Learning how to sharpen knives
Ok, I know what you’re thinking
Wow this “project” is so out of place. What’s the point of putting this here?
I’m a big advocate for learning new things. I constantly find myself diving deep into tons of hobbies, and this is one of them! I recently got a really nice knife from Japan, and I’m going down the rabbit hole of knife making, maintenance, and cooking. I’ve also recently been trying to improve my skills as a home cook.
My fancy knife I got from Japan
I took a trip to Japan December 2019 and I traveled across the country jumping from city to city. Going into the trip, I already knew I was going to buy a Japanese knife, but I didn’t know what kind yet. Would it be a Gyuto, Santoku, Nakiri, or a Yanagiba?
While I was in Osaka, I stumbled upon an unforgettable street: Sennichimae Doguyasuji Shotengai, also known as The Kitchen Street. This street was filled with all sorts of kitchenware. This street has anything you can imagine that’s kitchen/food/restaurant related. I highly recommend giving this a visit if you’re ever in Osaka.
I walked into a knife shop and one of the employees helped me out. With his limited English and my limited Japanese, he guided me through all the different knives and what to choose. After lots of difficult communication through language barriers, I ended up choosing this beauty:
This is my 180mm Santoku made by Sakai Takayuki. It’s a 45 layer hammered damascus clad stainless steel over a AUS10 core. The handle is walnut and has been treated with 5 layers of butcher block oil.
Learning how to sharpen knives
Shortly after returning from Japan, I had to learn how to sharpen knives properly if I want to maintain my newly bought Japanese knife. I bought the most popular sharpening whetstone on Amazon and practiced on all my mom’s currently kitchen knives.
I practiced on two chef knives, a cleaver, and a pairing knife. The chefs knife in the middle with the broken handle is actually a really old knife that my dad bought for my mom. I’m unsure of it’s brand because the lettering has wore all off due to the many, many years of usage. It’s so old that I think it’s older than me. But despite it’s age, it actually sharpens really well and holds it’s edge for much longer than all of the other knives in the kitchen.
Things I have learned so far
So with just a few sharpening sessions, I’ve actually learned a lot.
Firstly, I learned that I should get a new sharpening whetstone. This cheap one I bought for $35 USD isn’t really going to cut it if I’m serious about learning how to sharpen knives. I’m thinking of going for the Shapton series of whetstones to replace this cheap one. The Shapton ones are expensive, but with proper care, they can last me a lifetime.
The second thing I learned was that sharpening is actually not that scary. I was really intimidated at first, but after getting a few sharp edges, you learn to embrace the stone and you sort of get into the “zone.”
I’m not the right person to ask about knife sharpening just yet. There are tons of great YouTube videos out there that can teach you how to sharpen knives. One of my favorite channels to watch about knives is Burrfection.