Honing and sharpening are different jobs
A knife edge is a very thin strip of steel, and in normal use it rolls over to one side rather than wearing away. A honing steel pushes that rolled edge back straight. It removes almost no metal and it takes ten seconds.
Sharpening is different: it grinds new metal away to form a fresh edge. That is a whetstone or a pull-through, it takes minutes, and it is needed far less often than people think — perhaps a few times a year for a domestic knife that is honed regularly.
Most knives that feel blunt do not need sharpening. They need honing, and the reason they never get it is that people believe the steel in the block is a sharpener.
Honing, which is the weekly habit
- Hold the steel vertically with the tip resting on a board, or horizontally in the air if you are confident.
- Set the blade against the steel near the handle end, at roughly the angle of a matchbox — around fifteen to twenty degrees.
- Draw the blade down and across the steel in one motion, from heel to tip, keeping the angle constant.
- Repeat on the other side. Alternate sides, five or six strokes each.
- Use light pressure. Force achieves nothing and damages the edge.
- Test it on a sheet of paper held in the air — a honed knife slices down through it cleanly.
- Do this before or after each significant session of cutting. It takes less time than finding the board.
What ruins an edge
- The dishwasher. Heat, detergent and knocking against other things. Wash knives by hand and dry them immediately.
- Glass, stone, marble and ceramic boards. These are harder than the steel and blunt a knife within minutes. Wood or plastic only.
- Loose in a drawer, where the edge knocks against everything else.
- Scraping food off the board with the edge. Turn the knife over and use the spine.
- Cutting through bone, frozen food or hard squash skin with a thin blade. Use a heavier knife.
- Leaving it wet, especially carbon steel, which rusts quickly.
- Twisting the blade to prise something apart.
Sharpening, when it is genuinely needed
- Whetstone
- The best result and a real skill. A combination stone of around 1000 and 6000 grit covers domestic use.
- Pull-through sharpener
- Fast, easy, and it removes more metal than necessary. Fine for ordinary kitchen knives.
- Professional sharpening
- Cheap, quick and excellent. Many hardware shops and markets offer it.
- Electric sharpeners
- Effective and aggressive. They shorten a knife's life noticeably.
- How to tell it is needed
- A honed knife that still will not slice paper or bite into a tomato skin needs sharpening.
- Serrated knives
- Do not hone or sharpen conventionally. They last a very long time and are usually replaced.
- Ceramic knives
- Hold an edge far longer and chip rather than dull. They need specialist sharpening.
Common questions
Is a honing steel a sharpener?
No. It straightens a rolled edge and removes almost no metal. Sharpening grinds a new edge.
How often should I hone?
Before or after each significant session of cutting. It takes ten seconds.
How often should I sharpen?
A few times a year for a domestic knife that is honed regularly.
Can knives go in the dishwasher?
They can and they should not. Heat, detergent and knocking all damage the edge.
Are blunt knives dangerous?
Yes. A blunt blade slips off food rather than biting in, and that is how most kitchen cuts happen.
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