How to Sharpen a Kitchen Knife

Pop quiz: Which is safer, a blunt knife or a sharp one?

Duh, a blunt knife, of course! Except actually, no. A blunt knife is a recipe for disaster.

Sharp knives are easier to control. They behave in predictable ways and go where you tell them to. Blunt knives and prone to slipping and sliding and causing injuries in the process.

So, if you’ve got a drawer full of blunt knives, you need to learn how to sharpen them and keep them sharp. Let’s look at how to sharpen a kitchen knife whether you’re a beginner or a pro.

How to Tell Your Knife Needs Sharpening

Sometimes you just know because it’s a nightmare getting a straight cut in a carrot. But it’s also possible to just get used to dull knives and not really feel how blunt they are.

The best way to test is to grab a tomato. If it doesn’t slice through in one easy motion, it’s blunt.

The second way is the paper test. Take a piece of copier paper, hold it up, and try to slice it in two. A sharp knife will do a clean job and a blunt one will just crumple the paper.

How to Sharpen a Kitchen Knife

It can be confusing to know the best way to sharpen a kitchen knife because there is so much conflicting information out there. In this tutorial, we’ll focus on the best methods for home cooks:

• Sharpening Steel
• Manual knife sharpener
• Electric knife sharpener

We’ll also make a quick mention of how to use a whetstone. However, whetstones are finicky and take more skill than the other options.

How to Use a Sharpening Steel

To keep a professional chef knives set in good condition, you have to sharpen them regularly. And the easiest method is to bust out the sharpening steel.

Technically, what you’re doing here is honing and not sharpening. That means that you’re restoring the edge the manufacturer put on the blade, rather than creating a new one. We’ve all seen chefs dramatically swiping their knives against sharpening steels in cooking shows.

That looks great, but it’s not the safest or most sure-fire way to get a great sharp edge. Instead, take your steel and plant it firmly in the middle of a wooden cutting board. Keep your hand well out of the way of the blade that’ll be incoming shortly.

Professional kitchen knives these days tend to be sharpened to a 15-degree angle. Some older-style knives are sharpened to 20 degrees. Take your knife and set the butt end at a 15 or 20-degree angle, depending on your knife.

Sweep the blade along the steel, maintaining the correct angle and applying light pressure the whole time. Now repeat with the other edge of the blade. Do this five times on each side and test your knife again.

Don’t think that more swipes are better. If 5 swipes on each side aren’t cutting it then it’s time to move on to a full resharpening.

To keep your knives in great condition, hone them after every three uses of so. For the average home cook, a couple of times a week is fine, and it only takes moments once you get into the swing of it.

Manual Knife Sharpener

A manual knife sharpener is a small device that sits on the countertop. Sometimes they have a suction grip or a clip to hold them in place. This can provide important stability that makes them safer to use.

They usually come with two v-shaped sections for you to pull the blade through. The first is for sharpening and the second is for honing. Most manual sharpeners are not adjustable so will only sharpen to the angle they are set at, usually 15 of 20-degrees. 

Manual sharpeners use abrasive wheels. Generally, diamond sharpeners produce the best results.

Place the butt end of your knife in the v-shaped section. In a steady but fluid motion, draw your blad through the chamber. The abrasive wheels will remove a tiny amount of metal from the blade, so a few filings are normal.

Repeat this according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Usually, three or four passes will be enough. If your sharpener has a second honing chamber, finish it off with a few passes through it.

If not, use a manual sharpening steel to complete the process.

Electric Knife Sharpener

An electric knife sharpener works on the same principle as a manual one. However, the abrasive wheels are driven by a motor. Guides hold the blade in position to produce the perfect angle.

There is no need to exert any pressure on the blade. Simply pull it through the chamber with the motor running. Some luxury models have three chambers, each containing progressively finer abrasives.

Sharpening a kitchen knife is easy with an electric knife sharpener. It requires no skill and the best models can create an edge that is as good as if not better than the manufacturer’s original.

They are also able to repair knives. When you’re cutting bones or other hard substances, it’s possible for a kitchen knife to develop notches.

Repeatedly passing your knife through an electric knife sharpener should get those notches out. You can restore a razor-sharp edge.

A Word on Whetstones

Many chefs would use nothing other than a whetstone to sharpen their knives. They are stones that have a coarse and a fine side. You soak them in water, and then run your blade over them at the correct angle.

They are a fantastic and relatively inexpensive way to keep a kitchen knife sharp. However, they require practice and patience. But if you want to care for your knives like a pro chef, a whetstone is the way to go. 

One Final Hack

Don’t have a knife sharpener at home? Grab an old plate and place it upside down on the counter. If it has a rough edge beneath, you’re good to go.

Use this as a makeshift whetstone for small knives. Find the right angle and pull the blade along the rough surface. This will sharpen a kitchen knife in a pinch.

Don’t Let Dull Knives Hold You Back

Now you know how to sharpen a kitchen knife there’s no excuse to fail the tomato test ever again.

These kitchen knife sharpening tips will keep you safe and more productive in the kitchen. It only takes a few minutes, once a week or so to keep them in fantastic condition.

For more great hints, tips, and hacks, head over to our Lifestyle section today!