Youve finally invested ina few high quality knives.
You wont regret it.
(Unlike the set of knives in the molded plastic box that cut like spoons after six months.)
But like any important tool, youll get more life out of those knives with periodic maintenance.
There are two things you should do to take care of your knives: honing and sharpening.
What is honing?
Honing your knife should be part of your casual, frequent knife care.
Its like updating your phonethere are routine bugs to fix.
Honing a knife isdifferent from sharpening.
Sharpening is a completely different action that actually removes metal from the blade (more on that later).
Though, if you make it a regular habit, you will be rewarded with clean and easy cutting.
In a nutshell, youll be running the length of the blade against the steel at a specific angle.
Depending on your knife, youll do this on one side or both sides of the blade.
Most Western knives are sharpened at a 16- to 24-degree angle and beveled on both sides.
you’re able to look up the specs on your knife to find out these details.
Find your angle
Set a cutting board securely on a countertop.
Hold the knife in your dominant hand and find the angle.
Then move the spine of the knife upward to split that angle in half to 45 degrees.
Youre also a human, so this angle is an estimate, and thats okay.
Repeat this on the other side of the blade.
Alternate honing the two sides of the knifes blade until youve honed each side eight to 10 times.
If your knife has a single bevel then you would only hone that one side.
Be sure to wash your blade after honing to remove any tiny pieces of metal.
Your knife should maintain an optimal sharp edge.
You have a few options when it comes to sharpening.
you could bring your knives in to a professional, ormail them outto be professionally sharpened.
You could also do it yourself with either a pull-through sharpener, automatic electric sharpener, or a whetstone.
Theyre attractive to beginners because they dont require any skill.
Simply stick the blade in at the heel and pull toward yourself to end at the point.
Some sharpeners will have a coarse grit to start and fine grit to finish.
Note that some user complaints center around inconsistent sharpening from the blades heel to point.
One side has a coarse grit.
Flip it over, and youll see the other has a finer grit.
(Its not like touching the sidewalk though, both sides will feel smooth to your fingertips.)
For starters, one whetstone with a coarse and fine side is plenty.
Splash a handful of water on the stone to make it slippery.
Holding the knifes handle in your dominant hand, find your angle.
Start with the knifes heel on the stone.
This side will smooth out the sharpening you did with the coarser side.
When youre finished, wash your knife off and youre ready to chop.
Each mountain and valley of a serrated edge needs to be specifically sharpened, or youll lose those teeth.
Part of being an adult is knowing when to outsource.
