If you want a knife that will really help you in the kitchen without destroying your food in the process it will need to very, very sharp. In order to keep your knife sharp you need to care for it, an un cared for knife will dull and become difficult to use.
And remember, a sharp knife is actually safer to use than a dull one. If you have to fight to cut your food the way you want it you're much more likely to slip, cutting into yourself.
How to Sharpen Your Knife
You can always buy a cheap knife sharpener that's essentially a few washers hooked together. This method is easy and full-proof, but unfortunately just doesn't do nearly as good of a job as a good ol' fashioned whetstone.
Many whetstones have two sides to them, a coarse side and a fine side. The coarse side is used first, followed by the fine side to finish.
To start you want to place the base of the blade at a 20° angle from the whetstone. Put a little pressure with your other hand, and while keeping your angle, push the blade away from your in a sweeping arc motion. In other words, when you start the motion the base of the blade is on the end of the whetstone nearest to you and when you finish your motion the tip if the blade is on the end of the stone furthest from you. It's almost like you're trying to cut a thin slice off the top of the whetstone.
Whetstone tips:
- Don't get your whetstone wet, keep it dry for optimum performance.
- Always sharpen in the same direction, don't switch directions when sharpening or you won't get a sharp edge.
- 10-12 strokes per side, per whetstone, tends to be enough unless your blade is incredibly dull. That means if you have a coarse and a fine whetstone you'll 'sweep' the blade about 40-48 times total.
- Follow up the whetstone with a honing steel.
The 'Sharpening' Steel
Another item that many people use is called a steel, sometimes referred to as a 'sharpening steel', 'knife steel' or 'honing steel'. However, contrary to what many believe, a steel does not, and should not be used to sharpen knives. A steel is used directly after or between sharpenings and keeps your blade 'honed' and straight.
To use a steel hold it in your off hand and, keeping the 20° angle, bring the knife from the tip of the steel to its base in the same sweeping, arc motion that you use with a whetstone.
Since the steel isn't used to sharpen the blade you don't need to perform the sweeping action too many times, 5-10 times per side should suffice.
Steel tips:
- When finding a steel to buy you should try to get one that's of equal length or longer than the longest knife you will use it with. You should try not to use short steels with long knives.
- Of course be careful when using a steel, especially since your are actually pulling the blade towards yourself when using it. Don't try to go too fast, just a nice, smooth pace while always keeping total control of your knife.
Knife Care Tips
- Wash your knife as soon as your done using it and only wash it by hand, you should never let a knife soak in the sink (both for care reasons and personal safety) and you should never put a knife in the dishwasher.
- When storing your knives, don't allow them to be in contact with other knives, silverware etc... this could dent and dull your knives quickly. A knife block or a magnetic holder both work very well at keeping your knives sharp.
- Always use a cutting board, but never use one made of marble, glass or metal, they will dull your knife at an incredible rate.