Sharpening Knives - The Ultimate Guide
Sharp knives are essential in the kitchen and if you want to ensure that your knives are always as sharp as possible, then it requires that the knives are sharpened from time to time. Sharpening knives can be a science in itself, and it can be difficult to get an overview and find an easy way to approach this process.
Therefore, we have tried here to make knife sharpening easy and manageable. Here you get an in-depth guide to sharpening knives, as well as other tips and tricks to help you always have sharp knives in your kitchen drawer.
Why you should have sharp knives
A sharp knife ensures that it is the knife and not you that should do the work. This means that your movements with the knife become smoother. The knife does what you intend it to do - and it will therefore not "slip" or do anything unexpected, which could put you in danger.
In addition, a sharp knife ensures beautiful cuts. Whether you are slicing vegetables, cutting meat or through bread.
Knives become dull over time
No matter how strong the steel your knife is made of, it will become duller over time. How quickly this happens depends on what you cut into, how often you cut, the material and not least, how well you take care of your knives.
Different knife types require different sharpening methods
When you maintain your knives, it is important to know that different knife types require different sharpening methods to achieve optimal sharpness and durability. For example, a chef's knife often requires finer sharpening, as it is used for precision work such as slicing vegetables and meat. Bread knives, which have serrated blades, on the other hand require a different method, as they are not sharpened in the traditional way with a sharpening stone. Instead, you can use a special sharpening machine or have a professional sharpen the teeth on the knife.
Choosing sharpening tools
When it comes to choosing a sharpening tool, there are several options, each with their own advantages and disadvantages.
Sharpening stones
Sharpening stones are the most traditional method of sharpening knives and provide the most precise control over the sharpening process. The advantage of sharpening stones is that you can choose different grit sizes depending on how dull your knife is.
Honing steel
Honing steel is primarily used to maintain the sharpness of the knife between sharpenings. It straightens the knife edge and prolongs the knife's sharpness, but it does not sharpen the knife in the traditional sense.
Sharpening machines
Sharpening machines are usually the method used when you have your knife sharpened by a professional. It is an effective way to do it - but it is a solution that is ideal for few, as it is a large machine and investment to sharpen your knives once every six months.
Maintain your knives with a honing steel
If you take a microscope and look at the end of your knife blade, you will be able to see a lot of ridges and irregularities in the knife edge. This happens quite naturally when you use the knives.
The best way to keep your knives sharp is by smoothing out these ridges with a honing steel.
Click here and see our article where Thomas Rode demonstrates how to use a honing steel.
There is a reason why I say maintain - and not sharpen. Because a honing steel does not sharpen anything. It only straightens the knife edge, which means that your knives stay sharper.
To sharpen your knives, you need to get hold of another tool. We'll take a look at that now⤵
What you need to sharpen your knives
There are several ways you can sharpen your knives. You can go to a professional and get it done for something like 50 kroner per knife. You can buy a large sharpening machine to your home or a knife sharpener, which you just run your knife through. Last, but not least, you can use a sharpening stone, which is my favorite method.
The reason I prefer a sharpening stone over a knife sharpener is that it is gentler on the knife than a knife sharpener.
A quick introduction to sharpening stones
We have a whole article about sharpening stones, which you can read here. Therefore, in this article I will only give a quick introduction.
Sharpening stones can be thought of as sandpaper for knives. It comes in different grit sizes - some are very coarse, and others are finer. The coarse sharpening stones are used to straighten the knife edge (just like a honing steel) - and the finer ones are used to sharpen the knives.
All of our sharpening stones at Gastrotools have two sides - one coarse and one finer.
To learn how to sharpen your knives with a sharpening stone, click here. Here you get the full guide to choosing grit size, sharpening angle and everything else you need to know to sharpen your knives with a sharpening stone.
How often should you sharpen your knives?
As a rule of thumb, you should always take your ceramic honing steel out of the drawer when you take your knife out of the drawer. Then you give it a couple of strokes and put your honing steel back in the drawer.
When it comes to sharpening stones, two sharpenings a year are often enough to keep them sharp, if you remember to use your honing steel regularly.
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