YoshiA sharp knife has a thin edge. And the edge has a zig-zag shape like a saw.
However, after using the knife for a while,
This zig-zag shape disappears and that means your knife is completely dull.
This is because the knife edge keeps hitting the cutting board,
So the zig-zag peaks get rounded.
Sharpening means bringing the zig-zag shape back to the edge of your knife.
1. Sharp knife makes you happy
18 years ago, on a snowy day, I used my friend Ken’s kitchen knife when we were preparing another friend’s birthday party in his kitchen.
It was a shocking moment.
His knife was super sharp and I felt really good when I cooked with the knife.
Since then, I haven’t been satisfied with knives that have regular sharpness.
You can’t go back once you have been enlightened…
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2. A sharp knife has a zig-zag shaped edge
Brand new knife or a knife you sharpened correctly has this like the image above.
These thorn looking shapes catch food and make a clean cut.
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3. But a dull knife has a straight shaped edge
Your knife edge loses the zig-zag shape and it becomes a smooth straight shape.
This happens because the knife edge keeps hitting the cutting board.
If your knife has this straight shape,
You are not able to cut properly.
When you use this kind of knife, you put too much pressure on the food through the knife.
So the cells in the food get squished and broken.
And the food doesn’t taste good.
4. Wooden cutting board is better than plastic ones as it keeps the knife sharp
Do you use a plastic cutting board or wooden cutting board?
If you want to keep the sharpness of your knife,
You might want to use a wooden cutting board.
Because it is softer than a plastic cutting board.
5. Sharpening your knife with a whetstone means bringing the zig-zag shape back
A whetstone is made of abrasive particles and binder materials.
These particles are harder than steel or stainless steel.
And the binder material is sticking the particles together.
When you sharpen your kitchen knife,
These hard particles and the knife metal grind together and it shaves the knife edge.
Doing so, the knife edge forms a zig-zag shape like you can see on a saw.
Here are 3 important tips for using whetstones…
6. Don’t put too much strength while you are sharpening your knife
Too much strength while you are sharpening is bad for knife sharpening.
It won’t make the knife the right shape.
This is because some whetstones are soft and they bend.
You should be careful especially if you use a whetstone made of reginoid.
7. Residue has grinding power too
This dirt looking thing on the whetstone is coming from your kitchen knife blade and whetstone.
If you keep the residue on your whetstone, you can sharpen your knife faster.
Because you can use two grinding powers…
The grinding power from the whetstone and the grinding power from the residue.
This grinding power of residue will come in handy especially…
When you want to make the face of the blade thinner,
Or when you are sharpening a knife with a chip.
Because you need to shave the blade a lot.
But…
8. For the finishing phase, use water to get rid of the residue
This is because sharpening with residue is too powerful for the finishing.
It is difficult to control.
If you continue using a lot of residue in the finishing phase, the condition of the knife surface will be uneven.
It will make a lot of scratches on the surface.
In order to get precise work done, you should only use the grinding power of the whetstone.
By washing the residue off,
You can make a polished and uniformed knife surface.
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9. A sharp knife has the shape of “V”.
But a dull blade has the shape of “U”. Like the picture above.
The primary bevel must have a thin and sharp angle so that the edge can cut through ingredients easily.
If it is not thin and sharp, it is so difficult to cut through root vegetables like carrots.
These bevels are for a good feeling of cutting.
