Sharpening knives guide, step by step

How to always have sharp knives in the drawer? Look at the calendar. You should sharpen your knives approximately every other month. Use sharpening steel, if you’re good at it. Otherwise use a sharpening stone. Here’s how:

1. Take your time. Sharpening knives on a stone can be very therapeutic.

2. Submerge the stone in water until there are no more air bubbles coming from it. Place the stone on a good base (it most probably came with one when you bought it) and moisten the stone with water.

3. Take the knife in your right hand and place the edge of the knife diagonally across the stone. At this angle: Position the blade downward so that it is at a 10-15 degree angle. Keep it at this position throughout the process.

4. Let the right hand steer the angle and place the three middle fingers of your left hand on the knife’s cutting side.

5. Be aware that under the sharpening process, a paste will form from the dust and the water. Allow this paste to sit; it acts as a sharpening agent.

6. Draw the knife toward you in a carved sweeping motion, back and forth lightly over the stone. Begin at the knife’s edge and work your way toward the handle. The number of times depends on the condition of the knife. Pushing and pulling in this way produces a microscopic protrusion (hump) on the opposite side of the knife.

7. Turn the knife and file the protrusion by using the same movement on the opposite side of the knife, it won’t be necessary to do this quite so many times.

8. The knife is ready for use when the little hump is gone. You can tell this by running your nail carefully along the edge on both sides.