How to Sharpen Knives

Must-have tool #2: A steel

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A steel

A “steel” is a steel rod with a finely grooved surface.

A steel is the shorthand term for a steel rod used to straighten knife edges. Any decent knife set includes one, but few people know exactly what it does, much less how to properly use it. If you don't have a steel, go buy one for about $20. Joe will show you how to use it to maintain a sharp edge. Don't waste your money getting a diamond-coated surface. You don't need it.

All the sharpening tools you'll need are available anywhere knives are sold. Go online and search for specific products or generic tool names. Or just visit Joe's store at eversharpknives.com.

3 Steps to sharp

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Photo 1: Rough out the edge

Draw the knife through the coarse notch with light pressure until you feel it glide smoothly without any catches. Those indicate nicks or very dull spots. Heavy pressure doesn't help; it'll just remove more material and wear away the knife.

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Photo 2: Check with the thumbnail test (be careful)

Set the blade lightly on your nail and drag it toward the end. If it skates over your nail, it's not ready for the next step yet. Repeat passes and test until the knife “sticks” to your nail.

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Photo 3: Hone the edge

Make a few light passes through the fine ceramic “V” and your knife is ready for kitchen work.

Go for good enough— not perfection!
Super-sharp edges are great—at first. Then the razor edge quickly dulls. That's because an edge that sharp is necessarily very thin, and it bends and dulls easily because there's not enough metal to support it. A knife that'll easily slice through food is sharp enough. The tomato test (below) will tell you when a knife is ready for food prep.

Follow Photos 1 – 3 for the 3-step sharpening process. After sharpening and before any food prep, wipe off the blade with a cloth to remove any metal filings.

Joe says, “Don't strive for razor-sharp edges—'sharp-enough' edges stay sharp longer.”

When to take your knives to a pro
If you follow Joe's instructions and still can't get a good edge, chances are your knives have been abused to the point that they need a pro's touch to restore the edge. You can do it yourself, but it takes expensive electric tools or a lot of tricky manual grinding on a stone. But for well under $10 per knife, a sharpening shop can bring your edges to better-than-new condition. Then you'll be able to keep them that way using Joe's techniques. Search online for “knife sharpening” followed by your city and you'll surely find a local sharpener. And don't give up on high-quality knives that have a chip or notch in the blade. A pro can grind out any imperfections and reshape the edge. Yes, you'll have a slightly narrower blade, but you won't even notice.

Joe says, “If you cook five meals a week, take your knives to a pro for a tune-up once or twice a year.”

Use a steel—often!

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Photo 1: Steel at a 22-degree angle

Start by holding the knife at 90 degrees to the steel. Cut that in half and you'll be at 45 degrees. Cut it in half again and you'll be very close to 22 degrees, a good angle for steeling. Don't fret about having the exact angle; this system will get you close enough.

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Photo 2: Drag it down as you pull

Start near the handle and drag the edge downward as you pull it toward you. Use the entire length of the steel.

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Photo 3: Switch sides on each pass

Then repeat the process on the other side of the steel. Repeat five or so times and you're ready for cutting.

Steeling restores the edge
Chefs and meat cutters frequently pause and “steel” their cutting edges. Steeling doesn't sharpen an edge; it straightens it. That's necessary because the thin edge actually bends or warps while you're cutting. If you could see the edge under a microscope, it would look wavy, and it would feel dull while cutting. Steeling the knife straightens out all those waves to restore a straight, even cutting edge. So when your knife begins to seem dull, don't sharpen it—steel it first. Every time you grab a knife for the first time to begin cutting, steel it before you even get started. But it's important to do it right or you'll just make the edge worse. And don't act like one of the Iron Chefs on TV and do it all up in the air—you'll eventually wind up in the ER. Rest the end of the steel on a cutting board and do your steeling the safer and more accurate way. It's very important that you steel at an angle between 20 and 30 degrees. Photo 1 shows you how to figure that out.

If your knife isn't restored by steeling, you may need to hit the fine ceramic stone a few times. You should rarely need the coarse notch after your knife is properly sharpened. That is, unless you've wrecked the edge by cutting on a too-hard surface or trying to hog your way through a bone. If that's the case, you'll have to hit the coarse and then the fine.

Joe says, “The steel keeps a knife sharp.”

Photo A: Wavy edge

Photo B: Even edge

The Purpose of Steeling

Photo A shows what your knife edge looks like after a dinner's worth of cutting—all bent and wavy.“ Photo B shows what your knife edge looks like after steeling. The edge is straight and ready for cutting again.”

The tomato test for sharpness

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The tomato test

If your knife slices the skin of a tomato easily, it's sharp.

Joe says, “Tomato skins are the perfect way to test for sharpness.”

If you can slice through a tomato skin without having to saw your way through or poke a starter hole with the knife tip, you have a sharp edge that's ready for food prep.

Joe Gamache

Acidic foods promote corrosion

Photo courtesy of Getty/Photodisc

Mini sharpener

Cutting-Edge Tips From Joe

Cutting boards:
Drag the tip of your knife across your cutting board. If the surface doesn't scratch, it's too hard and it'll dull your knife in no time. Some plastics and certainly glass and laminate surfaces won't pass the test, even if they're called “cutting boards” on the label.

Acidic foods:
Rinse knives after cutting acidic foods like citrus fruits or pickled goods. Acid promotes corrosion right at the cutting edge, even with stainless steel. Dry them right afterward.

Cleaning:
Don't ever throw knives in a dishwasher. Wooden handles will get ruined, and even stainless steel blades will corrode and get dull. Instead, wash your knives by hand and dry them off right away.

Protect the edges:
Don't just toss unprotected knives into a drawer. Either use a knife block or stow them away with blade protectors. Simple cardboard sheaths held together with duct tape will do the job.

Avoid bones:
They'll dull even a high-quality knife. Electric sharpeners: Don't ever use a cheap electric knife sharpener, especially the ones found on electric can openers. They'll do more harm than good. If you love gadgets, spend at least $125 for a decent electric sharpener. (You'll still have to steel your knives, by the way.)

Other knives:
“I sharpen all knives the same way— hunting knives, fillet knives, what ever. Keep a mini sharpener in your tackle box and use the same techniques.”

Editor's Note:Check out Joe's store at eversharpknives.com for information on mail-order sharpening, tools and more. These guys really know their stuff!

Swiss Army Giant

Photo courtesy of Wenger

Field Editors Talk Knives

Our Field Editors use (and abuse) knives for everything, everywhere. Here are a few of their comments:

I love my Tormek T-7 water-cooled sharpening system ($600 at tormek.com). It's very easy to get an extremely sharp edge on knives, and especially woodworking tools.
Andrew Pitonyak

[Editor's note: We received four endorsements of this sharpener, but $600? Yikes!]

Being a former Marine, I think the best and most reliable knife is the Ka-Bar knife (kabar.com). I bought one at the local army surplus store. Make sure it isn't a replica and you'll have a tough knife that works for everything.
Dave Youngblood

I know exactly where my beloved Schrade pocket knife has been for the past 20 years, even though I haven't seen it once in that time. The kitchen pipes were freezing at a customer's house. Because the pipes were impossible to get at from the inside, I opened up the wall, did some foam insulating, and then replaced the sheathing, siding and trim. I also touched up all the paint. Guess what got left inside the wall?
Steve Vaalor

For the ultimate Swiss Army knife, check out the Swiss Army Giant ($1,000 at swissknifeshop.com). It has all 87 implements! I can't imagine trying to hold it while using any of them, however.
David Hawkins