Knife Sharpening Tools

Nothing is more frustrating than setting out to cook a gourmet meal with the choicest of meats, only to find a blunt knife laughing sadistically at your plight. You can't throw away the knife, 'cause let's face it, they are in no way cheap, but you can't go on with a blunt knife either. What a conundrum. So then, what? Easy...just sharpen the knives to perfection and you're good to go. How? With the tips on knife sharpening tools that we are about to give you. Read and learn.

Tools for sharpening Knives

Use a Stone
For best results use a stone that has 3 texture layers on it - Fine, medium and coarse. Stones like oil stones, whetstones and bench stones can be used for this purpose. Then follow these instructions

1. Make sure that the stone is sufficiently lubricated with oil or water.
2. The most important thing is to maintain the correct angle when sharpening the tool.
3. Hold it at a 30 to 40 degree angle against the stone.
4. Make sure the stone is on a flat surface.
5. Then hold the knife by its handle and drag it over the stone towards you and then towards the outer side.
6. Continue to do this till you've achieved the required sharpness to the edge.
7. Then flip the knife over and sharpen the other edge in the same way.
8. You know the knife is sharp enough when you hear a 'burr' sound.
9. To reduce this sound, simply cut the knife through a finer stone. That is, take a stone that is of a finer quality and maintaining the same angle that was used in sharpening the knife, run the knife 2-3 times over it.

Use Steel
Using a sharpening steel will help to make the rough edges of the knife smooth and turn it straight.

1. Take the steel and place it on a flat surface in a standing position.
2. Use your left hand to hold it in place.
3. Then take the knife and place it against the steel with the end of the blade(the part that is nearest the handle) on the steel.
4. Then tilt the knife to about a 20-30 degree angle.
5. Now using that angle pull the knife towards you and across the steel.
6. Do this at least 10-15 times until the edge is sharp.
7. Then switch the side and use the same technique to sharpen the other edge.
8. After the sharpening has completed, wipe the knife with a cloth so that no stray metal is left behind.
9. Use the steel to sharpen knives often so that they don't lose their edge and become blunt. This is considered as one of the best tools for sharpening knives.

Use a Serrated or Diamond Steel
A ceramic steel can also be used for the same.

1. Take a knife and hold it at a 40-50 degree angle against the knife.
2. Then maintaining that angle sweep the knife down the entire length of the ceramic steel.
3. Repeat this action 20-30 times for achieving sharpness.
4. The rounder the steel the sharper the knife will become.
5. After one side has been sharpened, turn to the other side and shape that as well.

Use a File
Using a file is comparatively simpler.

1. Take a steel file and hold it against the knife
2. Then begin to sharpen each serration of the knife by pulling the file towards you in one swift motion.
3. Continue doing this for all the serrations.
4. Do this until each serration is sharp and has no burrs.
5. This can be a very time-consuming and monotonous process. Not to mention dangerous.

Use a Mechanical Sharpener
Using a mechanical sharpener will usually involve a machine that has inbuilt stones or steels. One has to place the knife blades against the machine and it will sharpen the tools on its own. All safety measures and the angles at which the knife should be kept will be explained in the manual.

Now that you know what the different knife sharpening tools are, choose one, sharpen your knife to the sharpest point and go slice and dice that meat!