Welcome to part II of the knife series. Today we will be focusing on knife sharpening. Have you ever has a difficult time slicing a tomato? Or your food ended up looked more smashed than sliced? Or the knife seemed to roll off the food rather than cut into the food? These are all signs of a dull knife.
Not only is keeping your knife sharp beneficial for the food, its actually safer for you. A dull knife will slip and slide, rather than slice and glide; and a slipping knife always seems to find a finger to cut. Not only that, but being cut by a dull knife will hurt more. Why is that? A dull knife tears and rips, resulting in bruising to form around the cut. A sharp knife will produce a cleaner cut that will heal faster.
Your food reacts the same way. Have you ever minced basil? You hold down the tip of your knife down on the cutting board, and then run over the basil with the heel of the knife; the result is dark green, almost blackish basil that smells slightly sour. What happened in that scenario is the basil was brutally mashed and ground into the cutting board. Resulting in all of the delicious juices spilling and being left behind on the board.
Now, have you ever chiffonade basil? Rolling it into a log and delicately sliced with a sharp knife, so that you could sprinkle bright green ribbons like confetti across your meal. By slicing into the basil all of the flavor is intact and ready to be added to your meal.
Cutting with a dull knife also causes us to over exert ourselves. You need to create more pressure to force a dull knife through your food. Ever cut a steak with a butter knife? You have to saw and saw just to get through, and by the time you are rewarded with a bite, your arm is tired.
So why exactly should we keep our knives sharp?
- Its safer for our fingers
- Our food stays intact with its juices and flavor so that we can reap all of the benefits.
- Its easier and more energy efficient to cut with a sharp knife.
There are two tools that you will need to maintain a sharp knife.
The whetstone: Also known as a sharpening stone. Whether it is made from natural or artificial materials, this is the tool that is going to put an edge on your blade.
While you can use oil to lubricate a whetstone, I prefer to use water. Oil tends to be messy and requires more attention. If you are using a whetstone every once in a while to maintain your knife, you do not need to put yourself through that hassle.
You can purchase a whetstone in a hardware store, or a specialty kitchen shop. It is more convenient to have a stone that has a double sided abrasion, with one side being a coarse grit, and the other a finer grit, you are able to satisfy your sharpening requirements. I use a Shun 300/1000 grit sharpening stone.
How to use a whetstone: Place your stone in a bowl of very hot water. You will notice bubbles rushing out of the stone. Allow the stone to soak in the water until bubbles are no longer escaping from the stone. Remove the stone from the water and secure it either on the stand that it came with, or with a wet towel.
Begin with the heel of your knife on the stone, at a 20-22°, (imagine the height of 3 pennies stacked). Guide the knife heel to tip across the stone, while applying pressure along the spine with your other hand. If you are sharpening a western style blade, (see knife article part 1) sharpen each side equal amount of times at a 20-22° angle. If you are sharpening a japanese style blade; apply a 20-22° angle on the sharp side, and a 5-10° angle on the flat side of the blade.
If you are using a stone that has two grades of grit, start with the coarser grit first, then move on to the finer grit to polish your edge. Be sure to clean your knife after you sharpen it.
The butchers steel: Also known as a honing steel, or a sharpening rod. This handy tool does not actually sharpen your knife. It does help you maintain your edge in between sharpening sessions. Back in the day, before the butchers steel was created, people would hone their knifes along the spine of another knife.
Why is a butchers steel useful? Imagine your knife edge under a microscope, the edge is made up of tiny fibers that look like thin triangles. There are hundreds of these thin fibers. If your knife is dull, the fibers will be pointing in every direction. If your knife is sharp, the fibers will all point in the same direction. The butchers steel is a bit like a comb for those fibers. By running your knife over the steel, you are essentially straightening those fibers.
How to use a butchers steel: A steel can be used before and after you use your knife, or can be used every once and a while. There are two ways to hold a butchers steel.
Hold the steel which ever way is comfortable for you. Begin with the heel of the knife on the steel at a 20° angle, and glide the blade diagonally across the steel – heel to the tip of the knife, while the steel remains stationary. Each side of the knife should be done an equal amount of times, while maintaining the 20° angle throughout each stroke. When you are finished be sure to wipe the blade off, some fibers may have come loose during the honing process.
Keep in mind these are new skills, they will seem awkward at first. When I first began sharpening my knives on a whetstone, I doubt I really maintained the perfect angle. Enjoy the process of learning your knife. I can tell when my knife is sharp by the sound it makes on the whetstone. It sounds like the blade sings. The ringing of the metal across stone becomes crystal clear.
In your community: Once you get used to sharpening your knives, offer to show your friends. Host a Knife Spa Day!
Hearth 
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