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I recommend taking them out to a sharpener. Too many times I've seen blades DESTROYED by people trying to use a home sharpener. Also, that long, metal "thingy" isn't a sharpener, it's a honing steel. Google it to find out what it does (I don't feel like typing it all out).

"This is my knife. There are many others like it, but this one is mine. My knife is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life. Without me, my knife is useless. Without my knife, I am useless."

Kenji, I am curious if there are any particular stones that you would recommend. Are any of the ones from Korin are fine? I only ask because the price seems to vary widly on places like Korin or even just going to Amazon or other sites such as that.

With all that being said, how often do you recommend sharpening knives? I have heard that every 6 months or so is necessary unless you are a professional. If it is only six months, and the cost of buy the stones can run over $100, isn't it probably better to get them professionaly sharpened if it only is going to cost $3/knife. Even sharpening 3 knives at a time, we are speaking of it taking nearly a decade to recoup the investment in nominal terms.

@running withscissors

Fixed. I originally had it in the article (the difference between honing and sharpening), but there were some behind-the-scenes issues with publishing. It's all there now. Thanks!

@missing_LA

I'd be wary of the $3 sharpeners. If it only costs you that much, then I guarantee they are using a grinding wheel rather than doing each knife by hand (hand sharpening takes around 20-30 minutes per knife, so no way they are doing it for $3). A grinding wheel will really wear out your blade (even more than some home electric knife sharpeners), and won't give you a very sharp edge.

But I do agree - 6 months is fine for most home cooks. I do mine once a month, but I use them pretty much all day every day.

You can get a single stone and a fixer for around $100 together, which is all you really need. And if you consider that it'll not only give you a sharper edge, but also extend the life of your knife significantly, then it makes economic sense as well.

I use the Lansky sharpening kit, which has an array of four or five stones to choose from as well as a jig that holds the knife at a reasonably precise angle to the stone, about every three months. It takes me about an hour to sharpen four or five knives, but I like the results. An hour is probably less time than it would take me to bring the knives to and from a pro.

any recommended brands?

@bgruber

I'm not a fan just because a mousepad is flexible, so you have less control over the angle. Maybe for some applications it's ok, but I like having a little more control.

FYI: for those who don't know it, the "mousepad" method is to glue fine grit sandpaper to an old moustpad and use it as a strop (pull the knife blade across is backwards, like a barber with a razor).

Kenji

@boyobarrie

The two wood-handled knives (one Yanagi and one Santoku w/ damascus steel) were custom from a maker in Tokyo. I got them over there... sorry! :)

@mousemanb

King vs. Mizuyama is just the different brand names. The mizuyama is a little higher end. I have one King 1200 and a Mizuyama 2000, and I don't really see much difference in terms of quality. If cost is your concern, I'd go ahead and get the less expensive King stones.

As for the angle, it's really something you just have to practice. Get an old knife and practice with it until you are able to maintain the angle through the entire stroke. After that, you can use it on your real knives.

For the most part, the angle is actually quite forgiving. Go anywhere between the 10 and 25 degree range, and you should be fine. With a lower angle, it'll take a little longer to sharpen, but you'll get a much sharper edge. The downside is that the edge will wear out faster. A bigger angle will be slightly more dull, but will last a long time. Even a 20 degree sharpened knife (since it's on both sides, the tip ends up being 40 degrees) will be sharp enough to shave with, so don't worry too much.

what about getting your knife sharpened at a store that sharpens knives for commerical use, will they tend to use a grinding stone as well or is it a different ball game for stores that cater to professional sharpening??

Thanks, Kenji! I've always been a bit nervous about sharpening my own knives, but I think I'm ready to give it a shot. Thanks for the article!

thanks for all your help, trying to justify making the investment considering there is a local store (Ambrosi Bros) that has a good reputation in town but didn't know that much about knife sharpening in general.

Seems like the better investment would be to buy the stones and go to their shop and pick up a few old knives for a dollar or two a piece to practice with before taking it to my daily knives.

I just sharpened my knives with the Lansky sharpening system.

I love that kit. It puts the best edge on a blade and they stay sharp for a long, long time. When the edge finally gives it up, I just pull the kit out and resharpen them. My fish filet knife sings right now.

What about sharpening a regular chef's knife, vs a santoku?

@Aya

Movement is the same for regular vs. santoku. If you are sharpening a single beveled Japanese style blade on the other hand, that's a different story. But I asume if you're buying those blade, you probably know what you are doing :)

And yes, that Wusthof is from my restaurant days where sharpening was a once a week job instead of once a month. I think I had that particular knife for three and a half years on the line. It's what took my through garde-manger.

It's also exaggerated a bit because I purposely ground the curve off of the edge as soon as I got it (most santokus have a slight arc to them), because I was using it for very specific cuts at the time and a flat edge was easier to use than a curved one.

Where did you read that about the dry vs. wet?

I've never tested sharpening on a plain ry stone just because I'm afraid to ruin a knife. But I know that when my stone starts to dry out durin gnormal use, the blade edge catches and nicks, so I try to always keep the stone wet.

As for pushing vs. pulling, you're right - there's not much difference, and they both work. The only problem with pushing is that it increase your chances of catching your blade on the edge of the stone and nicking the stone and chipping your blade.

To be honest, I usually don't actually lift the blade to reset it to the top position, I just stop putting any downward pressure on it, so it kind of glides across the surface of the stones without actually grinding.

@Aya

only inasmuch as most of them are Japanese. The bevelling of Japanese-style double beveled blades are generally more acute than western style. But it's not a santoku/western difference. For instance, I have a Global western-style knife that is beveled very acutely, because the beveling style is Japanese. On the other hand, the Wusthof santoku came with a more obtuse beveling (which I've since rendered more acute).

In the end, the angle of beveling is in user preference. A more acute bevel will give you a sharper edge, but will reduce the life of the edge, and you'll have to sharpen more frequently. I was going to talk about that, but figured that anyone who cares exactly what angle they are beveling at is probably an expert at this and won't be reading a basic "how-to" guide anyway, right?

@Kenji

What water stone brands do you recommend? What is the name of the black one in your photos? Where do you purchase your stones? Do you know of any websites with nice stones and good deals?

Thanks

OK, if you draw the knife towards you, you will create a burr on the other side. That was mentioned. Your first stroke on the other side will remove the burr.
When you complete the second side, won't you leave a burr on the first side??

@Dan Tran

True - I should have mentioned that. In that picture, you can see I'm not putting any pressure on the blade with the left hand, just guiding the angle. Thumbs work for this as well.

@Kenji

I was pretty sure it was on TheStraightDope but I'm having trouble finding it, so I could be wrong there. I did find an article that discusses how many people samurai swords could cut in half with one stroke though: http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2810/could-historic-japanese-samurai-swords-cut-a-human-body-in-two-with-one-stroke

Here's what I'm thinking: If you use a high grit dry stone, and you keep the metal dust from building up and you don't develop a burr (maybe alternate sides), I think it'd probably work. But the method you show in the slides is similar to how my father does it, so I'm inclined to stick with it!

And how timely- there's a few knives lying around that are as dull as Keanu Reeves.

Tried the King and SunTiger stones... don't like 'em one bit. Mass-produced and poorly made. I like the care that goes into Mizuyama and Kitayama - They last forever. I'm not sure about Naniwa since I haven't tried them. I was just wondering if there were better brands than these. They seem to monopolize the market in the U.S.

@resolutjc

I've had good results with mizuyama as well. That King was one of the first I've owned, and it's worked fine for me, as long as I fix it often. With stones, you basically get what you pay for, though even the cheapest will still do a decent job provided they are large enough.

@missing_LA

No - I've actually not tested the one from Mizuyama, and wasn't even aware that they made one. It's worth investigating!

I mostly recommended a single stone to beginners because for most people, a single stone sharpening is all they need. Once you get to the point in your knife skills where you can really tell the difference between a 1,000 grit and a 3,000 grit, then you'll probably be advanced enough that you'll know exactly what type of stone you'd like without having to look at my silly little sharpening guide :)

@ winternutt - nice take on the rifleman's creed! hoorah!

I recommend "knives cooks love," $11 on ebay. Great resource about knives, how to sharpen/hone, buy, use, everything!

For some reason I trusted two of our Japanese knives to a professional sharpener, and yes, he did use a grinder (ouch!). One had nicks from my previous inexperienced life, so I thought a little professional attention wouldn't hurt anyway. Now they are reasonably sharp, though nothing near their original sharpness when we bought them in Tokyo. But on getting them back, I had instant regrets. I have been maintaining all our knives myself with a good double-sided stone also purchased in Tokyo (the "fine" is as smooth as a baby's bottom), but I'm no expert. Will I be able to continue to sharpen these two sacrificial knives myself on a stone, and maybe reverse whatever damage was done? Thank goodness I didn't experiment by giving him my favorites, but these were still valuable and useful knives before I made my foolish mistake.

There's been several questions about Dry vs Wet. All waterstones are intended to be used wet. Not just wet, but need to be soaked in water for 15-20 minutes before being used. (Don't soak longer than that.)
Understand that it's the slurry (paste) formed by sliding the knife over the stone that does the actual sharpening. As someone said it's like toothpaste, or jewelers rouge used to polish metal. Thus if the stone starts to dry as you use it, you need to sprinkle a few drops of water on it to keep the slurry "pasty".

Tom, 300-400 grit stones will take a lot of metal off the blade. It's best to start with a standard 800-1000 grit stone and then if you want finer results, something like a 3000-4000 grit stone for making the blade scary sharp.

@Bill Woods:

I believe you can go by every 6 months on the water stone; hence twice a year.

Though to hone using a steel, use about 6 to 8 strokes per side between each use. If using a diamond steel, don't press too hard and hone less often since diamond steel's remove metal with ease.

@kenji

Thanks for the article. I quit my software job last year to get in the kitchen, and managed to land a job at a very nice restaurant. Worked prep for a few months, and am getting the hang of garde manger.

I've always been curious about using sharpening stones, and hadn't found an alternative method I'm happy with, but after reading your article, I bought 1000 and 6000 grit stones (and a fixer ... pat on head) from Korin. My knives, especially the little 6-inch Wusthof chef's I use as a utility knife on the line, have gotten pretty dull over the last 8 months. I sharpened them all today for the first time, and now I have a little bald spot on my forearm from testing :)

I'm very happy to have found a good way to keep my knives razor-sharp, it makes my job easier and much more pleasant. Definitely agree with you on bonding with your blades. So thanks again!

Now about that serrated slicer...

Followup: I realize that I'm advising a different technique from that described in the slide-show. Your mileage may vary.

Mine is based on using a fairly aggressive abrasive, like an India stone. Maybe the Japanese waterstones work better the other way, i.e. pulling the blade across the stone with the edge trailing, not leading.

BTW, that is one beautiful pattern-welded Santoku !!