Knowing how to properly sharpen a knife will not only give knives a longer life, but will be easier and safer to use. We suggest using a knife steel to sharpen all your kitchen knives. The knife steel is often misused or simply forgotten about, however, it can turn any dull knife into a new and improved kitchen tool.
A good question to address before we learn how to sharpen kitchen knives is: Why do knives dull? With each cut, slice, or chop made with a knife, the straight edge of the blade slowly becomes bent, dinged, and dented on a microscopic level. Nevertheless, this natural wear and tear dulls the knife after days, months, or years of use.
Sharpening a knife with a steel simply straightens out the blade edge by smoothing those dings and dents. However, to get the best results from your steel it’s also important to understand how to sharpen correctly.
Step One
Put your steel on a cutting board and grip the handle tightly. Start by holding your knife at a 90 degree angle, and a 15 degree angle to sharpen.
Step Two
Start at the bottom of the blade, at the top of the steel, and move the knife blade toward the tip as you work your way down the steel.
Step Three
Alternate each side of the blade as you sharpen to get equal smoothness on each side of the blade.
Watch our 40 second video on how to properly sharpen your knife with a steel and start sharpening like a pro.
