Knife Sharpening Instructions

A knife has to be maintained properly for optimum utilization, and one of the most important aspect of maintenance is sharpening. A knife can be sharpened by grinding its edge either on a hard rough surface or soft surface with hard particles on it. Of the various mistakes people commit when sharpening the knives, some of the most common ones include leaving edge angles uncontrolled, failing to establish a new edge or leaving the edge in a rough state.

Knife Sharpening

Knives in use today, are made of stainless steel which can hold a sharp edge for a long time when properly sharpened. For sharpening a knife, you can use various sharpening tools available in the market - most preferred being the sharpeners, featuring a rough stock removal surface, a hard stone with ceramic abrasive finishing surface. Being harder than steel, the ceramic materials cut off the steel on the edge of the blade. Though you can also use a hard stone to do this task, using it will require more physical efforts on your behalf. If you plan to buy a sharpening system, you should opt for a system providing the edge guide mechanism as it gives you a good perception of the angles.

Sharpening it with a Honing Steel
The knife blade can also be sharpened using a honing steel, a hardened cylindrical rod made of steel. Place the blade at the tip of the steel rod, approximately at an angle of 20 degrees, and pull the blade down, across the steel rod, making sure that you run the full length of the knife along the steel. Move the blade in similar fashion, on the back of the steel, in order to sharpen the other side of the blade. Repeat this process for a few times. The speed at which you run the blade along the steel, doesn't play a vital role in sharpening, so keep a steady speed, and make sure that you don't hurt yourself in the process. As a serrate knife resembles a saw, it can even cut if it becomes dull. But these cuts are not so smooth. In serrated knife sharpening, each notch has to be separately sharpened, and therefore a honing steel proves to be an ideal tool to sharpen it.

Sharpening it on a Stone
In some cases, the edge of the knife becomes dull owing to constant usage, and excessive sharpening on steel. In such a case you can use stone, such as a diamond sharpening stone, to sharpen the knife. You will require approximately 30 to 40 strokes to sharpen your knife, depending on the knife size and dullness of the edge. Depending on how sharp you want the knife to be, you can select the angle for sharpening. Shallower the angle employed, sharper will be the edge. An angle between 20 degree to 30 degree is an ideal angle for knife blade sharpening. You can decide the angle after taking into consideration the purpose for which the knife will be required. A disadvantage of a sharp edge of the blade, is its tendency to fade away sooner. Sometimes, it becomes difficult for you to maintain a steady angle continuously, in such a situation you can take the help of a mechanical grinder.

Knives have been used as tools, weapons, as well as religious symbols since ancient times, and their use has just increased over the period. This, in turn, has prompted people to develop new techniques of sharpening which are efficient and easy. Now that doesn't really come as a surprise considering that the sharpness of a knife happens to be its most important attribute.