How to Sharpen a Kitchen Knife with Stone

How-to-Sharpen-a-Knife-with-a-Stone

Sharping a kitchen knife is easy. But when most kitchen knife’s tips and edges are fragile. Here, in this article, we are going to share the best way to make your kitchen knives razor sharp without losing quality.

With a dull knife, your work will not be finished smoothly. The sharpening stone is also known as “whetstones” in the market, and you can use this to sharpen your knife.

This whetstone is made of synthetic or natural materials, and these can be used in dry and wet both ways, or you can brush oil before using it. After sharpening your knife, you will find it as new as before.

So let’s know how to sharpen a knife with a stone.

steps needed to sharpen a Kitchen knife with a stone

 While the most popular way to hone a knife is by using a rod, experts prefer whitestone. This is not because they are cheap but also give you flexibility.

Now here are the steps to sharpen a knife with stones.

What is sharpening?

Sharpening helps to remove small parts of steel that you cannot cut down to create a new edge. It is important to know that you cannot sharpen your blade too frequently.

If you over sharpen your knife, then there is a high possibility that it will change the original shape of your blade. It is better to sharpen the blade once a year to create a new cutting edge.

Sharpen a Knife with a Stone

For sharpening knives, using whetstone is the best option. Though there are many methods you can follow to sharpen your knife but they won’t give the best result like a whetstone.

You may need some guidelines to use a whetstone but once you learn this, you will be the expert in sharping with saving time and money.

How sharpening you need to do is normally depending on your knives. Actually, using sharp knives is safer than using dull knives.

As you have to apply pressure on cutting, you may cut your skin by using dull knives. So, it is always better to get the fine grit stones that will give you the best edge.

Examine your knife’s Sharpness

First, find out how dull your knives are and which grit size you need to sharpen the stone.  How will you determine it? Well!!!

Slice a tomato or any fruits, and then you will understand how dull your knives are. Just keep in mind that you need more struggle while slicing. Your blades need to sharpen.

If you use your knives in daily activities, then it would be better to do sharpening them. Otherwise, it will dull eventually.

If you are a beginner, you can watch the video below to understand the basics.

Choose the style of stone

A synthetic stone would be perfect as it can be used wet or dry or with oil.  It can soak easily and can sharpen the knives easily and quickly. But these stones can wear down faster.  

Well, on the other hand, oil stone is not much expensive, and its materials are harder. Oil stones are messier to use and can clean up quickly. For that reason, you can use it for a long time.

Here is some recommended knife sharpening stone.

Select the grit of the stone

Different grit sizes of sharpening stones are available in the market. There are subtle, medium, and coarse rocks you will get to choose from.

If your knife is too dull, then it would be better to select a rough stone. With the medium stone, you don’t have to sharpen your knife too much if you have sharpened it recently. But choose a stone that has a grid on both sides.

Apply water or oil to the stone

Some stones need oil or water. So, apply some drops to the stones so that easily you can sharpen your knife. Then you need to hold the blade at the right angle for sharpening.

If you follow some guidelines to know how to hold a knife, then it is a good idea.

Most experts suggest holding the knife at a 20-degree angle for safety issues.

If you are using coarse stone, then you can catch the knife at a lower angle, and for this, your blade will not be sharpened too much.

How to Sharpen the knife

How to Sharpen the Kitchen knife

1. Hold the knife against the stone

Hold the knife with one hand at a 20-degree angle against the stone. Remember, the edge of the blade should not be pointed at you.

Your fingerprint will give pressure on the other side of the blade and will give direction to the blade to sharpen.

2. Swipe one side of the blade

Sweep the blade on the stone and slide down it slowly. And do this job until you find your sharpness. It would be better if you do this task on the wet and oil stone.

Turn the knife and move the blade from heel to tip for sharpening. For checking, you will need to touch the edge with your fingerprints. Be careful while the blade is against your skin.

3. Sharpen the stone on a good grit

With a dull knife, you need to use coarse grit to have a sharpened edge. With fine sand, you can polish the edge nicely.  

From heel to tip of the blade, slide the knife against the grid. And do this task for the other side also. Eventually, you will get your result.

4. Test the sharpness of the knife

You are done with the sharpen your knife now do the result. Testing the knife will tell you if you are done with your sharpening after you have completed sharpening your knife and drying it.

Now take a piece of paper and fold it, now try to slice down the paper with your sharp knife. Well, if your blade is sharpened enough, then you will get a satisfactory result immediately.

5. Cleaning the stone

An excellent sharpness is determined by the perfect angle and your ideal grit. You should have a dedicated cloth to clean your knife and stone regularly.

After sharpening the knife, there may have some dust that is needed to clean up. And it is vital to clean the oily stone after using it. Otherwise, dust will fall on this part easily.

However, you should clean the knife thoroughly before using it.

Common Mistakes while Sharping a Knife

Conclusion

There is a suggestion for you that a minimum of two grit-sized stones should be there in your kit. One is medium grit and another one is fine grit.

The lower number of coarse grits won’t leave your knife in a satisfying situation.

The higher grit you will have, the edge of the kitchen knife will be sharpened more nicely. Though how to sharpen a knife with a stone is a little bit challenging task, you need to be more focused.

If you follow the guidelines on how to sharpen a knife with a stone, I hope you won’t face any difficulties.