Even the best knives can begin to dull after enough usage. Keeping a razor edge is important to both good cooking and safety in the kitchen. The fact of the matter is that no one wants to have to call a professional in to sharpen a blade each time it loses its edge. So if you want to find out how to sharpen knives yourself, continue reading for our step-by-step guide.

How to Sharpen Knives

Learning how to sharpen knives yourself gives you a valuable skill that will help you maintain your blades and allow you to carve food with ease. There are a number of different tools you can use to sharpen a blade, each with its own methods. For this reason, you should pick the sharpening option that works best for you.

When Should You Sharpen Your Blades?

If you are uncertain whether or not it's time to sharpen your blades, you can perform one of two tests.

Tomato Test: Simply try to use your knife to cut a tomato. If the blade does not immediately slice through the skin but instead breaks it, your knife is dull.

Paper Test: Alternatively you can hold up a piece of paper (A4 is best) in front of you. Use the knife to try to slice down the middle of the page (away from your body). If the knife fails to cut through or the paper tears, you likely need to sharpen your blade.

Tip!

After sharpening knives, store them in a knife block or specially designed storage to prevent the blades from dulling.

Manual Knife Sharpener

The easiest and most common technique for sharpening knives is by using a knife sharpener. There are two types available: manual and electric, and both are straightforward to use. They contain at least two notches (sometimes more) each containing varying degrees of coarse and fine grits.

To sharpen your knife with a manual sharpener, start by placing the sharpener on a flat surface where it will not move as you use it.

• Hold the knife in your dominant hand with the tip facing away from you.
• Drag your knife through the coarse grit notch first, pulling it towards yourself.
• Make sure to use light pressure to keep from damaging the blade.
• Do this 10 – 12 times (depending on the dullness).
• Graduate to the finest grit where you only need to pull the knife through one or two times to finish off the sharpening and polish the blade.
• Although this is a quick way to learn how to sharpen a knife, it is also an aggressive technique that wears away at the steel of your blade, so you would do well to use it on knives that can be easily replaced.

Tip!

Before you use a knife sharpener, make sure it is suitable for your blades – especially if the one you plan to work on has a serrated edge. You can easily ruin a blade by using the incorrect sharpener.

Electric Knife Sharpener

Electric knife sharpeners work the same way that their manual counterparts do – only they do the hard work for you. They require less effort because they function by using motorized abrasive wheels that often have multiple settings. Although these are the simplest knife sharpeners to use, they aren't always the best way to sharpen knives as they offer less control than other methods.

Before you learn how to sharpen knives with your electric sharpener, check that it is free from any shavings or debris.

• Place it securely on a flat surface where it will remain in place while in use.
• Hold the knife by the handle and switch on the machine.
• Place the heel of the knife inside the machine and pull the blade gently back towards you.
• Some electric knife sharpeners also have honing features which you can use after you are done sharpening the blade.

Whetstone

A whetstone – also known as a waterstone or sharpening stone – is a type of brick-shaped knife sharpener that usually has both a coarse and a fine surface on opposing sides. The coarse side is used to regrind a dull knife, while the fine side allows you to maintain the edge on a sharp knife. Whetstones are the best way to sharpen knives and help to prolong the life of your blade. They can also be used on a wide variety of knives including steak, chef, butcher, cleaver, and santoku knives.

To use your whetstone, start by submerging it in water and allow it to soak for between 15 - 20 minutes or until it has stopped producing air bubbles.

• Note that some whetstones require the use of oil and not water, so be sure to read all instructions to make sure you perform this step correctly.
• Place the stone on a flat surface, coarse side up, ideally on a mat or towel to keep it from sliding around.
• The best angle to sharpen your knife at is 20 degrees, so make sure to keep that at all times while using the stone. To get this angle you can hold the knife 90 degrees to the table surface, then move the knife so it halves that imaginary line and then again – this should give you an approximate position.
• Use your dominant hand to hold the knife and ensure your thumb is applying slight pressure to the spine.
• Using three or four fingers of your other hand, place pressure on the flat side of the knife, while pressing it onto the whetstone.
• Begin with the heel of the blade and slide it forward away from your body, working your way to the tip.
• Make sure to lift the blade every time you reach the edge of the stone.
• Repeat this process 3 – 6 times.
• Flip the knife and start again.
• If you notice a burr (a collection of metal) forming on the opposite side of the knife, you should switch sides.
• Ensure the whetstone remains wet at all times. If it is starting to dry out then add water or oil as directed.
• Once you have completed both sides of the blade, you can flip the stone over so the fine side is facing upward and repeat the process 3 – 5 times.
• If the knife is still not sharp you can repeat the entire process again.

Tip!

A whetstone is the best type of knife sharpener you can use on an expensive blade.

Honing Steel

A honing steel is a long tool that is also known as a sharpening rod or sharpening steel. Contrary to its name, a honing sharpener is not actually designed for sharpening knives but rather for keeping the edge on a sharp blade or for complementing whatever sharpening method you use. Compare this to a knife sharpening tool which is used on dull blades that no longer cut well. Honing helps to give your knife a better and more precise angle and can be done once a week or even more, while sharpening should happen no more than every two to three months.

To begin using your honing steel, hold the handle and rest the tip on a flat surface to ensure it stays in place during this process.

• Use your dominant hand to grip the knife and place the sharp edge of the blade against the honing steel.
• Angle the blade at 20 degrees.
• Start with the knife heel and draw the blade downward along the steel using light pressure.
• Make sure to pull the handle back to you so the entire length of the blade edge makes contact with the steel.
• Switch sides and repeat.

Tip!

If you are using a ceramic knife, make sure to use a ceramic honing rod.

Now that you know how to sharpen knives, you never need to have a dull blade in the kitchen again.