Hand Sharpen High Quality Knives
Tiny Bubbles...no wait tiny circlesSo you've invested big bucks in a super cool set of kitchen knives.....sweet! But now you need to have them professionally sharpened because unlike Ginzu knives your new ones will actually loose their edge. Not to worry you can do it yourself with a minimal investment in time and equipment. All you'll need is a sharpening stone. I really recommend getting a Japanese combination wet stone. Mine cost about $40.00 and it will probably last until my great, great grand children give it to Goodwill.
Sitting down to sharpen all your knives at once is a bit of a daunting task. I'd recommend doing one or two knives at at time. That way you're only investing about 20-30 minutes.
Procedure
First off you need to soak your wet stone in water for about 10 minutes. And in case you didn't hear it from the sales person or read it in the docs that came with your stone--never let oil, not even a tiny drop, touch your wet stone. If you get oil on the stone it's ruined.
After your stone has soaked up some water it's ready to be used. I usually keep a little extra water handy in case the stone dries out while I am using it. You can just splash a bit on when you need it. And I will put a kitchen towel under my stone when I am using it. It prevents the stone from moving around and protects the surface of whatever I placed the stone on.
Next you'll need to get comfortable with creating the proper angle for sharpening. The angle you are shooting for is 23 degrees. I know you are asking yourself, "Great...how much is 23 degrees?" Well there are a couple of ways to figure that out. First you can get little guides that clip onto the spine of your knife. The store where you bought the stone will probably have them. I call them "training wheels" and they do a great job of setting the knife at the correct angle for sharpening. They're a bit of a pain in the ass to use so once you get the feel for the right angle go free hand.
The second method is just to use your finger as a guide. If you start off with the "training wheels" you'll get a really good sense of how to hold your fingers to get that 23 degree edge. If you don't have training wheels then I find that about half the width of my index finger is right. I will just slide my finger along the spine of my knife until I have about half of it sticking out the bottom. I then gently rest my finger against the stone and get to work.
For technique I use the tiny circles method. All that means is that I make tiny revolutions with the knife starting at the heel and working my way toward the tip. I keep the knife at 23 degrees the entire way. I use a firm pressure but, I am gentle. I am not trying to remove a huge amount of metal from my knife edge. I want to take enough away to sharpen the knife and no more.
The dark paste that forms while you are working is your best friend. Don't wipe or wash it away! It will sharpen your knife faster than a "clean" surface.
I don't know if this is a little OCD or if it actually helps but I do count exactly how many circles I make on one side of the knife and then I make the exact same about of revolutions on the opposite side.
How do you know when you're done? Well this is a bit tricky but, I will scrape my thumb across the blade when I start. It will feel dull and rough. I'll stop sharpening periodically and scrape my thumb across the blade. When it feels sharp and smooth I know I am done. Oddly I think the sound it makes is a better indication for me then the "feel." Unfortunately, I can't describe that sound with type and pictures. It sounds crisp and sharp...for whatever tht is worth.
The fine grit stone will polish your cutting edge. Use the same techniques and hold the knife at a 23 degree angle. You can tell when you are done working the knife because the edge will shine like a polished piece of steel. It usually takes me about half as long to work the polish side of the stone as it does to use the course grit side.
