Budget Knives

                                           How To Sharpen A Knife                                              

      Safety is the most important issue when using knives.  To prevent cutting yourself, always use a sharp knife.  An old saying is, "using a dull knife is an accident waiting to happen."  Stay safe and use these easy instructions to always keep a keen edge on all your knives.

 1.  For this primer on knife sharpening, we're going to use a standard whetstone having fine and coarse sides.  Use of a light oil or even occasionally washing the stone in water will help keep the pores of the stone from clogging with grit and allow the stone to sharpen your blade faster. Set the stone on a work bench or table with either the oil or a pan of water nearby.

2.  Take a look at Fig.1.  Notice the blade has a bevel on the cutting edge.  Now look at figure 2 and see how the blade is placed at a 45 degree angle on the stone.  The angle of the bevel in Fig.1 and the 45 degree angle of the blade in relation to the stone in Fig. 2 are the two angles we will try to maintain while we sharpen the knife.

 

3.  Lay your blade flat on the coarse side of the stone and raise it off the stone approximately 20 degrees as in Fig.3   Alternately hone each side of the blade maintaining the 45 degree angle to the edge of the stone and the 20 degree angle between the stone and the bevel.  By alternating each stroke from one side of the blade to the other you will ensure that you create an even bevel on your blade.  Continue honing each side 8 or 10 times or more until you feel a definite improvement in the sharpness of the bevel.  A very dull knife will take more strokes. Now you're ready for the final step.

4.  Now that you have a basic edge on the blade, it's a time to create the final bevel. This will strengthen the edge, so that it stays sharp longer and is less prone to be damaged by everyday use. You'll create the bevel simply by turning the stone over to the fine side and raising the blade a bit higher off the stone to a 25 degree or 30 degree angle.  See fig. 4.  Continue alternately stroking each side of the blade at the increased angle on the fine side of the stone until you have achieved the proper sharpness.

 

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