Complete Beginner's Guide to Knife Sharpening

There's nothing quite like the satisfaction of slicing through a ripe tomato with a truly sharp knife. The blade glides effortlessly, the tomato keeps its shape, and you're reminded why professional chefs obsess over their edge maintenance. If you've ever struggled with a dull knife that squashes rather than cuts, you're not alone—and learning to sharpen your own knives is more accessible than you might think.

This guide will walk you through everything you need to know as a beginner, from understanding why knives get dull to choosing your first sharpening method and achieving that coveted razor-sharp edge.

Why Do Knives Get Dull?

Before learning to sharpen, it's helpful to understand what you're actually fixing. A knife edge, when viewed under magnification, looks like a thin wedge that comes to a fine point. Over time, several things happen to degrade this edge:

• Micro-folding: The thin edge bends and folds over during use, creating what sharpeners call a "rolled edge"
• Abrasive wear: Contact with cutting boards, food acids, and bone gradually removes metal from the edge
• Chipping: Hard ingredients or improper technique can cause tiny chips along the blade
• Corrosion: Moisture and acids attack the steel, particularly at the thin edge where material is most vulnerable

Sharpening Methods Explained

As a beginner, you have several options for restoring your knife's edge. Each method has its own learning curve, cost, and results quality.

Pull-Through Sharpeners

These are the most beginner-friendly option. You simply draw your knife through preset slots that contain abrasive materials—usually tungsten carbide for coarse sharpening and ceramic for fine honing. While they won't produce the finest edge possible, they're nearly foolproof and can bring a dull knife back to serviceable sharpness in under a minute.

Best for: Complete beginners, those who want minimal learning curve, and maintaining basic kitchen knives.

Electric Sharpeners

Electric sharpeners use motorised abrasive wheels to grind your blade to a sharp edge. Quality models like the Chef'sChoice Trizor XV feature multiple stages—coarse for reshaping damaged edges, fine for sharpening, and honing for polishing. They're fast, consistent, and require little skill to operate.

Best for: Those who sharpen frequently, have multiple knives to maintain, or prefer convenience over absolute precision.

Whetstones

Also called sharpening stones or water stones, whetstones are the traditional method preferred by professionals. You manually glide the blade across an abrasive stone at a consistent angle, gradually removing metal to form a new edge. This method offers the most control and can produce exceptionally sharp results, but requires practice to master.

Best for: Enthusiasts willing to invest time in learning, those seeking the sharpest possible edge, and owners of high-quality knives.

Essential Terminology

Before diving deeper, familiarise yourself with these common sharpening terms:

• Grit: Measures the coarseness of an abrasive. Lower numbers (200-400) are coarse for repairing damage; higher numbers (3000+) are fine for polishing
• Burr: A thin wire of metal that forms on the opposite side of the edge during sharpening—an important indicator that you've sharpened sufficiently
• Honing: Straightening a bent edge without removing significant metal. Different from sharpening, which removes metal to create a new edge
• Stropping: Polishing the edge on leather or similar material to remove the burr and align the very tip of the edge
• Angle: The degree at which the blade meets the sharpening surface—crucial for consistent results

Your First Sharpening Session

Ready to try sharpening? Here's a simple approach using a pull-through sharpener:

1. Place the sharpener on a stable, non-slip surface
2. Hold the knife handle firmly in your dominant hand
3. Insert the blade into the coarse slot at the heel (near the handle)
4. Apply light, consistent pressure—let the sharpener do the work
5. Pull the knife through in one smooth motion, maintaining contact with the slot
6. Repeat 3-5 times, then switch to the fine slot for 3-5 more passes
7. Wash the blade to remove metal particles before use

How Often Should You Sharpen?

This depends on how frequently you cook and what you're cutting. As a general guideline:

• Daily cooks: True sharpening every 2-3 months, with regular honing before each use
• Weekly cooks: Sharpen every 4-6 months
• Occasional cooks: Once or twice per year may suffice

The best indicator is performance. When your knife starts to feel dull—when it tears rather than slices, or when you need more pressure than before—it's time to sharpen.

Building Your Skills Over Time

Knife sharpening is a journey, not a destination. Many home cooks start with a simple pull-through device, find they enjoy the process, and eventually explore whetstones for even better results. Don't be discouraged if your first attempts aren't perfect. With each session, you'll develop better muscle memory, learn to feel the burr, and understand how your particular knives respond to different techniques.

Consider keeping a dedicated "practice knife" for learning—an inexpensive blade you're not worried about damaging while developing your skills. As your confidence grows, you can apply your techniques to your better knives with the assurance that comes from experience.

Welcome to the world of knife sharpening. Your future self—and your tomatoes—will thank you.