the stone if needed.
3. Your most familiar grip is easier to start out with, so use that hand to grab the handle of your knife firmly. With the blade toward you, approach the stone with your knife parallel to it and on the same plane as the surface of the stone.
4. You will need to practice the motion before it becomes natural, so don't jump right in.
5. The tip of the knife should be near the bottom left corner of the stone to begin. Now, using this point as a pivot (the point should stay here), bring the handle of the knife toward you several inches. This may vary with the size of the knife and stone, but you will be able to adjust once you understand the concept.
6. So far in this explanation the knife is level with the stone, but before we move it across, tilt the back of the knife up to about 20 degrees or slightly less.
7. If you've followed to here, good, but let's see where we are before actually edging the knife. The point is on the close left corner, the handle is toward you by about 20-30 degrees and the knife is tilted up toward you at about a 20 degree angle from the stone.
8. Starting with contact at the tip, and keeping the edge smoothly on the stone, push the knife away from you in a single motion with the entire blade passing over the entire stone. The tip should start at the bottom left and leave at the top left as the rest of the blade follows through the middle and the tang leaves at the top right.
9. To understand what you are doing is key to success, especially since this is written and not shown. You are drawing out new steel to form microscopic teeth on the edge of your blade. It takes a little coaxing and experimentation, but after only a few weeks of practice I could now shave with my knives. The hardest part is switching sides because the coordination is difficult. Also, it's tough to keep even pressure on the blade the whole way across.
Good Luck!
-Chef Brian Dicey
Raleigh, NC.

on 11/22/2005 These work really well, except they will put a non-standard edge on your knives. So, you're sort of stuck with using these electric wonders, or re-doing the angles (probably through a sharpening service initially) should you choose to stray from Chef's Choice.

on 6/11/2007 Most of what's discussed here is honing, not sharpening. A chef's trick: If you don't have a steel, then try using two similar knives one against the other at the described angle. You can put a nice smooth edge on a knife that isn't too dull.

on 11/22/2005 Professionals are needed only when the knife has lost its hollow-ground character: it will be dull, won't sharpen. Use steel to sharpen your knives before each use. Never use anything that takes off metal, like kitchen grinding wheels or files.

on 11/22/2005 A sharpening steel cannot resharpen an edge which is badly worn, it needs either work on a stone or an efficient powered sharpener.The steel is only designed to straighten a distorted edge.Best results are obtained from professional sharpening services.

on 11/22/2005 I've always been told that when sharpening, cutting,or drilling anything it should be done away from oneself and not towards. Especially with knives. Who's that steady 100% of the time? Of course if your hands don't sweat you're one up on the rest of us.

on 11/22/2005 When using a sharpening steel or a stone it is very important to use even pressure and an equal number of strokes on each side of the blade. The proper angle is also key sharpening knives successfully.