Knives act as indispensable tools in every kitchen. In addition to considering how to choose a knife that is good and suitable for the needs, the care to store and preserve the knife properly, sharpening the knife is also very important.
And, ‘How often should I get my knives professionally sharpened?’ this question seems simple but not everyone even realizes the answer. In fact, how good and sharp a knife is, if used without sharpening, will still become blunt quickly.
Read this article to find out how often should knives be sharpened and the way to grind a knife properly.
Why is it necessary to sharpen the knife after a period of use?
During use, knives face several reasons why they become blunt, such as:
- Soak in water too long.
- Stick with plastic and dirt for a long time.
- After cutting acidic foods (such as lemon, tomatoes, …) do not wash the knife immediately.
- The knife handle is loose, so the blade is impacted and get much friction.
- Wipe the blade with a hard paper, iron rag.
- Choosing an inappropriate chopping-board (such as metal) makes the knife easy to get dull.
- Do not know how to preserve the knife during hanging and storing.
How long should a knife take to sharpen?
Without reminding, you know about the effect of knives: Knives for slicing, cutting, shredding ingredients to other foods. Every day in the kitchen, from housewives to Professional chefs, everyone needs to use many kinds of knives so the frequency of using them is extremely large.
This is why even if you buy knives from famous brands such as KAI, Global, Wüsthof, … then after a while, they will also show signs of blunt if you do not know how to sharpen and preserve it.
The expert advice for you is, if you use a knife for most of your kitchen work, it’s best to sharpen it about every 2 months. For a sharp and precise cutting edge, sharpen the blade whenever you use it.
How to Sharpen Kitchen Knives with a whetstone
Step 1: Prepare the knife sharpener.
You need to prepare 1 grindstone (2 sides: 1 rough and 1 smooth side) + 1 grind stick. Both of these tools can be purchased anywhere in shops, markets, supermarkets, etc. Check some ideas for the best knife sharpener in this post.
Step 2: Soak the whetstone in water.
Before grinding, you need to soak the whetstone in a tub of water until no air bubbles appear on the surface of the stone, about 15-20 minutes.
Immersing the whetstone in water will help you minimize unwanted scratches during the sharpening process.
Step 3: Make sure the anti-slip knife grinding area.
You can line the cloth or a silicon net under this place to help prevent slipping during the process.
Step 4: Start carrying out knife sharpening.
Sharpen the knife on the rough side of the sharpening stone at first. For professional chefs, they can combine many different whetstones so that the knife is sharpened for the right purpose of the knife.
Step 5: Sharpen the blade to an angle of 22 degrees.
Tilt the knife so that the blade is created with the stone surface at an angle of about 22 degrees. With this small angle, the sharpened blade becomes sharp easily.
Step 6: Keep your hand in the correct position when grinding.
Hold one grindstone in one hand, the other hand holding the handle so that your index finger is on the top edge of the blade.
Step 7: Put your fingers on one side of the knife.
Put your fingers on the back of the blade, pressing with a moderate amount of force so that the blade is rubbed against the surface of the grindstone. Your fingers flexibly move the blade when sharpening.
Step 8: Move the knife on the stone smoothly.
Hold your hand and move the knife on the surface of the stone smoothly and smoothly, pushing the blade across the grinding stone, like you are lightly cutting a piece of stone!
Step 9: Moisturizing the whetstone.
When you feel that the whetstone surface is dry, you need to wet the surface with a little water to make sure that there are no problems during the grinding process. It also helps to remove some of the roughness of the stone you have just sharpened.
Step 10: Move the blade many times on the whetstone
You need to sharpen the tip of the blade first, then slide down to sharpen the blade near the handle. Move the blade repeatedly on the sharpening stone.
Step 11: Perform knife sharpening with the other side with the same operation.
Step 12: Sharpen the blade on the smooth side of the whetstone.
At this point, you need to turn back the smooth surface of the grinding stone, to perform knife sharpening with the same steps above. Remember, continue to keep the stone wet during the sharpening process. You can now use a damp cloth to wipe away the stains on the knife.
Conclusion
With the above information, we hope to help you know “How often should I get my knives professionally sharpened?” and overcome the problem of a blunt knife. Now sharpening sharp knives is no longer so difficult! You can do it at home with a whetstone.