What is the best way to sharpen a knife video?

Answer 1

Possibly the easiestway:Use a knife sharpener Arguably the bestways:Using a Whetstone (oil stone), a leather strop or a Steel.

When using a Steel, it can take practice to become quick & efficient. Always remember: point the Steel toward the floor and strike the knife DOWN it, away from your body with the cutting face pointing upward. If the knife then hits any body parts on the downstroke it will not cut. Alternate from one side of the blade to the other on every other stroke, drawing the length of the blade diagonally across the Steel. Use both "sides" of the Steel... first draw the knife down & across one side, then cross the Steel with it and draw it down the other. As your hands and mind get used to the action it will progressively become quicker and more instinctive. Soon your hands will be moving at light-speed and you won't even know it. Resist the temptation to speed up before you're used to the motions... that's the best way to loose a finger or even an arm!

Using a strop is very similar to using a Steel.

The strop is often attached to the belt or to a solid object at one end and held in the hand at the other. Again, draw the knife backward (Blunt edge to lead) and diagonally across the strop, turning it over with each movement (much like you might paint a fence with a brush).

There are many different kinds of Whetstone but for the purposes of this answer, only two need to be described... the wheel and the flat stone. Both do the same job but the wheel arguably does it far quicker. This is the same as most modern knife sharpeners. Electric grinding wheels should always be used with great care. Respect them... they're highly dangerous when used incorrectly.

The flat stone should be used slowly and methodically. The knife can be applied to the stone or the stone to the knife, whichever you find easiest & most comfortable. Use lubricating oil (cutting fluid or similar) or water / spit where no oil is available. This prevents the knife blade from snagging on the stone and potentially fracturing. It also helps to create a smoother finish to the blade. In using a flat stone, patience is of the essence. This cannot be rushed and may take some considerable time, especially if the blade is very dull.

An archaic but practical method:Alternatively, to sharpen a blade, one can use a stone from the ground. Certain types of stone work better than others. For example, Flint is an extremely hard type of stone and, used correctly, can sharpen a knife as precisely as any modern knife-sharpening device or tool.

Sharpening a blade with a piece of flint requires the upmost patience and persistance. Firstly, the flint should be shaped to provide as smooth a face as possible on one side. Additionally, it should be comfortable to handle, as you will be holding it for some time and excerpting moderate pressure upon it.

To shape a piece of flint, you can use another hard stone. Flint is much like wood in that it tends to break where it wants to, rather than where you want it to. Fortunately, however, this usually means a nice clean split with very few, if any rough surfaces. To create the "cutting" and "handling" surfaces, strike the sharpening stone with your other hard stone. Learning how to produce the right split may take time to master, so be patient and have plenty of Flint to hand. When you're finished, you should be left with a palm-sized stone that feels comfortable and secure in your grip. On the face pointing upward from your palm, the stone should be as flat and smooth as possible.

If there are any rough edges, you can wear them down by rubbing them against another stone. For this, softer stones such as limestone are more preferable as they're less likely to cause the sharpening stone to split or fracture. You can add water, or spit in order to create a smoother edge or face.

To sharpen your blade, take your Flint and, gripping it firmly (but not oppressively), slide it along the length of the knife's cutting edge, excerpting firm, even pressure. The knife should be held pointing away from the body and the cutting edge should press as close to flat against the stone as possible. The flatter against the stone it is, the finer the taper of the blade will be. Conversely, to "dull down" a blade that is too sharp (yes, there IS such a thing!), orient the stone to intersect the blade at a sharper angle. If this makes the stone uncomfortable to hold, cut a second one.

Again, in sharpening the knife, water or spit can be used to create a smoother finish. Keep repeating the action and clean both the stone and the blade every few minutes so as to minimise scoring. Do not be tempted to speed up the process by "scrubbing" the stone up & down the blade... this will only serve to dull the blade and destroy the face of the stone. Instead, your action should be a single outward stroke from the body, toward the point of the knife. When you reach the tip with the stone, take it out of contact with the blade and repeat the action continuously until the blade is sharp to satisfaction.

If the blade is of good quality material and you're doing things right, it will ring in an audibly pleasing fashion when it is sharp & smooth.