How to sharpen a knife ?

2013

2013

2013

Soldato
Joined
29 Dec 2012
Posts
4,326
I want to learn the proper way on how to sharpen a knife using Sharpening Stone.

Ive done this in the past but it never been prefect (mostly guessing).

I've been told a few ways to do this but I would like to learn so im not just dulling the edge.

I could just buy a cheap sharpener which could do it for me or take the knifes to a sharpening service, but the does not give you a the same feeling, which I enjoy (if you know what i mean) even if im dulling some knifes :):)

1. Try and guess a 20 degree angle and keep it the same, (which ive been finding hard)

2. feel for the angle, angle the knife till it starts digging in slightly then release slightly and you have your angle, Im not sure how correct this would be or how well it would work on older knifes which have been resharpened incorrectly.

3. buy a angle sharpening system,
Downside
1 you would loose the joy of sharpening
2. your stuck with the cheap stones,
3. your not learning anything,

Maybe a video would be useful

Im hoping someone who has been able to successfully learnt could share how.

All advice is welcome
 
It just takes practise and with practise, muscle memory will kick in and you will find you are automatically holding it at the same angle. When I first started I held the knife at 90o, then halved it to 45o then halved it again to get the rough angle. It doesn't have to be super precise, as long as its near enough, the main thing is to try and keep it consistent.

The trick to getting the knife really sharp is to strop it. Get a piece of leather (you can buy offcuts on ebay) and glue it to a piece of flat hardwood around the same size as a sharpening stone. Add polishing compound to the surface and drag the blade over it at the same angle as sharpening, but with the cutting edge trailing so you dont damage the leather. You should be able to shave with the blade after this. You can also use the strop to keep the edge razor sharp between sharpening.
 
if you get the right honning steel, then the guard will show you the angle. For example the Shun honning steel
While fine European knives can require honing after each use, Shun's harder steel means you can hone just once a week or so, depending on your level of use. To make honing to the correct 16° Shun angle easier, the Shun Classic Combination Honing Steel has a built-in 16° angle on the handle. The premium PakkaWood® handle provides a secure grip and matches the handles of the rest of the beautiful Shun Classic line.
Click to expand...

then just watch some videos on youtube and practice.
 
If at any time (but not with a super duper knife, if you had one of those handy you would not need to know this little trick...) you have a knife that could be sharper, get a coffee cup and sharpen it on the bottom. It really works, after only a few runs. Has made my chopping life much eaiser at times.
 
I've been using a Global Shinkansen water sharpener on my Globals and they're pretty bloody sharp when I'm done!
 
Mark A said:
It just takes practise and with practise, muscle memory will kick in and you will find you are automatically holding it at the same angle. When I first started I held the knife at 90o, then halved it to 45o then halved it again to get the rough angle. It doesn't have to be super precise, as long as its near enough, the main thing is to try and keep it consistent.

The trick to getting the knife really sharp is to strop it. Get a piece of leather (you can buy offcuts on ebay) and glue it to a piece of flat hardwood around the same size as a sharpening stone. Add polishing compound to the surface and drag the blade over it at the same angle as sharpening, but with the cutting edge trailing so you dont damage the leather. You should be able to shave with the blade after this. You can also use the strop to keep the edge razor sharp between sharpening.
Click to expand...

I pretty much used the technique you mentioned of halving and halving again when I learned how to sharpen with a whetstone, it makes it pretty easy to get close. I found feeling for the angle quite easy, if you're slightly off you don't get the feeling of vibration through the knife of it being being ground or it feels juttery and "wrong".

Make sure you don't clear off all the black sludge that you generate whilst sharpening, that's the abrasive bit that actually does the sharpening I believe.


I've never looked into stropping, I think I'm going to have to go searching on YouTube now, cheers. If I ruin my Masakage I'll hold you responsible :p
 
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