The Care and Feeding of a Chef's Knife
Sharpening, honing, and not treating a good blade like a doorstop.
A dull knife is more dangerous than a sharp one, more work than a sharp one, and produces worse food. Learn to hone daily and sharpen when needed and your knife will outlive you. This is the single cheapest upgrade to your cooking.
Watch a demonstration
How to Sharpen a Knife on a Whetstone
hosted by Bon Appétit
How to do it
- 01
Hone every time you cook
Honing doesn't sharpen — it straightens the microscopic edge that gets bent out of shape as you work. Hold the steel vertical, tip on the board. Draw the blade down and across at roughly a 15-degree angle, whole length, five times each side. Ten seconds. Do this before every session.
~1 min - 02
Sharpen once every few weeks
Honing keeps a sharp knife sharp. When the edge is properly dull, you need to remove metal — that's sharpening. Soak your whetstone in water for 10 minutes until the bubbles stop.
~10 min - 03
Find the angle
Hold the knife at roughly 15-20 degrees to the stone (Japanese knives closer to 15, European closer to 20). A matchbook thickness under the spine gives you a decent 15-degree guide.
~2 min - 04
Draw the whole blade across the stone
Push forward with light-to-medium pressure from heel to tip, keeping the angle constant. Ten strokes each side. Alternate. Feel for a burr — a tiny ridge of steel on the opposite edge. That means it's working.
~4 min - 05
Test the edge
Try to slice through a piece of printer paper held vertically. If it slices cleanly with no tearing, it's sharp. If it tears, back to the stone. A really sharp edge will shave hairs off the back of your forearm, but that's overkill for cooking.
~2 min - 06
Store it properly
Never in a drawer with other metal. Magnetic strip on the wall, a knife block, or an in-drawer wooden holder. Wash and dry immediately after use — never leave a knife wet or dirty overnight.
~1 min