By ShowMeStepByStepPublished Updated
Based on a video by Tasty.
To sharpen knives at home, hone the edge with a steel before each cooking session, run them through a pull-through sharpener for weekly touch-ups, and use a whetstone at a 20-degree angle for fully dull blades. Test sharpness on a ripe tomato. Store knives in a block or on a magnetic strip to keep the edge.
Dull knives aren't just annoying. They're dangerous, because you end up pushing harder and slipping more often. This walkthrough (adapted from a Tasty video) covers each sharpening method in detail so you can match the approach to how dull your knife actually is.
Answers to the questions home cooks ask most often: how often to sharpen, what angle to use, whether pull-throughs damage knives, and how to tell when an edge is gone.
For most home cooks, a true sharpening once or twice a year is enough. The work in between is honing, which you should do every few uses with a steel. Honing realigns a microscopically rolled edge in 30 seconds and extends the time between full sharpenings dramatically. If you cook every day on hard cutting boards or work with a lot of bone-in proteins, sharpen quarterly instead.
Most Western chef's knives sharpen at a 20-degree angle per side. Japanese knives sharpen at a steeper 15-degree angle per side because their thinner steel cuts cleaner but takes more careful maintenance. To find 20 degrees by eye, hold the spine of the knife two stacked quarters off the stone. To find 15 degrees, use one and a half quarters. A few cheap angle guides clip onto the spine if you'd rather not eyeball it.
Cheap pull-throughs scrape too much metal off and leave a rough, scratched edge that dulls fast. Better ones with ceramic or diamond rods at fixed angles do a respectable job for everyday kitchen knives and are far better than letting blades go dull. The trade-off is precision: a pull-through removes more steel than a whetstone for the same sharpening result, which shortens the life of an expensive knife. Use them on workhorse knives, save the whetstone for blades you care about.
The tomato test is the standard: a sharp knife slices a ripe tomato by gliding through the skin under its own weight, no sawing. If the knife slips on the skin or you have to press hard, it needs work. The paper test is a faster diagnostic: hold a sheet of printer paper vertically and slice down through it. A sharp blade makes a clean cut from heel to tip. A dull blade tears, snags, or refuses to bite.
A honing steel doesn't sharpen your knife. It straightens the edge, which bends a little with regular use. Put the tip of the steel on a towel on the counter for stability. Hold the knife at about 20 degrees - start at 90, cut to 45, cut again to roughly 22. Drag from heel to tip on one side, then the other. A few passes is all you need.
Tip
Hone your knife before every use. It keeps the edge aligned and means you won't have to sharpen as often.
For a quick sharpen, a pull-through sharpener is the easiest option. It has a coarse side and a fine side. Put the knife in the slot, pull it toward you with even pressure, heel to tip. Do the coarse side a few times, then the fine side. Keep the knife straight up and down - don't wobble.
Tip
Good for regular maintenance, but if the blade is really damaged you'll want a whetstone.
If your knife needs real work, a whetstone is the way to go. Soak it in water until the bubbles stop coming out. Set it on a towel so it doesn't slide around. It has a coarse side and a fine side, same as the pull-through. Start coarse.
Hold the knife at 20 degrees against the stone. A paper trick helps you find the angle - fold a corner of paper in half twice and that's roughly 22 degrees. Drag the blade from heel to tip in a sweeping motion, then flip and do the other side. Keep even pressure and add water if the stone starts drying out. A few passes per side for maintenance, more if the knife is really dull.
Tip
If the stone starts making a scratchy sound, splash more water on it.
Grab a tomato and try slicing it with different parts of the blade. If any section catches or feels dull, go back to the stone and focus on that spot. A sharp knife should glide right through without squishing the tomato at all.
Don't toss your knives in a drawer loose. They'll bang into each other and dull fast. Use a knife block, a magnetic strip, or blade sleeves if drawer storage is all you have. When you put a knife in a block, slide the spine in first so the blade doesn't drag on the wood. Hand wash your knives and dry them right away. Skip the dishwasher.
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