How to Sharpen Knives and Scissors!

My sister-in-law has a mid-October birthday and we love using the occasion to kick off our holiday family gatherings.  I served some seriously tasty pot roast turkey as part of the main course.  Even though it was perfectly fall-off-the-bone cooked, we still grabbed our special turkey carving knife to get our slices just right.  It all turned out fine, but I was also a bit surprised with how dull our knife had become.  I told myself that I need to sharpen our knives so that is exactly what I’ve been up to today.  I wanted to make sure I did the job right though, so after some research here’s the cut on how to sharpen knives and scissors!

Whetstone

Whetstone is an abrasive stone similar to sandpaper with different grits but is particularly helpful for sharpening objects like knives and scissors.  To sharpen your cutting devices with a whetstone, you’ll follow a series of pretty simple steps.

Submerge In Water

Soak the whetstone in water for about 5-10 minutes to soak.  Look for little air bubbles to appear on the stone to know that it has absorbed the right amount of water for the job.  Image source.

Coarse Grit First

Once the whetstone is prepped from soaking, place the stone on a slip-resistant surface with the coarse grit showing on top.  Place your knife on the whetstone and lightly move the blade back and forth at a 15-20° angle.  This motion should be away from and towards the body.  Image source.

Work Tip to Base

As you’re using the coarse grit on the whetstone, pull the blade over the stone from tip to base, making sure to maintain an angle of 15-20°.  After working for a minute or two, you’ll start to notice a fine edge develop.  Turn the knife over and work on sharpening the other side as well.  Repeat the process as needed.  Image source.

Final Prep

When you feel your knife is at your desired level of sharpness, pull the blade two final times to remove any last remaining burrs.  Rinse both the blade and the whetstone to clear off grinding residue.  And that’s it!  You’re ready for some pretty precise turkey carving.  Happy eating!!  Image source.