Time to start dinner! You take out your cutting board and set to work chopping up the veggies. As you slice through the green pepper, your knife struggles a bit. That’s strange.
Most of the time, your knives slice through everything like butter. So, why are the edges getting caught in everything you cut for tonight’s meal?
It sounds like you need to learn how to sharpen kitchen knives. It’s not as difficult as it may seem. All you need to do is choose the right tool to get the job done.
We can walk you through the process. Keep reading for a few sharpening tips that will turn you into a kitchen whizz.
Buy Honing Steel
Everyone should have honing steel in their kitchen. It’s a long metal rod that you can use to sharpen the best kitchen knives. Well, we say sharpen, but it doesn’t actually do that.
You see, every time you slam your knife down on a cutting board, it bends the edges of the blade on a microscopic level. After a while, the blade becomes so dull that you can’t cut through anything.
The honing rod will straighten out the bent edge when you’re in a pinch. To use this tool, hold it so the metal tip is pointed down and brace it against a hard surface.
Next, press the side of the knife’s blade against the rod and pull the knife toward you. Do this on both sides until your knife is as sharp as you need it to be.
Use an Electric Sharpener
If you’re a novice that wants to learn how to sharpen kitchen knives, electric sharpeners have you covered. They take most of the work out of the process.
All you have to do is plug it in, turn it on, and run the dull edge of the knife through each of the slots. Make sure that you do both sides of the knife an equal number of times. If you don’t, the knife isn’t going to cut evenly when you’re done.
Go the Old Fashioned Route
If none of the other sharpening methods appeal to you, there’s always the old-fashioned route. Using a whetstone is a lot of work. It may take a few tries before you get it right.
Dampen a washcloth and lay the stone on it with the gritty side facing you. Hold the imarku knife so that your thumb is on the handle and your index finger is against the back of the blade.
Push the knife against the whetstone at a 20-degree angle. Keep the same angle throughout the sharpening process, or you’ll mess up your knife.
Sharpen Kitchen Knives for the Best Cooking Experience
As you can see, you can learn how to sharpen kitchen knives without breaking a sweat. In some cases, the sharpening tool will handle the entire process for you.
Follow these tips, and you’ll have your knife slicing through most anything like butter. For more tips that will help you navigate through a kitchen, feel free to explore the rest of our blog.