The knives are long overdue, so do I need to start at 240 grit then finish off on the finer side?
Before you do anything else, that whetstone needs soaking in water for at least an hour.
The 240-grit side is where you ought to start, although it's a pretty coarse grade and will take a fair bit of metal from your blades. Just go careful with it.
The 1000 grit is your finishing side, although in normal terms that would be the side you'd start on and then move to something around the 2000-3000 mark. But as it's all you've got, it'll have to do.
Global Knives
should have a different bevel to most other blades, so the angle of attack is around 10-15° instead of 20-25° with most Western-style blades.
- Anyway, once the stone has been thoroughly soaked, place it on a moist tea-towel that you can afford to knacker (it will get ruined with the residue from the stone) and align the short end of the stone parallel with the edge of the surface that you're working on.
- Then grasp the knife in both hands with the blade pointing away from your body and rest the heel of the knife on the far edge of the stone, holding the blade at your desired angle - something like
these might come in handy at this point.
- Using a very even pressure and a relatively light touch, slowly drag the knife blade towards you down the stone whilst you move the blade
across the stone so that you reach the tip as you come to the end of the stone nearest to you.
- Lift the knife off the stone, place it back up the top and repeat the same motion as before. A firm, even motion is key here - don't press the blade into the stone.
- As you keep swiping the knife down the stone, you'll start to see the film of 'dirty' water accumulate alone the blade. Don't be tempted to wipe it off - this is the stuff that is sharpening the edge for you and will drip off and ruin that tea-towel the whetstone is sat on.
- Repeat the process a few times (counting each stroke as you go) and then
carefully check the
opposite side of the blade with your fingernail for the burr that will start to form.
- Carry on going if you can't feel it, but if you can it's time to flip the blade over and repeat the sharpening process on the other side - I'd start with the heel of the blade on the bottom of the stone nearest to you and work
away from your body here.
- Go through the sharpening process for the same number of strokes as you carried out on the first side of the blade, then wipe the residue off with a clean cloth (this one will get ruined as well).
- Now re-soak the whetstone for 10-minutes or so before repeating the process on the 1000-grit side.
Three points to mention about using a whetstone:
- Keep it wet - don't be afraid to dribble some water over it during the sharpening process if you feel it's starting to dry out.
- Be careful - go slowly and steadily and don't be tempted to rush things or take short-cuts.
- Clean up afterwards. Leave the stone to dry out before wrapping it in the tea-towel you'd been resting it on and storing it somewhere safe.
