Whether you are a professional chef, a housewife, or just somebody who loves to cook and spend most of your time in the kitchen with your knives, spatula and all, you know just how important kitchen items are. Most of the time, cooking for you, is impossible without them. For someone who loves to cook, these are your weapons. So it can really be frustrating when these items can no longer serve their purpose or perform well.

The most common kitchen item that frustrates you oftentimes is the knife. We all know that knives are used to slice and cut ingredients and spices for your recipe like tomatoes, onions, etc. Now if your knife no longer performs well, or if your knives are already blunt, slicing, cutting and chopping can be very frustrating. Not only does it take you time to be able to cut and slice all of the ingredients, but blunt knives also tend to ruin the appearance of the ingredient. Not to mention, slicing can cause a lot of mess.

Therefore, if blunt knives are proving to be a problem already, it's time you learn how to sharpen knives becasue this is the only way you can make them perform well in the kitchen again.

There are several ways on how to sharpen knives. One is to use a sharpening steel; it is a metal rod created for the sole purpose of sharpening knives. Holding the steel with one hand and the knife with another, draw the knife blade down the steel, repeating the process several times, making sure the entire cutting surface of the knife has been drawn across the steel already.

Second is by using a sharpening stone; a piece of solid block with a rough surface. You simply place the sharpening stone on a flat surface and draw the knife across the stone several times.

Lastly, you can use a commercial knife sharpener. By following the instructions on the booklet, you will be able to know and understand how to sharpen knives using this mechanism. 

See? You don't have to deal with blunt knives everytime you cook as long as you know how to sharpen knives. As knives are your weapons to be able to whip up a good recipe, the knowledge on how to sharpen knives is your weapon against blunt knives. And with that, you do not have to let blunt knives interfere with your cooking anymore.

How to Keep Your Kitchen Knives Sharp It is inevitable, even the best steel dulls eventually, nevertheless those inexpensive kitchen knives. You will need to keep them sharp with periodic honing. Using a dull knife can be dangerous because you will need excessive force to cut through food and this can make you lose control over the knife. A sharper knife require less force thus easier to control. When a knife becomes dull, its edge fold over on itself. It may turn either to the left or right side depends on how you hold the knife when cutting.

A sharpening steel will unfold the edge of the knife and not wearing the steel away. A whetstone however, will grind steel from the edge of your knife. Both sharpening steel and whetstone can work in tandem with each other. Here are several useful tips for you on how to sharpen knives: 1. Choosing sharpening steel To choose a sharpening steel, you will have to know first whether you are going to hone your knives frequently or infrequently. If you are going to hone your knives frequently, choose sharpening steel labeled “fine” or “very fine”, they will not be too abrasive. Grooved sharpening steels are more abrasive and actually do some sharpening as well as honing your knife.

The more expensive sharpening steels are coated with diamond and will also grind steel from your knife. Both grooved and diamond coated sharpening steels are more suitable for infrequent use. Since this article will talk about frequent honing, it is suggested that you choose sharpening steel labeled “fine” or “very fine”. 2. Choosing whetstone The best whetstone is the one which require oil as lubricant and have three densities (fine-medium-coarse). You may use water whetstone but it needs to be soaked in water for 10 to 15 minutes before being used. Oil whetstone will require less effort and save time. 3. Hone your knives frequently with sharpening steel In order to be effective, if you use “fine” or “very fine” sharpening steel, you will need to hone your knives every 10 to 50 cuts. After more than 50 cuts, the edge of your knives will fold too much, it will be harder to get them realigned.

When honing, always keep the knife at 20 degrees angle against the sharpening steel. Hold your sharpening steel straight while drawing the knife down across the steel for five to ten times. Move your wrist so that the motion of the tip of the knife will resemble a slight arc (therefore the whole edge of the knife will be on friction against the sharpening steel). Alternate between left and right side of the knife. 4. Sharpen your knives with whetstone every two to three months You will only need to sharpen your knives with whetstone every two or three months if you are frequently honing them.

Lubricate your whetstone with oil before use, or soak it in water if you use water whetstone. Just like honing with sharpening steel, you will need to keep your knife at 20 degrees angle against the stone. One of the most important thing to remember on how to sharpen knives properly is by not going back and forth. You may either push or pull the knife against the stone, but always lift the knife at the end of each motion. Alternate between each side of the knife and stroke for 30 to 50 times per side.