I finally figured out I was sharpening my kitchen knives wrong for years

I always went back and forth on my sharpening stone like a saw. Then I watched a video from a chef at a local shop in Portland who said you should only push the blade away from you, like you're slicing off a thin layer of the stone. I tried it on my cheap chef's knife last Tuesday and it actually cut through a tomato without squishing it for the first time. I still can't get the angle perfect every time though. Has anyone else found a trick to keeping a consistent angle without buying a guide gadget?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_thea20d ago

Funny you mention that, @the_kim, because I used to do the sawing motion for years and thought it was working fine. But then I tried the push-only method on a cheap knife of mine and the difference was night and day, especially with tomatoes. I still wobble on the angle sometimes too, but I found that resting my wrist against the counter edge helps me keep it steadier.

the_kim21d ago

Have you actually tried going back and forth like a saw though? I watched a different chef say the opposite, that pushing only one way actually makes micro-burrs that dull the edge faster. I tested it on my cheap Kiwi knife and the push-only method gave me a sharper edge for like two days, then it went dull way quicker than my old sawing motion. Maybe your knife just got lucky with that tomato?

price.gavin21d ago

Yeah I tried both on the same knife and the sawing motion felt like it was tearing at the edge more than sharpening it. Push only gave me a consistent burr that actually cleaned up nice. Your Kiwi might be too soft for the saw method to matter much.