Know Your Tools A sharp knife is the single most important tool in your kitchen. Having or buying a good one is one thing, but keeping it sharp is another. When you already have a good set of knives at home, the sharpening process becomes even more important than the knives themselves. But there's nothing to worry about, it's simpler than you think. A basic sharpening set is all we need to sharpen our knives. The essential part of the set is a good combination water stone. This stone has two sides and the one with #1000 grit and #3000 grit is the most popular and universal one. Leather strop for the finishing process. For learning how to sharpen our knives, we also need a blunt knife. It doesn't really matter if it's Japanese, or any other kind, but good forged knives are easier to sharpen. We also need a piece of cork. The sharpening set also includes an Angle clip, and we recommend using a measuring tape and Scotch tape. Let's start with a plastic bucket for water and a sink bridge stone holder. If you don't have one, simply put the water stone directly on the table. Just be careful not to make too big of a mess! Tap water of room temperature. Soak the sharpening stone in the water for about 30 minutes. Relax and observe the bubbles until they stop surfacing. This is a key part of the process to get into Zen mood. Now sit back and listen to my advice on how to begin sharpening. Having a good understanding of the process and related terminology is more important than to strictly follow the moves. Remember, there's no one, right way. These are just guidelines to help you get the desired result. How to prepare knife for sharpening? Before attaching the angle clip to the knife's blade, first protect the blade by putting Scotch tape on both sides to prevent any scratches to the blade's surface. When attaching the angle clip on an average-size, multi-purpose knife, placing it in the middle of the blade is the best option. Push it all the way in. The angle clip is essential for maintaining a steady angle during this, and all future sharpening sessions. The correct angle for a multi-purpose Japanese knife is between 14 and 16 degrees. The angle clip is one size, and will give you the approximate correct angle only for the knives that are between 1.5 and 2 inches wide. Despite having an angle clip that maintains the same angle on both sides, the result of our sharpening will be an asymmetrical angle. The asymmetrical angle of Japanese style knives actually makes a lot of sense. Moving the center of the edge slightly to one side, makes the knife suitable for the use by left, or right-handed users. It also makes our sharpening process easier, and helps us when cutting food. The center of the edge will, in my case, move a little to the left of the spine of the blade. I'm right-handed. Thicker edge on the right side of the blade, thinner edge on the left side of the blade. Sharpening a knife in this way is easier because I naturally tend to use my right hand more. It's also practical. When cutting food on a cutting board, the blade will push the food away from the hand holding it. There are different techniques for checking your knife's sharpness. "Fingertip" test "Paper" test "Hair" test And of course, cutting food. All the tests will give you some indication about your knife's sharpness, but only one will tell you how sharp is your knife along the entire curve of the blade. The "Nail" test! It's the best and most precise Japanese method to test the different levels of sharpness along every millimeter of the blade. The "Nail" test is also a perfect indicator of different sharpening stages, which we cannot see, but can only feel, and tells us exactly when we can move to the next step of the process. Don't worry, the nail will survive! Just use the weight of the knife gently, and don't press too hard. In its essence, sharpening is all about creating a burr, and removing it. And understanding what a burr is, is key to achieving perfect sharpness. So what is a burr? After sharpening both sides of the blade, the two new edges will come together in a point where we could expect the peak of the edge, but instead this is where we create a burr. A burr is hard to see, but we can feel it if we gently run our fingertips along the edge. It feels like microscopic steel filings that still stick to the blade. The best way to check if we created a burr is the "Fingernail" test. If the blade doesn't move smoothly across the nail, but feels like it's catching and digging into the nail, we have a burr! If the blade slides smoothly across the nail, no burr! So again, when we create two perfect new edges, they come together in a point where we would expect a sharp edge. But where instead, we create a rough or raised edge of leftover steel, this is a burr. When doing a "Nail" test, some of the burr can sometimes fall off, and we can see it with the naked eye. It looks like a sliver of steel. A nice, clean profile of the blade without any nicks or broken tip, is essential before creating a new edge. A clean line means easier and faster sharpening, and a better final result. To restore the shape, we'll use the lateral side of our water stone. It's best to use the coarse #1000 grit stone. We don't want to damage its main surface because we'll need it later for sharpening. Gently draw the blade backwards and forwards over the surface of the stone and monitor the process until you restore its original, clean and elegant curve. Don't worry! You're not destroying your knife. You're just making a foundation for creating a new edge. We begin sharpening with the coarse #1000 grit side of the water stone. We first hold the knife with our dominant, in my case, right hand. Firmly grip the handle and place the index finger on the angle clip, and your thumb on the blade. Hold the blade steady, so it meets the stone at a 45 degree angle. Place the fingertips of your other hand on the blade between the angle clip and the edge, and slightly closer to the edge. Maintaining pressure with your fingertips on the blade, push FIRMLY away from you, and GENTLY come back. Continue with this forward and backward motion along the entire blade. While doing this, slurry is created on the water stone. Do not remove this residue because it speeds up the sharpening process. Now when we know how to keep the knife steady with our main hand, and lightly guide the movement forward and backward with other hand, let's spice things up a bit! The blade is not straight, but forms a slight curve from its heel to its tip. In order to sharpen the entire edge of the blade, we also have to start moving it up and down. While pushing the knife back and forth, we'll lift the handle UP to sharpen the tip of the knife, and press the handle DOWN to sharpen the heel of the knife. Pushing the knife forward and backward in a smooth, sweeping motion, and combining this with moving the handle up and down in a rocking motion, will help us sharpen the tip of the blade as well as its heel, and protect the curve of the knife's blade. Try it! You will get a feel for it. Now when we have mastered the correct sharpening moves, we will continue sharpening the blade on this side until we create a burr. If we cannot see it, the easiest way to feel a burr is with a "Nail", or "Fingertip" test. Now that we have a burr, we can change sides. It's harder to do this process with our other, non-dominant hand, in my case, left hand. But don't worry, we'll sharpen this side a lot less because we want to create an asymmetrical angle. We'll only sharpen the other side of the blade long enough to flip the burr back to the other, front side. Clean the water stone, and change sides 2 to 3 times. Now we are ready for the fine grit stone. Take the water stone out of the water, so that its #3000 fine grit side faces upward. It's important not to use water from the bucket which has rough stone grit in it . Rinse the stone with fresh, clean water. Also, rinse the knife and angle clip, or wipe them with a wet cloth. Repeat the initial steps, but now place the fingertips of your other hand closer to the edge. Continue with pushing the knife forward and backward, and combine it with moving the handle up and down. The process is the same as with the coarse grit stone, only now, your strokes should be gentler and smoother. The fine grit stone produces a burr so small that we cannot see it with our naked eye, or feel it with our fingertips. The only solution is the "Fingernail" test. If the blade is catching and digging into the nail, we have a burr. If the blade slides smoothly across the nail, no burr. Change sides, rinsing the stone and knife each time, until you feel a burr running all the way from the heel to the tip of the blade. Perfect! We have a burr! We're ready for the next step. Honing is a process that will remove the burr and improve the geometric form of an edge. To hone the blade, we'll use a #3000 fine grit stone. The stone has to be as clean as possible. Again, rinse it with fresh, clean water and also clean the knife and angle clip. Use the same movement as with sharpening, but now try to include the entire length of the blade, from its tip to its heel. But do not pull it back! Change sides with every stroke and stay focused on every move. At this stage, the blade will not forgive any mistakes. Do 10 strokes on each side. When you now slide the blade across your fingernail, you'll feel a little less catching on its surface. And when you run your fingertips along the blade, you will feel first signs of sharpness. Clean everything carefully, and we are ready for the final step. I hope you have the cork ready. Prepare the leather strop. The angle of the knife on the leather strop is the same as the one you get with the angle clip - just a few degrees more. Push the blade up and down the leather, always moving AWAY from the edge. Use medium pressure and gentle strokes, going from the heel to the tip of the blade, changing sides for each stroke. Pull the blade through the cork to completely remove all the burr. Do a "Fingernail" test, and you should feel the blade sliding across the nail effortlessly. The blade doesn't catch or dig into the nail, and maybe it'll feel like it's not sharp. Don't be fooled - it's sharp. So handle with care! The blade glides smoothly across our nail and we have a perfectly sharp knife. But how sharp is it? We have a few different and simple methods to determine the sharpness of our knife. The "Paper" test. A sharp blade should slice right through normal printing paper, making a smooth cut and almost no sound. It's about 10 to 20 percent harder to cut through a thinner and softer newspaper. Good, we did it! The biggest challenge is to cut through a soft paper towel, or toilet paper. Oh no, we're still far, far away. Don't worry. This is a basic sharpening class. Advanced sharpening class videos are coming soon. The "Tomato" test. It's not only important how easily and finely we can slice a tomato, our goal is to achieve a combination of sliding smoothly across a fingernail, and effortlessly slicing vegetables. This kind of sharpness will create a clean cut that doesn't break open the cells, and therefore preserves its juices and freshness. If you ticked off all the sharpness tests, it's time for the "Youtube" test. Just don't forget to press RECORD on camera. And finally, we come to my definition of the ultimate Japanese sharpness: The "Carrot" test. It's not so important how much pressure we need to apply to slice a carrot, the superior smoothness of the sliced carrot is what makes all the difference. When you put the sliced carrot in your mouth, you should experience a nice, clean sensation - like licking glass. Congratulations on completing our Beginner's Knife Sharpening Guide! Remember, practice makes perfect!
