Whetstone: These stones are generally considered the easiest to use and are made from fine to coarse grit stone. You must soak your whetstone in cold, clean water for ten minutes before you sharpen your blade on it. Keep in mind that when a whetstone is used a lot, it often develops valleys or grooves where the knife is rubbed. Ceramic Stones: These stones must also be soaked in water before use, but for only three to five minutes. They are harder than whetstones which means that they will sharpen your blade faster. Ceramic stones generally last longer than whetstones but are a bit more challenging to use. Diamond stones: These stones come in several different levels of coarseness including hard, fine, and superfine. [1] X Research source In many cases, diamond stones are actually metal plates with small diamonds attached to their surfaces. Some of the substrates have holes to capture the swarf, or sharpening debris. These stones are the hardest sharpening stones and will sharpen your blade the quickest. Keep in mind, that diamond stones are also by far the most expensive sharpening stone, but last the longest.
Sharpening or machine oil can be used with a whetstone or ceramic stone, and thinned dish washing soap is handy for use with a diamond stone.
If you are wary of sharpening your knife without knowing the exact angle, you can go into your local knife shop for help, or call the manufacturer of the knife. You may also be able to find the specific bevel angle for your knife online.
Keep your hand steady and maintain the angle throughout the entire sharpening stroke. You may end up putting a rounded edge on the blade instead of a sharp edge. Holding your knife in the same position for a long period of time can be challenging. If this is your first time sharpening a knife, or you feel like your hands may not stay steady for long enough, you should consider buying a sharpening guide. Sharpening guides attach to the knife and hold it at a steady angle. Keep in mind that guides do not do very well with a curved blade.
Blades that are curved or longer than your whetstone will need to be swept down and across the stone to evenly sharpen the entire blade.
Instead of using the finer side of the stone, you can also run each side of the blade down a honing rod at an angle more open than the one you held the blade at to sharpen it. This removes the burrs and fine tunes the blade’s sharpness. Honing is also a quick way to refresh an edge in between sharpenings.
You can also test for any rounded part of the blade or imperfections by holding your knife up to a light (you could also use the sun) and looking for a bright light reflection. Reflections exist only when there is a rounded edge somewhere along your knife, or a section of a knife that is no longer sharp.
There are several kinds of rods. The most common is the steel honing rod, which is also known as sharpening steel. It is a very effective and reliable way to sharpen your knife. Rods can also be made out of ceramic and diamond. Both of these materials are reliable because they are two of the hardest materials in existence. Diamond rods are known to create smoother blades, but both will sharpen knives very quickly.
Go to your local knife shop or hardware store and ask them to determine the angle of your knife if you don’t feel confident that you have the right angle.
