Sharpening stones to sharpen knives
With a whetstone you can sharpen a knife and keep it sharp. A whetstone, also called a whetstone , is a professional and refined way to sharpen your knives. It is one of the oldest ways to sharpen knives and is often used for real professional chef's knives and Japanese knives. Sharpening with a whetstone is therefore an age-old custom and it still works best. Knives become really super sharp again.
Buying a sharpening stone, what should you pay attention to?
Do you want
to buy a sharpening stone
? Then it is good to first think about which knives you want to sharpen with the sharpening stone. Japanese and European knives have different angles at which they have to be sharpened. The sharpening angle of a Japanese knife is 15 degrees and that of a European knife is 20 degrees. You can easily maintain these angles when you use a sharpening stone. You keep the knife at the correct sharpening angle when you move it back and forth calmly. With other knife sharpeners it is not so easy to maintain these different sharpening angles. For example with a pull-through sharpener. Here you pull the knife through the sharpener and you cannot determine the sharpening angle yourself. That is why we recommend using a sharpening stone, especially with a Japanese knife.
The different types of sharpening stones
Sharpening stones come in different types. What distinguishes sharpening stones from each other is the grain size, from a small, fine grain to a large, coarse grain. KookGigant sharpening stones come in five sizes with different grain sizes. Coarse grains are used for knives that are blunt and the fine grain is used to keep a knife sharp. Which sharpening stone you need therefore depends entirely on the condition of your knife. KookGigant sharpening stones are double-sided. This means that they have two different grain sizes. Choose the right grain for your knife:
The Right Grit Size for Your Knife
| Grit 200-600
|
Restoring a Really Dull Knife |
| Grit 800-1000
|
Sharpening relatively blunt knives |
| Grit 2000-3000
|
Sharpening normal relatively sharp knives |
| Grit 3000-8000
|
Sharpens/polishes razor blades |
If you want to keep a knife sharp, a sharpening stone with a 2000/3000 or 3000/8000 grit is sufficient. For a blunt knife, you need multiple sharpening stones to sharpen the knife and get it sharp again. You sharpen the blunt knife from grit 200 to 3000 to get the knife sharp again. Then you make it razor sharp with the 3000/8000 sharpening stone .
Japanese sharpening stones
A sharpening stone for chef's knives has its origins in Japan. There, sharpening stones have been used for centuries by Japanese chefs. The reason is simple, a Japanese sharpening stone gives the best result. It is the way to get your chef's knife razor-sharp and to cut your ingredients finely without resistance.
A sharpening stone gives you the most control during sharpening. This control is important for the lifespan of your chef's knives. Every time you sharpen a knife, you remove a layer of steel from the knife. With the sharpening stone, you have control over the sharpening angle and how much pressure you apply. The more often you sharpen, the sooner your knife becomes unusable. If you maintain your chef's knives well, you only need to use a sharpening stone 1 to 2 times a year. Of course, you then use a sharpening stone with the finest profile to keep your knives razor-sharp.
In addition to a sharpening stone, there are other methods to sharpen your knife. For example, a pull-through knife sharpener or an electric knife sharpener. The disadvantage of these two is that you often remove more steel from the knife than is really necessary. By using a sharpening stone, you have more control over how much steel you sharpen from the knife. On the other hand, a disadvantage of the Japanese sharpening stone is that it takes more time to sharpen than the other sharpening methods.
How do you sharpen a knife with a whetstone?
Using a sharpening stone is very simple. In the steps below we will explain step by step how to get your knife sharp again with a sharpening stone.
- Choose a sharpening stone grit that suits the condition of your knife. Is your knife very blunt? Then take a sharpening stone with a coarse grit. Do you want to make your knife even sharper? Then you can take a finer grit.
- Place the sharpening stone in a layer of water and let it soak for 10 to 15 minutes. A sharpening stone should always be moist during sharpening. If you feel that the sharpening stone is getting dry, you can simply wet it under the tap.
- Place the sharpening stone with the coarse grit size (the side with the lowest number) facing up and determine the sharpening angle for your knife. Knives made of hard steel (HRC 60 or higher) are sharpened at a sharp angle of 15 degrees. Japanese knives belong to this category. Knives with a lower degree of hardness, such as German knives (HRC 54-58) are sharpened at an angle of 20 degrees.
- For the actual sharpening there are two methods. The first is the traditional or Japanese style. Place the sharpening stone vertically on your kitchen counter.
- With one hand, lightly grasp the handle and with your other hand, place your index, middle and ring fingers on the blade.
- Move the knife carefully back and forth over the whetstone. Do not apply too much pressure. Slide the knife slightly more crooked than horizontal over the whetstone while you sharpen. Do this over the entire length of the knife.
- Sharpen the knife until you feel or see a steel wire on the edge of the knife. You can see this on the other side of the blade that has been in contact with the sharpening stone. When this happens, you can turn the knife over and run the knife along the sharpening stone a few times again. This removes the steel residue from the blade.
- Repeat steps 6 and 7 with the other side of the blade
- Now it's time for the second sharpening technique. Place the knife over the entire length of the sharpening stone. Pull the entire blade over the sharpening stone in one go. From the tip to the handle. This method is called the pull method. You do this so that the blade is equally sharp in all places.
- Repeat step 9 on the other side of the blade
- Don't forget to dry both the sharpening stone and the knife well. Your knife is now ready to use again!
Sharpening stones from KookGigant
Traditional sharpening stones have the same grit size on both sides. At KookGigant we have sharpening stones with a different grit size on each side . This allows you to quickly switch sides when you need a finer or coarser grit size. This is handy and means you don't need two sharpening stones.
All KookGigant sharpening stones are sent with a free bamboo holder. This bamboo holder is equipped with a non-slip layer. The sharpening stone and holder always remain neatly on the countertop during sharpening.
