What is the best method of sharpening knives?

Author: Keara Kuvalis  |  Last update: Sunday, March 30, 2025

The short answer is to use good quality Japanese whetstones, then maintain the edge with a ceramic honing rod.

What is the best technique for sharpening knives?

Stone is the best way to sharp the knives. Hold the knife with the fingers of one hand fanning across the length of the blade while placing it flat against, and perpendicular to, the coarse side of the sharpening stone. Polish the edge of the blade using the fine grit side of the sharpening stone.

What do professionals use to sharpen their knives?

A sharpening stone, also known as a whetstone is a kitchen essential used by professional chefs across the globe. While honing rods take slightly less time to maintain knives than whetstones, they are incredibly durable and resilient and help your knife cut through any type of meat, fruit, or vegetable.

Is it better to push or pull when sharpening a knife?

You should push the sharpened edge toward/across the stone,not pull it backwards. Often the reason knives seem dull is because the microscopic edge of the blade has curled over on itself (a kitchen steel corrects this and is often overlooked in favor of unnecessary sharpening).

How do most chefs sharpen their knives?

For chef's knives, opt for a whetstone or electric knife sharpening tool.

The Best Way To Sharpen & Clean Knives (And The Worst) | Epicurious 101

Are pull-through knife sharpeners any good?

Pull-through sharpeners are the most popular way to sharpen knives, and with good reason: They are quicker than whetstones and more precise than sharpening steels. However, they shed the most amount of metal, which weakens the durability of knives.

How many swipes does it take to sharpen a knife?

How to use a Manual Knife Sharpener: Place the knife against the coarse side of the sharpener and swipe it across the surface around ten times. This initial step sets the foundation for a sharp edge. Afterwards, switch to the fine side of the sharpener and repeat the swiping motion ten times.

What should you not do when sharpening a knife?

Common mistakes include twisting, pressing down or pausing the stroke of knives as you pull them through the sharpener slot. This can cause oversharpening (the loss of too much metal) or result in an uneven edge.

Do knife sharpeners ruin knives?

Electric pull through sharpeners remove way too much metal and shorten the life of your knife by years. Ceramic wheel sharpeners tend to take chips and chunks out of thin Japanese blades. Because of the mechanics of use, it is impossible to apply the same amount of pressure throughout the blade.

What is the best knife sharpener on the market?

The SHAPTON Ha No Kuromaku Ceramic Whetstone Set was the clear whetstone winner. It's an easy-to-use, two-stone set that quickly sharpens carbon and stainless steel knives. If you must use an electric knife sharpener, I recommend the Work Sharp Ken Onion Knife Edition Sharpener.

What's the difference between honing and sharpening?

So what's the difference between honing and sharpening? Sharpening removes material from the blade to produce a new, sharp edge, while honing keeps the blade sharp by pushing the edge of the knife back to the center.

Should you sharpen a knife forward or backwards?

Start at the tip of the blade, and draw the blade backward moving the blade spine forward, rather than moving the blade edge forward.

What do pros use to sharpen knives?

A whetstone is a block of rough stone that acts as an abrasive against metal and is the most traditional way to sharpen a knife. It can give you incredible precision and a better edge than any machine method, but it takes a lot of practice to hold the right angle and use one correctly.

What is the most cost effective way to sharpen a knife?

A honing steel and a whetstone are not only the best tools for the job, but they're cheap.

What is the last thing you must do when sharpening a knife?

The last step in sharpening is removing the burr – the hide side of an old leather belt will do, or buy a strop such as this one. A bit of baby oil on the leather will help you get a nice, even covering of the polishing compound. As with most things, you get what you pay for.

Should you push or pull a blade when sharpening?

Most pros would agree that pulling the blade edge across the whetstone produces the best results. Not only will it bring the knife to its sharpest but it's also a much more effective way to remove chips and imperfections from the blade.

How do I know if my knife is 15 or 20 degrees?

The best way to tell is by asking the manufacturer of the knife. As a general guide, European/American knives manufactured before 2010 have 20 degree edges while Asian style knives have 15 degree edges. However, there are exceptions to this rule of thumb.

Who has the best knife sharpener?

Final Thoughts on the Best Knife Sharpeners
  • Best Overall: Precision Adjust Knife Sharpener – Elite.
  • Best Electric: Work Sharp Ken Onion Mk. ...
  • Best Professional: Wicked Edge Gen 4.
  • Best for Chef Knives: HORL 2.
  • Best Sharpening Stone: Smith's Arkansas Stone.
  • Best for Kitchen Knives: Spyderco Tri-Angle Sharpmaker.

Do pull through sharpeners ruin knives?

The answer is yes. We won't shame you for it, but we do have to take off a lot more steel than a normal sharpening, so please stop using pull-through sharpeners. According to you, our customers, they are repeatedly the cause of the most damaged blades we see.

Is a whetstone worth it?

Sharpening a metal edge requires an abrasive, which generates heat from friction. Whetstones keep the metal cool: When used with water, they create a wet slurry, or a sort of paste, which helps polish the edge. Because of that cooling, your edge is better protected and easier to sharpen because there's no heat damage.

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