### **How to Sharpen and Hone a Chef’s Knife**
The proverb "Sharpening the knife won’t delay the work of chopping wood" has been deeply ingrained in my mind through years of practice. For a chef, a sharp knife is essential—it transforms ingredients into paper-thin slices, delicate shreds, and intricate shapes. While skill plays a role, a keen blade is paramount.
#### **Types of Chef’s Knives**
Chef’s knives come in various shapes: round-tip, square-tip, and horse-head knives. The square-tip knife is the most versatile, ideal for slicing, dicing, and even chopping small bones with its heel. Its popularity demands precise sharpening techniques.
#### **Proper Sharpening Posture**
A correct posture ensures efficiency and safety. The standing position is preferred:
- Step forward with your left foot, bend slightly at the waist (adjusted to the sharpening stone’s height), and lean your chest forward.
- Avoid standing with feet parallel, as this destabilizes your balance.
#### **Gripping Techniques**
A knife is sharpened in three sections: tip, middle, and heel. Adjust your grip accordingly:
- **Tip**: Left hand grips the blade’s front with the thumb pressing down; right hand holds the handle, thumb on the spine.
- **Middle**: Left palm supports the blade’s front; right thumb and index finger form a V-shape on the blade.
- **Heel**: Left hand grips deeper for leverage; right hand remains steady.
Switch hands for the other side. Maintain firm grips and flexible wrists.
#### **Sharpening Stones**
Two types are essential:
1. **Coarse stone (sandstone)**: For initial edge setting and shaping.
2. **Fine stone (slurry stone)**: For refining and polishing.
**Steps for Coarse Stone:**
- Lightly grind the blade’s edges to remove burrs.
- Angle the blade at **5 degrees** (spine ~1.5 cm above the stone). Increase slightly for the heel.
- Apply firm pressure initially, then lighter strokes to avoid rolling the edge.
**Steps for Fine Stone:**
- Start with moderate pressure to refine the edge, then lighten to polish.
- Smooth out grind marks and burrs.
#### **Testing Sharpness**
1. **Visual check**: Hold the blade vertically 65 cm from your eye. No white glints = sharp.
2. **Touch test**: Run a thumb lightly across the edge. A "grippy," non-slippery feel indicates sharpness.
#### **Honing (Bei Dao)**
Honing maintains sharpness between sharpenings. Use a fine, soft stone:
1. Place the stone vertically near your dominant hand.
2. **Honing the front**: Angle the blade slightly, push the edge forward from tip to heel.
3. **Honing the back**: Flip the blade, pull downward from heel to tip.
Repeat 3-4 times per side.
#### **Honing Tips**
- Start with a **slightly larger angle** than sharpening (but never exceeding 45 degrees).
- Consistent angles and wrist flexibility prevent edge damage.
- Stop honing once the blade thickens; resharpening is needed.
By mastering these steps, your knife will stay sharp longer, ensuring efficiency and precision in the kitchen.
How to Sharpen and Hone a Chef’s Knife
-
Ho Kwok Leung
- Site Admin
- Posts: 362
- Joined: Wed Feb 28, 2024 10:56 pm
- Location: Hong Kong
-
Ho Kwok Leung
- Site Admin
- Posts: 362
- Joined: Wed Feb 28, 2024 10:56 pm
- Location: Hong Kong
How to Sharpen and Hone a Chef’s Knife
### How to Sharpen and Hone a Knife
"Sharpening the axe will not delay the job of cutting wood." Years of practice have deeply made me understand the meaning of this common saying.
The knife in a chef's hand can transform raw materials into shreds as fine as silk and slices as thin as paper, with various shapes and novel forms. Besides requiring chefs to have certain skills, the sharpness of the knife is of particular importance.
Kitchen knives can be classified into round - headed knives, square - headed knives, horse - headed knives, etc. according to their shapes. Among them, square - headed knives are the most commonly used. This kind of knife can be used for cutting and slicing delicate raw materials, and its back part can be used for chopping and cutting materials with small bones. Most chefs in various places like to use this convenient and flexible knife, thus putting forward higher requirements for how to sharpen it well.
How can we sharpen a knife to be sharp without deforming it? First of all, one needs to have a correct posture for sharpening. There are two postures for sharpening a knife: standing and squatting. Standing to sharpen a knife is convenient, flexible and easy to apply force, so it is adopted by most people. The correct standing posture should be that the left foot takes half a step forward, both legs stand naturally, the waist bends (the degree of bending should be determined according to the height of the sharpening stone), and the chest leans slightly forward. This posture is suitable for the front - and - back movement of the body during sharpening, keeping the center of gravity balanced all the time. When sharpening a knife, it is strictly forbidden to stand with both feet parallel, because when the body moves forward, it will be unstable due to the high center of gravity and lack of support.
Although the posture is important, the way of holding the knife should not be ignored. Since a knife cannot be sharpened at one time, it is usually divided into three parts for sharpening: the front part, the middle part and the back part. Due to the different contact positions between the knife surface and the sharpening part during sharpening, different ways of holding the knife appear. When sharpening the front part of the knife, the tiger's mouth of the left hand should clamp the front end of the knife back, the thumb should press on the knife board, and the tiger's mouth and the thumb should clamp the knife board tightly, with the other four fingers spread out. The right - hand thumb should press on the knife back, the index finger should press on the knife board, and the other fingers should grip the knife handle. When sharpening the middle part, the palm of the left hand should support the front end of the knife back, and the thumb and the other four fingers should pinch the knife board tightly. The right - hand thumb should be raised and press naturally on the knife board in a figure - eight shape with the index finger, and the grip of the other fingers is the same as above. When sharpening the root of the knife, the left - hand grip of the knife is the same as that when sharpening the middle part, but it should be held deeper, so it is more powerful during sharpening. The way of holding the knife with the right hand remains unchanged. When sharpening the other side, the left and right hands exchange positions, and the way of holding the knife remains the same. No matter which part is being sharpened, the knife should be held tightly, and the wrist should be flexible and powerful. Mastering the correct posture makes sharpening not only labor - saving and safe, but also makes the knife sharp.
Most restaurants are equipped with two types of sharpening stones, namely rough - grinding stones (sand stones) and fine - grinding stones (silt stones). Rough - grinding stones have a coarser texture and are suitable for initial grinding and opening the blade. Fine - grinding stones have a finer texture and are suitable for setting the edge. When a new knife is initially sharpened, first gently grind off the burrs on the edges such as the knife back and the knife head on the rough - grinding stone, so as not to stab the hand due to overly sharp edges during sharpening. Then pour water on the sharpening stone, and then grind on the rough - grinding stone according to the correct posture. The angle between the knife back and the sharpening stone should not be too large or too small when sharpening. If it is too large, the ground knife cavity will be thicker, shortening the service life of the knife; if it is too small, it is easy to damage the knife back and affect the shape of the knife. The most appropriate angle should be about five degrees (that is, the knife back is about 1.5 cm away from the sharpening stone). Since the back root of this kind of knife needs to chop some raw materials with small bones, the angle when sharpening the root of the knife can be slightly larger. At the same time, it should also be noted that the number of grinding times on both sides of the knife should be approximately equal, and the force should be evenly applied to ensure that the ground knife cavity is flat, the blade is straight, and the shape of the knife is not damaged.
When grinding on the rough - grinding stone, the force should be greater to quickly bring out the blade, and then the force should be reduced to continue grinding the blade, and do not roll the blade due to excessive force. Then grind the marks on the knife board flat. When the blade is initially ground out, it can be transferred to the fine - grinding stone for grinding.
When sharpening on the fine - grinding stone, there is also a process of initially applying a large force and then a small force. Applying a large force is to quickly grind out the entire blade. Once the entire blade is ground out, it can be switched to light grinding until the blade is sharp. Then polish the flying edge and the knife cavity.
There are two common methods to identify whether a knife is well - sharpened. One is to hold the knife handle with the right hand, hold the blade vertically and look at it with the right eye at a distance of about 65 cm, and close the left eye. If there is no white line on the blade, it means the knife is sharp. The other is to hold the knife with the right hand, with the blade facing up, and gently test (touch) the blade with the left - hand thumb horizontally. If the finger feels that the blade is very rough and has a feeling of catching the finger, it indicates that the blade is sharp. If the blade feels smooth, it means it is not sharp yet and needs further grinding.
When using a knife, how can we keep it sharp for a long time? This is a common concern of users. To achieve this goal, in addition to taking good care of the knife during normal use, there is also the issue of honing (bèi) the knife.
When a knife is used for a certain period, it will become dull. Chefs are used to honing the knife on a fine and soft honing stone (mostly used for small hand - made tiles). Honing is actually a simple process of sharpening and setting the edge. It can make a not - so - sharp knife become sharp immediately after a gentle hone, and its effect is often no less than that of initial grinding.
How to hone a knife? The method is to place the honing stone vertically on the side close to the hand holding the knife (mostly the right side). When honing, hold the knife with the right hand, with the blade facing the body, place the tip of the knife flat at the lower end of the honing stone, lift the back of the knife slightly, and gently press down with the wrist, and push the blade forward along the honing stone until the blade at the root of the knife reaches the upper end of the honing stone. Then turn the knife over to hone the other side. With the back of the knife facing the body, place the blade at the root of the knife flat at the upper end of the honing stone, lift the back of the knife slightly, gently press down with the wrist, and pull the blade down along the honing stone until the blade at the tip of the knife reaches the lower end of the honing stone. Repeat this three or four times.
The purpose of honing is to extend the service life of the blade. Therefore, mastering the rules of honing is of great importance. The blade ground with an angle of five degrees between the knife back and the sharpening stone. When honing for the first time, the angle should be slightly larger than that during sharpening, but not too large or too small. If it is too small, it can only hone the knife cavity and will not play the role of honing. If it is too large, the originally thin blade will be worn down quickly, damaging the service life of the blade. Therefore, the angle of each honing should be slightly larger than the previous one, and hone in sequence to achieve the goal of extending the service life of the blade. However, honing is not limitless. Generally, when the angle between the knife and the honing stone reaches 45 degrees, it should not be honed anymore. If honed further, not only will there be no obvious effect, but the blade will also become thicker. At the same time, when honing, it should also be noted that the wrist holding the knife must be flexible, the angles on both sides should be the same when moving the knife back and forth, and the blade should be separated from the honing stone at the moment of turning the knife to prevent damaging part of the blade.
"Sharpening the axe will not delay the job of cutting wood." Years of practice have deeply made me understand the meaning of this common saying.
The knife in a chef's hand can transform raw materials into shreds as fine as silk and slices as thin as paper, with various shapes and novel forms. Besides requiring chefs to have certain skills, the sharpness of the knife is of particular importance.
Kitchen knives can be classified into round - headed knives, square - headed knives, horse - headed knives, etc. according to their shapes. Among them, square - headed knives are the most commonly used. This kind of knife can be used for cutting and slicing delicate raw materials, and its back part can be used for chopping and cutting materials with small bones. Most chefs in various places like to use this convenient and flexible knife, thus putting forward higher requirements for how to sharpen it well.
How can we sharpen a knife to be sharp without deforming it? First of all, one needs to have a correct posture for sharpening. There are two postures for sharpening a knife: standing and squatting. Standing to sharpen a knife is convenient, flexible and easy to apply force, so it is adopted by most people. The correct standing posture should be that the left foot takes half a step forward, both legs stand naturally, the waist bends (the degree of bending should be determined according to the height of the sharpening stone), and the chest leans slightly forward. This posture is suitable for the front - and - back movement of the body during sharpening, keeping the center of gravity balanced all the time. When sharpening a knife, it is strictly forbidden to stand with both feet parallel, because when the body moves forward, it will be unstable due to the high center of gravity and lack of support.
Although the posture is important, the way of holding the knife should not be ignored. Since a knife cannot be sharpened at one time, it is usually divided into three parts for sharpening: the front part, the middle part and the back part. Due to the different contact positions between the knife surface and the sharpening part during sharpening, different ways of holding the knife appear. When sharpening the front part of the knife, the tiger's mouth of the left hand should clamp the front end of the knife back, the thumb should press on the knife board, and the tiger's mouth and the thumb should clamp the knife board tightly, with the other four fingers spread out. The right - hand thumb should press on the knife back, the index finger should press on the knife board, and the other fingers should grip the knife handle. When sharpening the middle part, the palm of the left hand should support the front end of the knife back, and the thumb and the other four fingers should pinch the knife board tightly. The right - hand thumb should be raised and press naturally on the knife board in a figure - eight shape with the index finger, and the grip of the other fingers is the same as above. When sharpening the root of the knife, the left - hand grip of the knife is the same as that when sharpening the middle part, but it should be held deeper, so it is more powerful during sharpening. The way of holding the knife with the right hand remains unchanged. When sharpening the other side, the left and right hands exchange positions, and the way of holding the knife remains the same. No matter which part is being sharpened, the knife should be held tightly, and the wrist should be flexible and powerful. Mastering the correct posture makes sharpening not only labor - saving and safe, but also makes the knife sharp.
Most restaurants are equipped with two types of sharpening stones, namely rough - grinding stones (sand stones) and fine - grinding stones (silt stones). Rough - grinding stones have a coarser texture and are suitable for initial grinding and opening the blade. Fine - grinding stones have a finer texture and are suitable for setting the edge. When a new knife is initially sharpened, first gently grind off the burrs on the edges such as the knife back and the knife head on the rough - grinding stone, so as not to stab the hand due to overly sharp edges during sharpening. Then pour water on the sharpening stone, and then grind on the rough - grinding stone according to the correct posture. The angle between the knife back and the sharpening stone should not be too large or too small when sharpening. If it is too large, the ground knife cavity will be thicker, shortening the service life of the knife; if it is too small, it is easy to damage the knife back and affect the shape of the knife. The most appropriate angle should be about five degrees (that is, the knife back is about 1.5 cm away from the sharpening stone). Since the back root of this kind of knife needs to chop some raw materials with small bones, the angle when sharpening the root of the knife can be slightly larger. At the same time, it should also be noted that the number of grinding times on both sides of the knife should be approximately equal, and the force should be evenly applied to ensure that the ground knife cavity is flat, the blade is straight, and the shape of the knife is not damaged.
When grinding on the rough - grinding stone, the force should be greater to quickly bring out the blade, and then the force should be reduced to continue grinding the blade, and do not roll the blade due to excessive force. Then grind the marks on the knife board flat. When the blade is initially ground out, it can be transferred to the fine - grinding stone for grinding.
When sharpening on the fine - grinding stone, there is also a process of initially applying a large force and then a small force. Applying a large force is to quickly grind out the entire blade. Once the entire blade is ground out, it can be switched to light grinding until the blade is sharp. Then polish the flying edge and the knife cavity.
There are two common methods to identify whether a knife is well - sharpened. One is to hold the knife handle with the right hand, hold the blade vertically and look at it with the right eye at a distance of about 65 cm, and close the left eye. If there is no white line on the blade, it means the knife is sharp. The other is to hold the knife with the right hand, with the blade facing up, and gently test (touch) the blade with the left - hand thumb horizontally. If the finger feels that the blade is very rough and has a feeling of catching the finger, it indicates that the blade is sharp. If the blade feels smooth, it means it is not sharp yet and needs further grinding.
When using a knife, how can we keep it sharp for a long time? This is a common concern of users. To achieve this goal, in addition to taking good care of the knife during normal use, there is also the issue of honing (bèi) the knife.
When a knife is used for a certain period, it will become dull. Chefs are used to honing the knife on a fine and soft honing stone (mostly used for small hand - made tiles). Honing is actually a simple process of sharpening and setting the edge. It can make a not - so - sharp knife become sharp immediately after a gentle hone, and its effect is often no less than that of initial grinding.
How to hone a knife? The method is to place the honing stone vertically on the side close to the hand holding the knife (mostly the right side). When honing, hold the knife with the right hand, with the blade facing the body, place the tip of the knife flat at the lower end of the honing stone, lift the back of the knife slightly, and gently press down with the wrist, and push the blade forward along the honing stone until the blade at the root of the knife reaches the upper end of the honing stone. Then turn the knife over to hone the other side. With the back of the knife facing the body, place the blade at the root of the knife flat at the upper end of the honing stone, lift the back of the knife slightly, gently press down with the wrist, and pull the blade down along the honing stone until the blade at the tip of the knife reaches the lower end of the honing stone. Repeat this three or four times.
The purpose of honing is to extend the service life of the blade. Therefore, mastering the rules of honing is of great importance. The blade ground with an angle of five degrees between the knife back and the sharpening stone. When honing for the first time, the angle should be slightly larger than that during sharpening, but not too large or too small. If it is too small, it can only hone the knife cavity and will not play the role of honing. If it is too large, the originally thin blade will be worn down quickly, damaging the service life of the blade. Therefore, the angle of each honing should be slightly larger than the previous one, and hone in sequence to achieve the goal of extending the service life of the blade. However, honing is not limitless. Generally, when the angle between the knife and the honing stone reaches 45 degrees, it should not be honed anymore. If honed further, not only will there be no obvious effect, but the blade will also become thicker. At the same time, when honing, it should also be noted that the wrist holding the knife must be flexible, the angles on both sides should be the same when moving the knife back and forth, and the blade should be separated from the honing stone at the moment of turning the knife to prevent damaging part of the blade.
