knifeopedia

Whetstone Sharpening 

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Whetstones, also known as waterstones, are widely regarded as the best way to sharpen a knife and achieve the sharpest cutting edge. While this method requires some skill, the techniques are not too difficult to learn, and the results are often worth the effort.

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The principle of whetstone sharpening is straightforward: you move the knife across the harder stone at a fixed angle, removing material from the blade to create a sharp edge.

 

A basic whetstone sharpening set-up consists of the following:

• 3 whetstones (coarse #200 - #400 grit, medium #1000 grit, fine #5000 - #6000 grit)

• A stone holder (anything to keep the stone steady while sharpening)

• Water and a clean cloth to wipe the blade

• Your knife

 

Before sharpening, some whetstones need to be soaked in water. The stone must remain wet throughout the process, as the combination of water and whetstone particles creates a slurry that helps with sharpening. If the stone dries out during use, simply add more water while being careful not to wash away the slurry.

The next step is finding the right angle for sharpening. Maintaining a consistent angle is key to successful whetstone sharpening.

Once you've found and set the angle, the knife is sharpened by moving it back and forth across the stone.

Afterwards, the knife is sharpened on the stone with a back and forth motion.

There are plenty of excellent instructional videos online that walk you through the process step by step. Here are some of my top recommendations:

 

https://gearjunkie.com/how-to-sharpen-knife-whetstone

https://www.mediocrechef.com/blog/how-to-sharpen-kitchen-knives

 

The grit you use for sharpening depends on how dull your knife is, specifically how rounded the edge has become and whether any microchips need to be removed. The more material that needs to be taken off, the lower the grit you should start with. Here's a simple rule: coarser grits remove more material faster but leave a rougher surface.

The following are common grits for sharpening stones:

 

#200-400

for removal of material in dull edges or resetting the angle of the edge

#500-600

for sharpening of rather dull edges

#800-1500

for sharpening of slightly rounded edges when stropping / honing can't bring back the edge

#2000-4000

for edge refinement

#5000-6000

for edge polishing

#8000-20000

for mirror finished edges

 

Keep in mind, stones with the same grit number may not perform the same across brands—some #400 stones cut faster than a #250 from another.

 

You don't need a large variety of stones!

Examples of a good stone progression would be:

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for polished edges:

400 / 1000 / 6000                     

for mirror finished edges:

400 / 1000 / 3000 / 10000

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The principle of sharpening involves removing material from both sides of the blade until the rounded edge is restored to a sharp point. As you sharpen, the removal of material creates a burr along the edge, which you can feel by running your thumb from the center of the blade toward the edge.

Sharpening should continue until you can feel this burr along the entire length of the edge. Once you do, flip the blade over and sharpen the other side until the burr forms there as well. Only after this step should you move on to a finer grit to further refine the edge. As you progress to higher grits, the burr will become smaller and less pronounced.

Finally, the burr needs to be removed. This can be done by alternating swiping strokes across the stone, gradually easing up on the pressure towards the end to ensure a smooth, sharp finish.