How to Sharpen a Knife for Beginners

Getting Started

The knife. A universal tool rich with symbolism in all cultures. Every group has traditions surrounding this most basic implement. Indeed the earliest tools found and likely the earliest tools utilized to modify the environment around us were cutting edges. The earliest examples we have were crude and made of stone. They still managed to help people to survive, create, and build. They provided a force multiplier that allowed their user to change his or her surroundings to better suit their needs. I imagine I don’t need to impress upon the reader the utility of the simple knife. Virtually all people use knives for tasks like cooking or opening packaging. Many use them for bushcraft, and survival. A lot of people carry a knife daily on their person just in case it is needed. One commonality people share in my experience is that they may be well versed in the use of a knife. They, however, often don’t know how to sharpen it. And when they do, their bad technique turns their knife from a useful tool into a paperweight at best, and a hazard at worst. Indeed, a dull knife has been found to be far more dangerous to the user than a sharp one. This is because more force is necessary to cut with it. So how do we fix that? I aim to teach you the basics in this short tutorial and hopefully by the end of this post, whether it’s woodcarving or slicing a tomato, you’ll be cutting with the best of them!

Gathering Materials

To get started you’ll need just a few things. You’ll of course need the knife you want to sharpen. You’ll need some form of sharpening stone (It doesn’t have to be anything fancy). Optionally a knife hone or mug with an unglazed bottom. You may also want a piece of paper to test your work.

Safety First

Now that we have our equipment gathered we need to have a quick conversation regarding safety. This post is, as are any others, for educational purposes. I’m showing you how I do things and how it works for me. I’m not recommending you do anything the way I do it. In fact I would always recommend you do your research before any task that could be dangerous. Always gather knowledge of potentially dangerous tasks from multiple sources. Knives are a common object for most people but, used incorrectly or by accident, they can be quite dangerous. There are a few safety rules I always abide by:

1. Always carry a knife with the point down.
2. Never try to catch the knife if you drop it. It’s been said a falling blade has no handle.
3. With a few exceptions, never cut towards your body, only in strokes going away from your body.
4. Always watch your fingers and be conscious of their position when sharpening or cutting
5. Never give unsupervised access to knives to children and ensure all blades are out of reach or locked up.
6. Never leave knives in a basin of soapy water for cleaning or any other place people can’t see and are likely to reach into.
7. Always cut things on a stable surface with a sufficiently sharp knife only.

Creating an Edge

So now that we’ve gotten the materials and disclaimer covered, we can get started! First we’ll need to pick our first grit. Which grit you use depends on how dull your knife is. This will be something specific to each knife that you’ll get a feel for over time. So for a very dull knife, you want to start with the most abrasive grit on your stone. For this stone that’s the 200 grit side which is blue. Next you need to set the stone on a level stable surface. Then place the blade of the knife with the bevel resting flat on the side of the stone. The bevel is the area of the blade which narrows down into the cutting edge. It’s very easy to see on a scandi grind knife like this, especially on camera. It should still be visible on other grinds if you look closely. So you’ve got the bevel set at the right angle on the stone. You will then move the knife away from you. Keep the angle consistent and move down the entire length of the blade. Don’t use much if any pressure at all. It helps if you imagine you’re trying to peel a tiny layer of the stone off with each stroke.

After you’ve sharpened that side of the blade, you want to even it out by doing the other side. Some people do one side several times and do it on the other side the same number of times afterwards. I simply alternate sides with each stroke.

This is one of the only times that I would suggest moving a blade towards your body. Be cautious and don’t get too crazy! Here is a profile view that gives something of an idea of how to angle the blade. Keep in mind that on other blade grinds, like those typically used for kitchen knives, the bevel will not be nearly as easy to see. You’ll probably have to go very slowly to make sure you keep the angle. Or you might want to use a sharpening device that keeps it for you. I’ve never used such a set up so I can’t say much about them. If you’re so inclined, they can be helpful. This is why I recommend that beginners start off with a scandi grind to get the basic concept. Inexpensive scandi knives are commonly produced in Scandinavian countries (hence the name). They are, in fact, the primary export of the town of Mora in Sweden. (A quick search for this town should yield the most popular brand which is not affiliated with this site in any way but makes a fine product)

Once you’ve sharpened on the first grit to your liking (usually 10-20 strokes on each side for me) you’ll work your way down the grits from lowest to highest. The knife I used for this post was actually pretty sharp so I skipped to the final grit of 600. This is more of a finishing grit and, being less abrasive, will take off less material. Which brings me to a good point: sharpening a blade will always remove some metal off of the blade. If you sharpen the blade very often it will get smaller over the years. I’ve known older relatives who have had knives for decades whittled down to nothing because they’ve been sharpened so much. While you shouldn’t oversharpen, this isn’t anything to grieve over. It’s a process that makes your knife unique to you. In a way it tells a story of all the uses you’ve had for it.

Honing

After you’ve used your finishing grit, it comes time to hone the blade. What is honing? It’s a process that aligns the microscopic molecules of the cutting edge itself. You’ve probably seen a hone if you watch cooking shows on TV. It’s the metal rod chefs, usually very quickly, drag the edge of their knife along. Those people have been doing this for a very long time. They go so quickly to be more theatrical for the camera. If you use one, make sure to go slowly and keep the angle of the blade aligned with the hone. An alternative to a hone that I tend to use is something most people have ready access to. The unglazed ring on the bottom of a ceramic mug. You simply drag the edge of the blade along the ring, maintaining angle. Alternate sides as you did on the stone, until you’re satisfied with it’s sharpness. Honing a knife takes very little material off the blade. That’s why I recommend frequent honing to keep the blade sharp. Don’t wait until the knife is completely dull and keep fully resharpening it. That will whittle your blade down to nothing faster.

That’s all there is to it. You can test your blade in any number of ways. Some people try to shave the hair off of their arm to test it. I personally feel like an edge that sharp is probably also too fragile to hold up to most sustained use. There’s also the paper test. A test in which you hold a piece of printer paper up and starting at the edge, try to slice through the paper horizontally. This is usually a pretty good indicator of how sharp the edge is. It’s also doable for a blade that’s less than razor sharp. Now that you’ve got your edge to your liking, get out there and put it to good use!