Using your knife frequently can cause your blade to wear out. As a result, sharpening your knife is necessary once in a while. Many people don’t bother sharpening their knives. Thus they will not be as efficient as their potential.
People use knives for two primary reasons. The first is as a self-defense tool. And the second being for cooking purposes. It doesn’t matter which one of these reasons you use your knives for sharpening them is essential. If you won’t sharpen your knife correctly, the value of the knife decreases.
In certain situations, your knife has to be as valuable as possible. Most people that own a knife have it for a reason. This reason may be self-defense or for cooking purposes. For example, if you carry a pocket knife on you for self-defense reasons. Later, you are in a situation that you need to use it or else something dangerous can happen. Suddenly, your pocket is not sharp enough. If you are not fully ready for situations like these, you can risk lives.
I might have fabricated the previous example, but situations like these happen. Hence maintaining a sharp blade on your knife is fundamental for situations like these. The following question is, how often should I sharpen my knife? In this post, we’ll cover what a knife sharpener is, how to use it, and how often should you sharpen your knife?
How often should I sharpen my knife?
In addition to honing your knife every three uses, experts recommend that you professionally sharpen your knife twice a year. If done wrong, the blade may become unresponsive. That can be more dangerous than working with a remarkably sharp knife.
Additionally, there are many different approaches to this question. Another method is that people who use knives as a self-defense tool, like a penknife, should sharpen their knives once a month. But we just said you should grind it twice a year. So, why is that? Because these people need to be ready for any situation at any given time. Thus their knives must be as constantly sharp as a new blade.
So, it all depends on your situation. If you use a knife for cooking, then twice a year is sufficient. However, if you use a knife for self-defense purposes, then once a month is a reliable estimate to follow.
It is all trial and error. You can quickly check if your knife is sharp by slicing a tomato. If the blade struggles to cut it smoothly, consider sharpening it as soon as possible. On the contrary, if the knife manages to cut the tomato placidly, it might not need sharpening.
Although the following example is a great rule to go by, it’s not accurate. For that reason, you need to find a principle to follow. For example, I’m following the if the knife slices the tomato rule. However, you can find any test to check if your knife is sharp enough. Find one you like, and stick with it. That is the single piece of advice I can give you about how often to sharpen your knife.
To summarize, a reliable timeline to follow is to sharpen your knife twice a year. In addition, find a test to check if your knife is as sharp as you want it to be, and stick with it. Lastly, we follow the tomato rule. If the blade can slice through a tomato placidly, then it’s as sharp as we like it to be.
What is a knife sharpener?
A knife sharpener is a tool that assists in confirming that a knife’s blade is sharp. It uses grinding the knife against a rough surface, plausibly a stone, to sharpen it. There are many types of knife sharpeners. Each one has its benefits.
Whether you are using a knife for self-defense or cooking, you need a sharpener. It could be more dangerous for you to have a dull knife than having a remarkably sharp knife. Because dull knives require better tension than sharp knives, they could easily slip from your hand. That can cause a few things. First, what you’re cutting is ruined. Second, you can cut yourself, resulting in injury. Thus dull knives are more dangerous.
Additionally, if you’re using a self-defense knife like a pocket knife, you want it to be as sharp as you first bought it at all times. Because a situation where you need to use your knife can always occur, having a dull blade can result in higher risk.
Types of knife sharpeners
Electric sharpeners – Electric sharpeners require little to no skill to use. They will keep your blade as sharp as you want them to be. Additionally, buying an electric sharpener is a wise choice, and we highly recommend it.
Sharpening stones (Whetstones) – A sharpening stone is a knife sharpener tool that will manually sharpen your knife. It gives the ultimate experience and control over how sharp your knife is going to be. It takes some time to get used to it. But, it is worth the learning process. Before you begin sharpening your most expensive knives, start with the cheap ones. Once you have mastered the whetstone sharpening technique, you can move into the big league.
Knife sharpening systems – These are a combination of an electric sharpener and a manual one. It takes some practice to use. Lastly, these have many benefits. For example, you can sharpen your knife from any angle, making it user-friendly. If you are a knife enthusiastic, purchasing one of these may be perfect for you.
To summarize, a knife sharpener assists in keeping your knife as sharp as you first bought it. People who use knives constantly need to make sure their blades are in good shape. Lastly, a dull knife is more dangerous than a very sharp one.
How to sharpen my knife?
Sharpening your knife can be difficult if you don’t know what you’re doing. That is why before you keen your knife, you should read this section.
First of all, a dull knife does not mean you should get a new blade. A dull knife solely means that you need to sharpen your knife before using it. As we have already mentioned, a dull knife is more dangerous than a remarkably sharp one.
For this section, we will use a whetstone as our example. Before we begin,
I highly recommend you to buy the KING KW65 1000/6000 Grit Combination Whetstone with Plastic Base. As it is a professional and very simple knife sharpener.
Now that you have the needed equipment. Let’s begin with the sharpening.
First, take the whetstone and make it wet. Then, place it on a table with the sharpening surface facing towards you. Later, grab the dull knife. With your right hand, hold the knife. With your left hand, apply pressure onto the blade in the direction of the whetstone.
Finally, at a 45-degree angle, firmly grind the knife on the whetstone. That will feel weird in the first few tries, but you’ll get used to it. Make sure to practice before you try it. As it can be dangerous when not used correctly.
How to choose the best knife sharpener?
When choosing a knife sharpener, there are many factors involved. In this section, we’ll cover the factors involved when purchasing a knife sharpener.
First, go over the different types of knife sharpeners. Before making a purchase, understand which kind you prefer to use. If you are not willing to put in the practice to master the manual sharpener, then buy an electric one. On the other hand, a manual sharpener would be ideal for those who can practice it.
So first, choose between the different types of knife sharpeners.
- Electric sharpeners
- Sharpening stones
- Sharpening/honing steels
- Guided sharpeners
- Manual sharpeners
Second, limit yourself with a price budget. This rule applies to most purchases you make. Before buying a knife sharpener, set a maximum amount you can invest in it. Because of that, you will research the different choices more thoroughly. That will lead to you eventually buying a product of higher quality. We recommend you do your research before setting a price budget.
Lastly, if you have many knives, purchase a high-quality sharpener as you will use it many times. If you have a few knives, you don’t need an expensive sharpener. You won’t be using it as much, and it won’t be a good investment. But, if you have numerous knives that you often use, purchase a high-quality knife sharpener. That will be a long-term investment and will be worth the money.
- Choose a type
- Limit yourself with a budget
- Understand the quality of the sharpener you require
Conclusion
In this post, we went through how often you should sharpen your knife. Our recommendation is to hone your blade after a few uses and keen it twice a year. Additionally, we covered what a knife sharpener is, the different types of sharpeners, and how to choose one that fits you.
Lastly, the single best advice we can give you on how often to sharpen your knife is to choose a rule. What do I mean? Pick a scenario to follow and if your knife doesn’t perform as expected, then sharpen it. For example, we follow the tomato rule. If the blade can’t slice through a tomato smoothly, the knife is dull. As such, we sharpen it. Pick a principle to follow and stick with it.