KnifeSharpening.com at Just Knives 101 - The Kitchen Cutlery Experts

Questions and Answers

Do good quality knives need to be sharpened?

Of course they do! Even with good maintenance, the best knives in the world won’t last forever . Investing a few dollars in having the cutting edge reconditioned will keep your knives cutting just like the day you bought them.

Doesn’t the sharpening steel sharpen my knives?

Not Really. A sharpening steel is a great maintenance tool. When using a sharp knife, the cutting edge can get slightly bent or rounded. A sharpening steel re-aligns the cutting edge back to straight. If a knife is very dull and the cutting edge is completely rounded out, there is nothing a sharpening steel can do.

Won’t having my knives sharpened wear out my knives?

Yes, but over a very long period of time. We remove a very small amount of steel from the blades when sharpening. Just enough to get the cutting edge back to perfect. Most quality knives can withstand dozens of sharpenings over many years.

How often should I have my knives professionally sharpened?

Once a year is our normal recommendation for average to heavy household use. Professional chefs frequently get their knives sharpened 2-4 times a year.

What can I do to get the most from my cutting edge?

There are a few suggestions in here. It is best to use the sharpening steel often. Waiting until you can noticeably tell that the knife is dull is sometimes too late. It is a maintenance tool, use it frequently. Also, your cutting board will play a considerable role in keeping your knives sharp. Wood cutting boards are best for the edges on your knives. There are plenty of quality poly boards available on the market. Materials like glass, granite and Corian should be avoided. (Cutting board test: Try and gently stab your cutting board with the point of your paring knife. It should stick like a dart in a dart board. If it doesn't stick in the board, bounces back, or slides across, then expect the edge of your knife to do the same thing)

How do you use that sharpening steel thingy?

It’s easy… Well, maybe we should say easy with practice. The safest and easiest way to learn how to use a sharpening steel is to place the tip of the steel on a cutting board holding the steel by the handle so the steel is straight up and down. Place the heel of your knife on the sharpening steel just below the handle. Hold the knife at approximately a 20 degree angle and slice downward while pulling the knife towards yourself so the tip of the knife is off of the sharpening steel before you hit the cutting board. Do each side 5-10 times. The most important part of this process is holding the knife at a consistent angle on both sides, on every stroke.

Is there anything I can use besides the sharpening steel? I just don’t seem to have good luck with it.

Of course there is. There are a few quality hand held knife sharpeners that have preset angles. They are safe and very easy to use. Our favorite is the Sharpmaker Kit from Spyderco. It is versatile, comes with an instructional DVD and uses ceramics to sharpen. This kit does it all.

Did we miss a question? Email us and we’ll answer it and possibly add it to our Q&A section.