I've been sharpening knives for 55+ years and this is the most simplistic explanation I've ever heard. Perfect. Like you said, keeping it the same angle all the way down the edge is the key. The only thing I would add is a leather strop. Just a few passes on a strop can bring back the edge to razors edge. And they can be made, with a piece of leather and a flat board for a few bucks! Or bought for less than a whet stone.
Has anyone notice that he fuckəd up the flat bevel of his yanigaba? Yanagibas have to be sharpened completely flat on one side and 12° to 15° on the other side
I’m a young chef and have been trying to master sharpening my knives on a stone for some time now. This was without a doubt the most helpful tutorial! Thank you!
Seriously the best way to find the angle every time is to actually "try" to peel the wetstone. If you got that right in mind when sharpening then you automatically manage to do it easilly. Just pretend that you wanna peel a thin sheat from the wetstone.
Im a butcher for 7 years and a cook for 10 years. I agree that its not okay to use the steel rod for sharpening as it only damages the blade. But as a butcher, I always needed something that sharpen my knife as quick as possible and thats how the rod helps me. But before it becomes useful, I sand it and make finer so it wont damage my knife. Sorry for my bad english.
You can't use a steel rod for sharpening. That rod is for honing, and if used correctly, it does NOT damage a blade in any way. That's idiotic. Every pro out there, whether pro sharpener, or pro butcher or cook, I've ever known uses a honing rod constantly. All a honing rod does is straight bent places along the edge. Contrary to damaging the edge or the blade, it makes the edge, and the blade itself, last much longer.
I've heard this said many, many times... "The honing rod only reshapes the edge." This isn't the entire truth though, only half of it. The steel that honing rods are made of is harder than the steel that blades are made of. So when you apply pressure as you run the edge across, it both reshapes the edge and at the same time compresses (and hardens) the steel at the edge. That hardening of the edge plays a big part in proper honing helping your blade to last longer between sharpenings.
@@diminished2nd except at this point in the crystaline formation of the steel (tempered martensite) you only increase the brittleness without any increase in the elasticity, in other words your edge becomes weaker on average.
My great great grandfather had quite a thing for sharpening blades. He would always make sure that every single blade (knife/machete/bolo) in the house was razor sharp. It kinda got passed down to me so now I'M the one with his habit. I'm not regretting it or anything, it's actually very satisfying once you end up with a really sharp blade. A razor sharp knife is perfect and ideal for cooking. *Unless you prefer to use it for its more deadly use*
I learned from a Japanese chef. The entire length of the blade is put to the stone....same as you are doing, essentially, but without the danger of an uneven edge. The blade is not pushed straight across but on a slight diagonal. A razor sharp knife is a joy to use.
I learned from a Japanese chef who was taught to do it perpendicular like this. I guess Japan is a big, and diverse place... Like a country or something.
This was my first Josh Weissman video. I already owned a pretty good collection of water stones for my chisels and plane blades but I still don’t use them for my kitchen knives but once a year and I use a totally different technique. That said, “Josh” only refers to one person in my house. If my kids say Josh, they’re talking about you. If my wife says Josh, she’s talking about you. We have all learned so, so, so much from you over the last year. Thank you.
I don't know about most people but it is extremely relaxing to me to sharpen knifes and satisfying to watch a edge going from dull and poorly finished to razor sharp and mirror fine. I love stropping a edge and seeing running a cloth over the blade to whip off the compound and seeing the mirror finish on the edge.. I love it.
For anyone new to this, stone sharpens the edge. However, as u use the knife, the edges may be a little bent etc. Hence honing it will straighten the knifes edge letting it remain sharp for longer before u have to sharpen it again. So learning to use both is good. Or at least this is what I've come to know.
so the reason for this is, when you have a blade that is sharp, the edge is so fine and thin that it pushes through the molecules that make up an object. some are denser and hold together better, like wood and steel and stone, but essentially you're separating molecules. when that edge is that fine, it becomes prone to bending and rolling, so it gets off centered and can become round. the honing rod is meant to push the apex of the blade back into alignment. just in case anyone was wondering.
I feel you. I'm not even joking right now, but several times I said something or someone near me said something and after entering youtube site I had recommendations regarding things we spoke of. To be clear those weren't things I usually watch.
@@SolidSnake59 Or, you've seen so many ads about a topic that you subconsciously bring it up in a conversation. You then noticing it in your conversation assumes it's them listening to you.
For various reasons I had not sharpened a knife for many years. But when I was 14 I could get an edge to shave with. I needed a refresher on stone sharpening and as you spoke and demonstrated all of the technique that my father and grandfather had taught me 40 years ago came rushing back. Funny how it is still the best method for a razor edge. Sometimes the old ways are still the best. Thanks for a presentation that gets to the point.
Thank you for the clear and helpful instruction. A little story: My partner and I took a one-evening course on making Pho at a technical college with a chef program. The instruction was great. The knives provided for the 8 couples registered were sharpened to perfection by the students. The instructors, two faculty members, introduced us officially to 'knife skills,' as a significant part of the introduction. That included letting us know that the knives were sharp and a recommendation to be careful. Within moments from the start of prepping ingredients, people (all men) began coming forward with cuts, some quite nasty. In all, four had to get a bandaid and little 'condom' to cover the bloody finger. The issue, I think, is that people with dull knives may not know how to use a sharp knife. When I sharpen our knifes (not all that expertly), I tell the fam to take extra care.
Just to point it out. A honing rod isn't for sharpening, it's for re-aligning the edge, not removing material. _(It's however not as relevant for Japanese knives like you showed.)_ When you use a German knife of softer steel, when you hit hard things like bones for instance, the super thin edge sort of bends or rolls over. Using a honing rod straightens that all back out. You need sharpening when a blade is chipped or damaged, because there's nothing to re-align, you have to remove material by grinding to create a new edge. Why it's not as relevant on Japanese knives is because they're usually of a much higher hardness, so they'll keep their edge longer (no need for honing) but chip sooner (need whetstone).
@@luciustarquiniuspriscus1408 - I'm sorry but do you have any idea how thin the edge of a knife is? A child could bend that. How else would it go out of alignment in the first place?
Hey all! Just want address some comments and reactions to this video to let everyone know what this video is supposed to be. This technique is something that I learned as a beginner while working in restaurants. It's really only intended to get people started on the idea of using a whetstone. This video is NOT intended to be a professional all inclusive knife video. I also did get White #2 and stainless steel mixed up (sorry!). Stainless steel is actually softer than white #2. With that said, it does take me far longer to sharpen my stainless german steel knife than it does to sharpen my white #2. I also chose to have people start on a 1000/6000 stone because I would rather someone take longer sharpening as a first timer, than mess up their knives with a coarser grit stone. I'm really not an expert on knife types/steels nor do I claim to be. I know a vast amount more about cooking/baking. This is just supposed to be a fun video to help get total newbies started up. There are A LOT of things to learn in sharpening (and a lot of ways to do it) so I suggest everyone that wants to actually follow this guide to go do their own research after getting started over here on this video. Thanks!
German stainless takes longer to sharpen because of the chromium carbides, which are vehehery abrasion resistant. White is not alloyed, it's just iron and carbon (plus trace amounts of other stuff), and that's why it's easier to sharpen, even if it's harder. Now, if we were talking about the same steel, then a harder blade would be slightly more difficult to sharpen.
actually for beginners i would have them also start honing the knife as well ... so that they don't sharpen as often ... most people think that chefs sharpen the knife when they are actually not i think making it clearer would be better for most people to understand the difference . however ... there is plenty of videos on RUclips about sharpening and honing blades. the very least i would recommend for bigginers ... knife sharpeners ... yep they exist ... not top notch but at least your not dealing with a dull knife.
Complete amateur, knows less than nothing about how to sharpen a knife, regurgitates every hack move propagated by other idiots who also know nothing. Wouldn't know what a knife blade looks like under 100X after he gets done wrecking it, can only imagine the shit-show of this trainwreck under 10K X. Ugh....
@@maniswolftoman Thank you so much for clarifying. Would you be so kind to direct me to any tutorial for a beginner like me and maybe also something that might help me selecting a good stone or other equipment without breaking the bank? :) I have a few decent kitchen knives, not esoteric $$$$ stuff, and would love to keep them well sharpened. Now have a very old Puma wet stone of which I don't even know the grit :(
Someone stole my whetstone, it was my grandfather's and he left it to me. I had it for 25 years and 2 years ago it was stolen out of my knife drawer. My grandfather had that stone since WWII... Someone needs to die.
@@shawproductions4048 not all thieves break in. In fact most stolen property is stolen by people you know or are related to. In my case, a nephew who promptly lost it.
The most valuable information I obtained from this video was that you apply pressure on the backward stroke, not the forward stroke when the blade is facing away from you (and the forward stroke when the blade is facing towards you). I was struggling, getting nowhere before I watched this video as previously I was applying pressure on both forward and backward strokes. No one else seems to emphasize this on the other videos or sites I’ve reviewed. I think it takes more than 15 strokes, but I guess it depends on the dullness of you blade and its hardness. Thanks much.
Just went from years of cooking in kitchens with house knives to cooking in a fine dining kitchen for the first time. Bought my first few knives and these videos are helping me so much! Thanks!!
I just recently started to learn this and it's really satisfying to directly interact with a material almost on a molecular level. By trial and error and the help of videos such as this, every time I sharpen, I get better results. It yields a direct result and is very contemplative at the same time.
I also share your dilemma , however I work around it. Go to Harbor Freight Tools, they have a 4 sided sharpener By Diamond Life that works better than anything I have ever used... For $10.00. You can take the dullest Kitchen knives beyond razor sharp with this set up. I know, because I did it last night to a series of knives that were sharper on their spines than their edges.
Joshua Weismann, LUV your lessons! I learn so much! I’ve been a home cook for MANY years. But never knew how to properly sharpen my knives! Ronnie (my husband) always sharpens our knives. Now I can! Thank you! ☺️🙌🏼
4 года назад+6
As a person who has devoted many years of his life to freehand knife sharpening I must say I like your video a lot. You have a better technique (and you care for your knives most) than 99% of chefs worldwide. Only tip I'd like to give you is that high quality ceramic whetstones (Miyabi, Chosera, Shapton Glass, Kramer, etc.) will make a HUGE improvement in your sharpening sessions. Cheers.
Your name looks spanish, so I'll guess that you're an Afilador; what's the name of the instrument you use to call people to come and sharpen their knives?
A honing rod should not be dismissed so casually. You should hone your knives before every use. This will help maintain your edge longer in between the times you use your whetstone to sharpen.
@@piperbarlow1672 my 2500 grit black ceramic honing rod doesn't ruin my razor edges tho lol. It could be that you're more than likely using a shitty rod
@@ryanfitzgerald9995 I'll take a strop over a honing rod, especially a steel homing rod for the fact that after a bit of use it can chip an edge as they bend the edge back and forth, while a strop will remove a tiny amount of steel but keep the edge from chipping and reinstate the edge
I just recently started sharpening my knives myself instead of sending them off to be sharpened. Your explanation is very simplistic and easy to understand. Thank you for this video.
Dull knives are much more dangerous than sharp knives. If the blade isn't sharp enough to cut through what you want, you're gonna start putting more and more pressure on it, and before you know it, the knife will slip and you'll be cutting your finger with your entire arm weight backing up the knife.
As annoyed as I thought I would be in the beginning with the narration and such, I have to say this was an exceedingly helpful and informative video. Nicely done.
Thank you! I've been scared to use my wetstone because i had no clue what to do, even after watching a dozen videos here. You finally explained it in a way easy to understand!
I've seen about three hours of sharpening videos and none of them pointed out the important techniques that you did. Handle hand is the angle, the other hand is the pressure. Apply pressure on back stroke. Curve the stroke when the metal curves at the tip. No talk of burs in your video or double-edging, however I think as a primer... this is better than the hours I spent watching those other guys. I think you mentioned the important tips that actually make a difference.
I can get a knife very sharp now. (Thanks Juranitch!) But I didn't really know about pressure only on the pull stroke... Keys for me are taking away some thickness (relief) and then getting a burr along the whole edge before doing the same on the reverse side.. then doing a secondary bevel at a steeper angle with a fine hard stone
Joshua Weissman - Yes, for real!!! I agree with what China said - I've seen so many other videos(hours worth if not days) & not one mentioned about the way you're suppose to hold the handle & how you're suppose to apply pressure with the other hand...etc..I can't wait to try this. Thank you very much!!! I just found your channel, not even sure how, & immediately subbed to it after this video. Totally awesome!!! Have an AWESOME DAY!!! :-)
Good vid overall. As a professional cook I went through a few different phases of sharpening preferences-knives too!- over the years. I finally settled on a combination of various Japanese knives sharpened on the Spyderco Triangle Sharpmaker, with the medium, fine and ultrafine rods, and a very fine ceramic "steel." I think the Sharpmaker takes away a lot of the potential margin for error involved in getting the proper angle when using stones. Also, I could use it to sharpen virtually every piece of cutlery-with the exception of swords and machetes- that I own, which is a huge deal as I have a large-ish collection of folding and fixed-blade tactical knives. The Sharpmaker also has the advantage of not having to use water- stones need to be kept dry between uses- not always easy in the kitchen. So, although stones are wonderful, and very satisfactory to use, I don't recommend them for just anyone, just as I don't recommended Japanese knives to just anyone. Sadly. not everyone is a real knife person. I've known some very fine cooks who used very inexpensive knives and used pretty basic sharpening methods. Conversely, I've worked with some frightful knife snobs who were absolute shoemakers. It's a funny world.
I appreciate the tips! I think I might have bit off a little more than I could chew with this video. This is a method that I learned when I was first learning how to sharpen my knife while working in restaurants. I just wanted to get people interested in/started on using a whetstone if they want to. This video wasn't really intended to be a professional video or anything of that nature. I clearly have acquired some "frightful knife snobs" viewing this video.
Agree with everything but the end, where you knock honing rods. I use a honing rod before each time I cook. That slows the dulling. I use a double-sided stone to make it sharp. Stone to make it sharp, rod to keep it sharp. But yeah, great vid!
A tip: when you use your stones often the surface can deform slightly because of not moving your knife equaly over the whole surface all the time. To make it flat again you can use a glass plate, water and grifite powder. When you rub your stone over the glass plate with the water and the powder it flattens out the surface :)
@@macha1330 Cool, I just want you to know that's petty and ridiculous, and that glass plates, unless they are FLOAT glass (a distinction you don't make) are not flat.
I had just gotten a sharpening stone set for my 18th birthday, and this is really gonna help me out. It can with a 400/1000 grit stone, a 3000/8000 grit stone, a bamboo holder, an angle guide, levelling stone, leather honing strops, a leather razor strop, and buffing compound. It's gonna be so much fun being able to use actual sharp knives for cooking!
Maximal Crazy ohhh thats why!!! My auntie did some ninja waves with her knife on a china bowl and boommmm the knife is sharpened😂😂 it‘s almost like magic lol
Thank you! Great video. I've got attention issues and some of these knife sharpening videos... good lord. This is the first guide that hasn't made my eyes go cross eyed trying to listen. Just needs to be sharper, not perfect. This gets me everything I've been trying to learn.
My entire adult life I’ve wanted (but never had) a super sharp kitchen knife. I bought the stone in the video and 15 minutes later I’d unlocked this achievement. Thanks for the video! I don’t know I lived so long without this in my life. How often should I sharpen my knife?
thanks for the 1000/6000 tip. Very useful for low-budget households who actually enjoy cooking and respect their tools : ) Lots of love your way and way to go with your videos. I'm taking great pleasure in learning from you. Looking forward to healthy propositions (less butter/oil/heavy cream), as well :D
This is a good, simple sharpening introduction. The only criticism l would make is that it is far more simple and productive to do one entire side in segments and then flip and do the entire other side. Also, there is no magical number of strokes to do. The correct number of strokes is however many it takes to make a crisp apex. And for an extremely dull knife, l recommend alternating a few passes on each side so that you bring the edge together right in the center of the blade. The other thing l would mention is that it is fine to switch which hand is holding the knife so that you do both sides exactly the same in a mirror fashion. But this is not necessary. Also, l fully agree that the King 1k/6k combo stone is the best beginner sharpening value out there.
Wow, great tutorial! Have professional chef in family and the sharpening rod was the only way to do it...until now. I expect delivery of whetstone today, will post again after I give this a try. Thank you Joshua!
This is very good advice. That is also why I recommend having people starting at a 1000/6000 grit just in case they mess up. Any coarser and it could be real bad.
esteban betancourt Wrong! As Master Usagi said, you must always use the most valuable item for your training, because only then you will care and make no bollocks.
If you choose to sharpen your knives by yourself be aware of the hardness of the knives and their shape because they determine the angle at which you should sharpen them as well as the type of sharpening. On the other hand, you should have, use and sharpen the best knife that you can afford. With that being said if you learn and master the sharpening of inferior quality knives, when you land a higher quality one you will butcher it, so to speak. If you master your best knife, the others are a walk in the park.
I tried whetstone sharpening on my first ever Japanese knife years ago, a Tojiro - it was really nice.. until I tired to sharpen it. Still has the scratches on it today! Luckily I realized after a few strokes that I had no clue, so it's not too damaged. And here I am 10 years later... still thinking about trying it again!
Hey bud got my KING whetstone last week and sharpened my Cuisinart chefs knife 8" blade for the first time since buying about 6 weeks ago. I followed your instructions and when done it cut very cleanly thru tomatoes. I noticed that the middle area was the dullest. Not dull just not as sharp. As you said practice. Ty so much for video. Dull knives have always been a problem. Gonna try a paring knife that's super dull now.
using a wet towel underneath might help the wet stone from moving too thanks for this. i use knifes all the time at work they are essential in the kitchen. Knife sharpening deserves a scientific survey and textbook a worthy everyday useful topic worth going in-depth for simple every day practical knowledge
2 days before Thanksgiving 2019: I dropped my knives to be sharpened by a "professional" and they wrecked them. Turns out they just used one of those grinding wheels! Valentine's Day 2020: Chinatown here in NYC (I'm sure other cities as well) has seen business plummet due to the Corona Virus paranoia, so I showed some love by dropping coin down there today. Found the KW-65 in one of the shops, it was $10 more than Amazon but I feel it was money well spent. Now I can sharpen my damned knives the right way and use my honing steel to HONE the edge between sharpening sessions. Thanks for the inspiration
I have many knives and a small stone I use to occasionally keep them from dulling to uselessness, decided I wanted to make one as sharp as I could one day and so I spent some time one it and it stopped improving once I got to a certain point, I never learned how to sharpen them, mostly just used intuition and some vague understanding of physics so I figured I was not using the best technique, it could cut paper but it was a hit or miss and eventually tore it, I looked it up found this video and sharpened while listening, by the end it easily passes the paper cut test. Neat.
Wow you got me. I ordered my wet stone so I can get started. Your video was well done, simple and informative. Thank for your time and knowledge. Take care
On the King 1000/6000 water stone... after only a few uses, the 6000 side is beginning to disintegrate. Per an Amazon Q&A, "Before using the stone, you should only soak the medium grit (#1000, darker) side of the stone for about 2-3 minutes maximum. When using the fine grit side, only splash with water. Soaking the fine grit side will result in cracks and the stone will eventually fall apart."
Thank you! I bought a whetstone and want to sharpen ALL my knives....I'm an 82 year old little old lady but I have this thing about knives....I just keep buying them! But I want them SHARP!!! This video has been VERY helpful! Now I'm going to go try your technique!! Wish me...well, not luck...but...determination???
dude, nice, this is ur third video that i watch and im loving it, your style of cooking it's very similar to mine, of course, i'm still learning and for the guys watching this, follow his instructions, and buy a relatively high hardness knife, it wil hold the edge longer =D
Jose Miguel de Grazia Yeah I would say a beginner knife steel should probably be either white #1 or powdered swedish stainless. Both are very different. The swedish has good edge retention and sharpen moderately easily. The white #1 gets razor sharp very quickly with decent edge retention. Teaches you how to keep a knife clean.
X50Cr15Mov is a nice hardness for a newbie, and it`s very common in for instance german chef knives as well as many other types, and is widely available and affordabl, not too hard for a beginner to practice on as long as they have a good stone. Personally I practiced a lot of cheap stamped knives, as it`s very simple to see when and where you messed up, and you don`t need a friggin shapton glass to get results.
Just found your channel and I'm loving your content! Although, I believe people should use both a honing rod and a whetstone (I do) and I'll tell you why! Honing rods aren't for sharpening, they just keep the edge sharper for longer. So I just use my honing rod every time before I cook (literally 4 - 5 passes each side) which means rather than having to use my whetstone every couple of weeks, I only have to use it every couple of months, just to revitalise that edge back to razor sharpness. Keep making videos! 😁
BakersVault I think it’s a bit of a personal preference. I’m super familiar with honing rods but I prefer to just give my knife a few runs on a strop or a quick polish rather than using a honing rod. I like to keep my edge as pristine as possible and honing rods have a tendency to make them more inconsistent. Most of the chefs I’ve worked with seems to prefer to not use honing rods either, but there are a few who do. At the end of the day, it’s all about what works for you! 😃
The wrong honing rod can do more harm than good but smooth steel or extra fine ceramic work well. The trick is to place the rod straight up and down on the table and then control the angle of the knife with the other hand. This can be just as "consistent" as working it on a stone.
Honing rods are fine for softer German steel, but harder Japanese steel shouldn't touch one since you have a pretty high chance of chipping the blade. Light strokes on a ceramic rod can work in an absolute pinch, but whetstones are hands down the best method for thinner, harder blades. You don't even have to go through this whole process either. A few edge trailing strokes on a fine grit stone is enough to bring the edge back again.
Sharpened my miyabi knife for the first time on this exact block because of your recommendation. One thing nobody tells you is DO NOT drag your fingers, because indeed you will sand ur fingertips off, and you won’t notice until they start to hurt 😭😭
I am finally getting to trying to sharpen a knife myself. I wemt through a process that I thought I remembered. My knife went from no paper cut to what your dull knife example was in this video! So here I am reviewing the process, and now it's time to do it for real.
i wouldnt recommend sharpening in segments, then its really hard to connect and you will make steps between the segments, its much better to do the whole blade by moving from side to side
What the NEVER tell you in these vids is how hard it actually is to hold the knife at the perfect angle. Its so much so that 90% of those that try will just never get it right
One of the keys with this for those new to sharpening is to keep a consistent angle, as he mentions in the video. Changing the angle even slightly during the process will cancel out your hard work. It's not even just about keeping the angle during the sharpening of one side, you have to keep the same angle for BOTH sides. Otherwise, you completely change the edge geometry and will find your knife likely to "drift" during a cut. Even if there is no drift, it will seriously impact the ease with which it cuts. Definitely consider using a spacer of some sort to maintain the angle. Remember too that the bevel is the combined total for both sides. For example, Henckel knives are beveled at 30 degrees total (15 for each side) except for the Santuko model, which is 20 degrees (10 per side. ) Find out about your knife before you just jump in, or you risk compromising the design of the knife.
gbsk12 perhaps spacer wasn't the best choice of words. I knew someone who used a rod affixed to the blade face at the right position to create the angle set. I also know a lot of people who build jigs that will hold the stone in a bracket so that the knife lays flat in a brace and the stone travels the edge at the appropriate angle. My point being that the guy doing this video is obviously pretty experienced. This technique in the hands of a novice who doesn't understand edge geometry can produce some nasty results.
Derek Smalls Thank You! So many RUclips experts only explain about the stones, knifes, angle, but they forget about the granular structure of the alloy, and the geometry of the edge. Our long haired „expert“ here will only produce convex edges, because 4 layers of his kitchen towel prevent an even grinding. The step between 1000 and 6000 is too far, the 6000 will not polish the scratches from the 1000 Stone. I would recommend a 3 or 4 thousand in the middle. But that’s where the german knife industry lives from: freaks and low wage video chefs who buy an expensive high alloy knife, some wet stones out of any grinding standard, and them learn 20 minutes at RUclips how to sharp it like a razor for 5 tomatoes, then sharpen it again with incredible material loss. The granular structur dictates the angle, the edge the sharpness, the chef the shelflife of the knife.
100% of what you said is true, but there's definitely more to it than this. As you finish polishing, the number of strokes needs to progressively go down and your pressure needs to go down. You should finish the blade with nearly no pressure (gravity does the work) and one single stroke per side in order to remove any remaining burr (wire edge) from the knife. That burr is really sharp at first, but it chips off and makes your knife instantly more dull after one or two slices. This goes for any grit whetstone that you're finishing with.
Just got gifted a Japanese knife 🔪 yesterday can’t wait for my journey with it . 🔥I’m seeing your cook book in my sights, thank you for the knowledge josh🙏🏽
Q: As I recall, in "The Razor Edge Book of Sharpening" by John Juranitch (professional knife sharpener) a steel is to be used only to freshen an edge. But as I remember, he said the direction of the draw should be opposite the cutting direction of the blade; the same direction as stropping. This is because the purpose of both steeling and stropping is to straighten out the micro fold-backs along the edge. This makes perfect sense to me and has worked for me for decades. However, RUclips is full of sharpening videos which advise using the steel in the direction of the cut. (IE: as if slicing off bits of the steel.) Am wondering what your opinion on this is.
I have that book. There is a misconception of calling it a sharpening steel, when its purpose is to align the burr of the edge. We can do the same just drawing the edge over a fine stone backwards.
The Amazon reviews for this whetstone mention that it's radioactive, at a rate of 10x background. As someone who knows something about radioactivity, I'm definitely fine with this. These people obviously don't have granite countertops, or else they'd REALLY be freaked out to learn that their countertop is slowly microwaving their food. Oh and speaking of which, I guess they don't know how microwaves work either; the Chernobyl elephant's foot is a joke compared to what one of those things put off. 300cpm from the stone just means that the stone is made of stone. I'm buying one.
@@jerkinboy95 Incidentally, after getting it and using it once, the "coarse" grit side got as smooth as the fine-grit side, at least to the touch. I'm not experienced enough in these arts to know if this is to be expected or if the one I got is just junk. Pretty disconcerting that it feels completely different after one use.
It's an invaluable skill to learn from a food prep master. In the 1970's I was trained by a Vietnamese cook. To this day I use a simple stone you can buy from dollar tree using olive oil. Practice and feel the edge using a rowing motion. Hone the blade on every use using a Smith Honing guide for $6 on Amazon.
I have that same feeling when I see someone either using a dull knife, or using a knife LIKE it's a dull knife... I'm a butcher, and whenever I end up working with someone new and they're sawing at a piece of meat rather than slicing it, on the inside I'm raging! I also get a bit pissed when I see them use a honing steel and they clearly have ZERO concept of what it is and how it's supposed to work. It's kind of ridiculous how many people use knives professionally and still think that the steel is meant to actually sharpen their blade....
Mate...ive been a Lamb/Mutton and Venison deboner for 8 years now and the amount of coworkers I have that use blunt knives is appalling. And then they all wonder why they develop carpal tunnel syndrome lol
Friend, I make it a ritual to play THIS PARTICULAR VIDEO, every single time I need to sharpen my cleaver. (bought your suggestion on amazon...instruction are in a different language🤔)... You are a genius in my book (you're cute too and all your vids make me hungry )! Question: I have multiple, store-bought, gifts-given, and "found on the roadside" knives...don't know the blade type, so....are these worth sharpening with the wetstone? another question...did you read my last comment?...LOL, it's been 2 years. - All the best to you my friend...Hi to your wifey and those 2 dudes that hype your vids and provide subjective insight!!! - Be safe, be kind to others, and take care😎
"My Girlfriend and I are itching to make the croissants." So, Garrett, I hear you're dating a French girl with yeast infection. 😱🥺🤫🤭 Oh come on now.....you know you all were thinking it too. 🤭😏
I've been sharpening knives for 55+ years and this is the most simplistic explanation I've ever heard. Perfect. Like you said, keeping it the same angle all the way down the edge is the key. The only thing I would add is a leather strop. Just a few passes on a strop can bring back the edge to razors edge. And they can be made, with a piece of leather and a flat board for a few bucks! Or bought for less than a whet stone.
Thank you so much! Yeah I'm a big fan of a leather strop, I should have mentioned that. I like to strop my knife before and after every usage.
@@TheTravisweb🤣 just peed myself
terpenstien, Simon, Mystic, names of three people that won't survive SHTF.
Dont need a leather strop, an old news paper works just fine..but then again who reads their news on paper these days?
Has anyone notice that he fuckəd up the flat bevel of his yanigaba? Yanagibas have to be sharpened completely flat on one side and 12° to 15° on the other side
Why are we always in the cupboard. Let us out!
LOLOL
cos that's where the pans are ...
*Eric Andre meme*
"Let me ouuut"
Exactly 😂😂
Maybe we are trapped in the closet
R kelly
I’m a young chef and have been trying to master sharpening my knives on a stone for some time now. This was without a doubt the most helpful tutorial! Thank you!
Imma go sharpen my knife at 1 in the morning now
Flyin :/ hahaha mood
Lmao
Ohno
Hahahahahha
Did it work?
When I cut a tomato it turns into ketchup
Ketchup isn't really made with only tomato.
JeremyGarciaO_O It’s a joke.
marceline awesome lol I forgot I even posted this.
JeremyGarciaO_O obviously my point is my blades are dull and they don’t cut slivers of tomato that you could use for a window.
@@axelotl4181 I know xD
Seriously the best way to find the angle every time is to actually "try" to peel the wetstone. If you got that right in mind when sharpening then you automatically manage to do it easilly. Just pretend that you wanna peel a thin sheat from the wetstone.
Wow, thanks!!!
I usually just slightly lift the blunt non cutting edge it works
I generally just hold it about halfway up my thumb and keep my thumb level with the stone. At least until nearing the tip.
Very nice. Thanks.
How do I know when I'm "peeling" it vs when I'm not?
Im a butcher for 7 years and a cook for 10 years. I agree that its not okay to use the steel rod for sharpening as it only damages the blade. But as a butcher, I always needed something that sharpen my knife as quick as possible and thats how the rod helps me. But before it becomes useful, I sand it and make finer so it wont damage my knife. Sorry for my bad english.
Sharpening steels are fine. There is no place for a wet stone when you're processing an elk. A few strokes from a steel & you're back in business.
You can't use a steel rod for sharpening. That rod is for honing, and if used correctly, it does NOT damage a blade in any way. That's idiotic. Every pro out there, whether pro sharpener, or pro butcher or cook, I've ever known uses a honing rod constantly.
All a honing rod does is straight bent places along the edge. Contrary to damaging the edge or the blade, it makes the edge, and the blade itself, last much longer.
@@jamesaritchie1 depends on the blade, for the most part you're right but there are some specialty blades and steels that can be damaged by a steel.
I've heard this said many, many times... "The honing rod only reshapes the edge."
This isn't the entire truth though, only half of it. The steel that honing rods are made of is harder than the steel that blades are made of. So when you apply pressure as you run the edge across, it both reshapes the edge and at the same time compresses (and hardens) the steel at the edge. That hardening of the edge plays a big part in proper honing helping your blade to last longer between sharpenings.
@@diminished2nd except at this point in the crystaline formation of the steel (tempered martensite) you only increase the brittleness without any increase in the elasticity, in other words your edge becomes weaker on average.
My great great grandfather had quite a thing for sharpening blades. He would always make sure that every single blade (knife/machete/bolo) in the house was razor sharp. It kinda got passed down to me so now I'M the one with his habit. I'm not regretting it or anything, it's actually very satisfying once you end up with a really sharp blade.
A razor sharp knife is perfect and ideal for cooking.
*Unless you prefer to use it for its more deadly use*
Which you shouldnt do because mutilating yourself is bad
okay js calm down ur not a mob boss over here
@@theyellowriot8688 I don't have to be a mob boss ;)
JS {{Shadow-lurker}} ah no what about the index finger in the salad
@@ririthequeen2131 Quite a peculiar taste you have there...
The Michael reeves of cooking
nah micheal is more insane
He looks exactly like michael reeves but long haired and a chef
@@fylthl No, no he doesn’t
Heath Ledger?
Lol cave man Michael Reeves UWAH UWAH
So Skrillex is making RUclips knife sharpening videos?
Why ... why was that my first thought? ...
If Heath Ledger and Skrillex had a Son...
Can't make dubstep without a knife
Knife party
lmaooo
I learned from a Japanese chef. The entire length of the blade is put to the stone....same as you are doing, essentially, but without the danger of an uneven edge. The blade is not pushed straight across but on a slight diagonal. A razor sharp knife is a joy to use.
He does say he's only doing it to teach the basic idea
I learned from a Japanese chef who was taught to do it perpendicular like this. I guess Japan is a big, and diverse place... Like a country or something.
@@RedLegBlazer Sarcasm... I like it :D
Jack the Ripper, 1890
I think the best beginner sharpening guide is Vincent from Korin
I now have a strong urge to sharpen my knives so I can slice paper with them instead of using scissors
*Dull knife is V E R Y dangerous*
Sharp knife: Am i a joke to you?
Vaseline Pink yes it is
I sliced the shit out of my finger with a razor sharp knife but it didnt hurt one bit 😂 it just bled for 30 minutes
A sharp knife is less dangerous because you have more control. Dull knifes can get stuck and with enough force, can fly out
But a dull knife is more dangerous then a sharp knife though that's just fact lol
SirDoi r/woosh
This was my first Josh Weissman video. I already owned a pretty good collection of water stones for my chisels and plane blades but I still don’t use them for my kitchen knives but once a year and I use a totally different technique. That said, “Josh” only refers to one person in my house. If my kids say Josh, they’re talking about you. If my wife says Josh, she’s talking about you. We have all learned so, so, so much from you over the last year. Thank you.
I don't know about most people but it is extremely relaxing to me to sharpen knifes and satisfying to watch a edge going from dull and poorly finished to razor sharp and mirror fine.
I love stropping a edge and seeing running a cloth over the blade to whip off the compound and seeing the mirror finish on the edge.. I love it.
For anyone new to this, stone sharpens the edge. However, as u use the knife, the edges may be a little bent etc. Hence honing it will straighten the knifes edge letting it remain sharp for longer before u have to sharpen it again. So learning to use both is good. Or at least this is what I've come to know.
so the reason for this is, when you have a blade that is sharp, the edge is so fine and thin that it pushes through the molecules that make up an object. some are denser and hold together better, like wood and steel and stone, but essentially you're separating molecules. when that edge is that fine, it becomes prone to bending and rolling, so it gets off centered and can become round. the honing rod is meant to push the apex of the blade back into alignment.
just in case anyone was wondering.
Me: squashes tomato when i tried to cut it
RUclips: *im totally not watching you but here’s a guy who can actually cut a tomato lol*
Yaa boi
I feel you. I'm not even joking right now, but several times I said something or someone near me said something and after entering youtube site I had recommendations regarding things we spoke of. To be clear those weren't things I usually watch.
@@SolidSnake59 Yes, google is always listening. It's been proven often
@@SolidSnake59 Or, you've seen so many ads about a topic that you subconsciously bring it up in a conversation. You then noticing it in your conversation assumes it's them listening to you.
@@SolidSnake59
The amount of times that has happened to me-
For various reasons I had not sharpened a knife for many years. But when I was 14 I could get an edge to shave with. I needed a refresher on stone sharpening and as you spoke and demonstrated all of the technique that my father and grandfather had taught me 40 years ago came rushing back. Funny how it is still the best method for a razor edge. Sometimes the old ways are still the best. Thanks for a presentation that gets to the point.
“Knife hoarder”
*shows 3 knives*
Weak
Fraser Smith I’ve got 4. I’m legit right?
Michael Welch You’re legit.
@@michaelwelch442 slow down bro, leave some for us..
I’ve got 7 knives
I’ve got like 20
As someone just getting into higher end knives and whetstone sharpening this helps a lot, thanks man.
Rob Maddox dude i would recommend checking out Korin Knives or Japanese Knife Imports have, they’ve helped me a lot :)
@@kappablanca5192 Thanks!
Thank you for the clear and helpful instruction. A little story: My partner and I took a one-evening course on making Pho at a technical college with a chef program. The instruction was great. The knives provided for the 8 couples registered were sharpened to perfection by the students. The instructors, two faculty members, introduced us officially to 'knife skills,' as a significant part of the introduction. That included letting us know that the knives were sharp and a recommendation to be careful. Within moments from the start of prepping ingredients, people (all men) began coming forward with cuts, some quite nasty. In all, four had to get a bandaid and little 'condom' to cover the bloody finger. The issue, I think, is that people with dull knives may not know how to use a sharp knife. When I sharpen our knifes (not all that expertly), I tell the fam to take extra care.
Just to point it out. A honing rod isn't for sharpening, it's for re-aligning the edge, not removing material. _(It's however not as relevant for Japanese knives like you showed.)_
When you use a German knife of softer steel, when you hit hard things like bones for instance, the super thin edge sort of bends or rolls over. Using a honing rod straightens that all back out.
You need sharpening when a blade is chipped or damaged, because there's nothing to re-align, you have to remove material by grinding to create a new edge.
Why it's not as relevant on Japanese knives is because they're usually of a much higher hardness, so they'll keep their edge longer (no need for honing) but chip sooner (need whetstone).
TheMrVengeance hmm. I see lots of conflicting evidence on the topic of honing rods. scienceofsharp.com/2018/08/22/what-does-steeling-do-part-1
That sounds like really important info that he completely left out...
Metalworking science❤❤
@@luciustarquiniuspriscus1408 - I'm sorry but do you have any idea how thin the edge of a knife is? A child could bend that. How else would it go out of alignment in the first place?
Hey all! Just want address some comments and reactions to this video to let everyone know what this video is supposed to be. This technique is something that I learned as a beginner while working in restaurants. It's really only intended to get people started on the idea of using a whetstone. This video is NOT intended to be a professional all inclusive knife video. I also did get White #2 and stainless steel mixed up (sorry!). Stainless steel is actually softer than white #2. With that said, it does take me far longer to sharpen my stainless german steel knife than it does to sharpen my white #2. I also chose to have people start on a 1000/6000 stone because I would rather someone take longer sharpening as a first timer, than mess up their knives with a coarser grit stone.
I'm really not an expert on knife types/steels nor do I claim to be. I know a vast amount more about cooking/baking. This is just supposed to be a fun video to help get total newbies started up. There are A LOT of things to learn in sharpening (and a lot of ways to do it) so I suggest everyone that wants to actually follow this guide to go do their own research after getting started over here on this video. Thanks!
German stainless takes longer to sharpen because of the chromium carbides, which are vehehery abrasion resistant. White is not alloyed, it's just iron and carbon (plus trace amounts of other stuff), and that's why it's easier to sharpen, even if it's harder. Now, if we were talking about the same steel, then a harder blade would be slightly more difficult to sharpen.
actually for beginners i would have them also start honing the knife as well ... so that they don't sharpen as often ... most people think that chefs sharpen the knife when they are actually not i think making it clearer would be better for most people to understand the difference . however ... there is plenty of videos on RUclips about sharpening and honing blades. the very least i would recommend for bigginers ... knife sharpeners ... yep they exist ... not top notch but at least your not dealing with a dull knife.
Joshua Weissman “
Joshua Weissman m
Complete amateur, knows less than nothing about how to sharpen a knife, regurgitates every hack move propagated by other idiots who also know nothing. Wouldn't know what a knife blade looks like under 100X after he gets done wrecking it, can only imagine the shit-show of this trainwreck under 10K X. Ugh....
"I'm a knife hoarder"
Rolls out two knives and a plastic spoon...
Look better. They're actually three! ;) Guy is great though and probably has several rolls :)
I thought he was going to say "knife whore"...haha
He did not show us the other 500.
@@maniswolftoman Thank you so much for clarifying. Would you be so kind to direct me to any tutorial for a beginner like me and maybe also something that might help me selecting a good stone or other equipment without breaking the bank? :) I have a few decent kitchen knives, not esoteric $$$$ stuff, and would love to keep them well sharpened. Now have a very old Puma wet stone of which I don't even know the grit :(
@@maniswolftoman thank you very much
Someone stole my whetstone, it was my grandfather's and he left it to me. I had it for 25 years and 2 years ago it was stolen out of my knife drawer. My grandfather had that stone since WWII... Someone needs to die.
Why would anyone steal a whetstone LOL
Shawn Sisler imagine be a robber, breaking into a house, and only stealing a whetstone
@@dragan3010 Nephew, thought it was cool and took it, then lost it.
@@shawproductions4048 not all thieves break in. In fact most stolen property is stolen by people you know or are related to. In my case, a nephew who promptly lost it.
I find it quite funny that both of you think the only time anyone steals it's done by strangers... smh You might want to check the statistics on that.
The most valuable information I obtained from this video was that you apply pressure on the backward stroke, not the forward stroke when the blade is facing away from you (and the forward stroke when the blade is facing towards you). I was struggling, getting nowhere before I watched this video as previously I was applying pressure on both forward and backward strokes. No one else seems to emphasize this on the other videos or sites I’ve reviewed. I think it takes more than 15 strokes, but I guess it depends on the dullness of you blade and its hardness. Thanks much.
Just went from years of cooking in kitchens with house knives to cooking in a fine dining kitchen for the first time. Bought my first few knives and these videos are helping me so much! Thanks!!
What are the knives you brought and how much did they cost?
I glued 4 guarters on all of my knifes thanks
Bad idea my dude.
@@tedmosby1331 sarcasm bud
Didnt he say 3
@@jonjohnson102 lmfao
Ted Mosby -_-
Dull knives: always sharp enough to cut human flesh
Wtf are you ok?
Mine can’t even cut my skin.
But can't cut a tomato
Less cut, more hack
I'm sure he's ok, guys. What he means, is to not treat dull knives as harmless because they're not, they'll cut you bad as well.
I just recently started to learn this and it's really satisfying to directly interact with a material almost on a molecular level. By trial and error and the help of videos such as this, every time I sharpen, I get better results. It yields a direct result and is very contemplative at the same time.
Ok buddy
you look like a hippie chef version of Michael reeves
The Elon musk of good ideas
hell nah
Ugh I love that guy haha.
And that’s a bad thing
Pickleho nah
As a cook with shitty management who won’t show us how to do this, thank you.
I also share your dilemma , however I work around it.
Go to Harbor Freight Tools, they have a 4 sided sharpener
By Diamond Life that works better than anything I have ever used... For $10.00.
You can take the dullest Kitchen knives beyond razor sharp with this set up. I know, because I did it last night to a series of knives that were sharper on their spines than their edges.
I would recommend that you check out Vincent from Korin’s sharpening guides or the Japanese Knife Imports videos
Joshua Weismann, LUV your lessons! I learn so much! I’ve been a home cook for MANY years. But never knew how to properly sharpen my knives! Ronnie (my husband) always sharpens our knives. Now I can! Thank you! ☺️🙌🏼
As a person who has devoted many years of his life to freehand knife sharpening I must say I like your video a lot. You have a better technique (and you care for your knives most) than 99% of chefs worldwide.
Only tip I'd like to give you is that high quality ceramic whetstones (Miyabi, Chosera, Shapton Glass, Kramer, etc.) will make a HUGE improvement in your sharpening sessions.
Cheers.
Your name looks spanish, so I'll guess that you're an Afilador; what's the name of the instrument you use to call people to come and sharpen their knives?
@@asparadog In Spanish it's called "chiflo".
2:53 whatever steel type i have? i have a steelix. it knows iron tail, iron head, earthquake, and dig. how long will it take to sharpen
Might need a different move for that.
I can teach it.
But I need 1 tiny mushroom
Rock Polish.
Move tutor
Use automizie
Not a good move set where’s the ani weakness
I must have watched 100 of these videos, this one is the one that finally got me a razor sharp edge
A honing rod should not be dismissed so casually. You should hone your knives before every use. This will help maintain your edge longer in between the times you use your whetstone to sharpen.
those rods are too aggressive, and will ruin a nice, fine edge. If you get your knives nice and sharp, its better to hone on a fine stone
@@piperbarlow1672 my 2500 grit black ceramic honing rod doesn't ruin my razor edges tho lol. It could be that you're more than likely using a shitty rod
@@piperbarlow1672 If a honing rod ruins an edge you're using it wrong. At worst, a poor steel simply won't do anything.
@@ryanfitzgerald9995 I'll take a strop over a honing rod, especially a steel homing rod for the fact that after a bit of use it can chip an edge as they bend the edge back and forth, while a strop will remove a tiny amount of steel but keep the edge from chipping and reinstate the edge
Sysaphys NO MOT HONE a Japanese knife, a hone will ruin a knife with a high hardness.
Me: watched dis vid
Me later: circumcision it is!
Federal Bureau of Investigation ayyeee i’m 69th like B)
I’m shook #nobody is safe
Jokes on you I’m already circumcised.
I ve been too
17 years ago
I just recently started sharpening my knives myself instead of sending them off to be sharpened. Your explanation is very simplistic and easy to understand. Thank you for this video.
Man pulled out his knives like Dexter Morgan
On god mannnnn
Or Dexter Fletcher "soap" from lock stock and two smoking barrels lol
Ah ha ha! Good one
My knife is so dull it's not even dangerous to slip because it can't even cut my skin
Bruh just use a butter knofe at that point
It's not even a knife by that point, just a very light budgeoning tool.
@@kalecardenas9645 kbofe
@@Nate-zo9zz nofe
Dull knives are much more dangerous than sharp knives. If the blade isn't sharp enough to cut through what you want, you're gonna start putting more and more pressure on it, and before you know it, the knife will slip and you'll be cutting your finger with your entire arm weight backing up the knife.
As annoyed as I thought I would be in the beginning with the narration and such, I have to say this was an exceedingly helpful and informative video. Nicely done.
May i just ask, WHERE IS THE SOLID MINUTE SEXY SHARP KNIFE *B-ROLL???*
Thank you! I've been scared to use my wetstone because i had no clue what to do, even after watching a dozen videos here. You finally explained it in a way easy to understand!
I've seen about three hours of sharpening videos and none of them pointed out the important techniques that you did. Handle hand is the angle, the other hand is the pressure. Apply pressure on back stroke. Curve the stroke when the metal curves at the tip.
No talk of burs in your video or double-edging, however I think as a primer... this is better than the hours I spent watching those other guys. I think you mentioned the important tips that actually make a difference.
For real, thank you! This is the video I've gotten the most haters on, so I really appreciate that.
I can get a knife very sharp now. (Thanks Juranitch!) But I didn't really know about pressure only on the pull stroke... Keys for me are taking away some thickness (relief) and then getting a burr along the whole edge before doing the same on the reverse side.. then doing a secondary bevel at a steeper angle with a fine hard stone
Joshua Weissman - Yes, for real!!! I agree with what China said - I've seen so many other videos(hours worth if not days) & not one mentioned about the way you're suppose to hold the handle & how you're suppose to apply pressure with the other hand...etc..I can't wait to try this. Thank you very much!!! I just found your channel, not even sure how, & immediately subbed to it after this video. Totally awesome!!! Have an AWESOME DAY!!! :-)
i just found your channel and it has literally everything I can ever hope for where have you been my entire life 😱
Ellie Nyaya in your cabinet
Just what I needed for a 3am routine
Thanks👍 very helpful!
My pleasure
👁️👄👁️👍
I love your videos
Hi skips
I do it in wet cement floor with medium finished roughness floor
This is a perfect comment.
Concrete answer
are you in prison?
...and you put the lotion in the basket....don't you hurt my dog!!!!!
solid vid, no effort made to add unnecessary steps or over complicate the process. more people should do this, it makes a huge difference guys
Once again you prove that you are not just pretty to look at, but also useful! Thank you, and my knives thank you 🤘🤘
Are you gay
Good vid overall. As a professional cook I went through a few different phases of sharpening preferences-knives too!- over the years. I finally settled on a combination of various Japanese knives sharpened on the Spyderco Triangle Sharpmaker, with the medium, fine and ultrafine rods, and a very fine ceramic "steel." I think the Sharpmaker takes away a lot of the potential margin for error involved in getting the proper angle when using stones. Also, I could use it to sharpen virtually every piece of cutlery-with the exception of swords and machetes- that I own, which is a huge deal as I have a large-ish collection of folding and fixed-blade tactical knives. The Sharpmaker also has the advantage of not having to use water- stones need to be kept dry between uses- not always easy in the kitchen. So, although stones are wonderful, and very satisfactory to use, I don't recommend them for just anyone, just as I don't recommended Japanese knives to just anyone. Sadly. not everyone is a real knife person. I've known some very fine cooks who used very inexpensive knives and used pretty basic sharpening methods. Conversely, I've worked with some frightful knife snobs who were absolute shoemakers. It's a funny world.
I appreciate the tips! I think I might have bit off a little more than I could chew with this video. This is a method that I learned when I was first learning how to sharpen my knife while working in restaurants. I just wanted to get people interested in/started on using a whetstone if they want to. This video wasn't really intended to be a professional video or anything of that nature. I clearly have acquired some "frightful knife snobs" viewing this video.
OMG!!! I have tried to learn how to do this forever...I just tried it, first time, and I DID IT!! IT ACTUALLY WORKED!! Thank you!
Agree with everything but the end, where you knock honing rods. I use a honing rod before each time I cook. That slows the dulling. I use a double-sided stone to make it sharp. Stone to make it sharp, rod to keep it sharp. But yeah, great vid!
A tip: when you use your stones often the surface can deform slightly because of not moving your knife equaly over the whole surface all the time. To make it flat again you can use a glass plate, water and grifite powder. When you rub your stone over the glass plate with the water and the powder it flattens out the surface :)
Yeah, or just use the stone designed for this job
@@AlanJohnPeach I just wanted to let you know it was me who disliked your comment
@@macha1330 Cool, I just want you to know that's petty and ridiculous, and that glass plates, unless they are FLOAT glass (a distinction you don't make) are not flat.
I had just gotten a sharpening stone set for my 18th birthday, and this is really gonna help me out. It can with a 400/1000 grit stone, a 3000/8000 grit stone, a bamboo holder, an angle guide, levelling stone, leather honing strops, a leather razor strop, and buffing compound. It's gonna be so much fun being able to use actual sharp knives for cooking!
My auntie sharpens her knife with the bottom of the china bowl😂😂😂
China bowls are actually quite effective as they work like ceramic knife sharpener.
Maximal Crazy ohhh thats why!!! My auntie did some ninja waves with her knife on a china bowl and boommmm the knife is sharpened😂😂 it‘s almost like magic lol
Porcelain is an excellent way to hone knives. I use the bottom of my china mugs. 😊
@@MaxC_1 China made, but it's actually PVC :))))
@@quitevocal No that won't work. Only bone China works.
Thank you! Great video. I've got attention issues and some of these knife sharpening videos... good lord. This is the first guide that hasn't made my eyes go cross eyed trying to listen. Just needs to be sharper, not perfect. This gets me everything I've been trying to learn.
My entire adult life I’ve wanted (but never had) a super sharp kitchen knife. I bought the stone in the video and 15 minutes later I’d unlocked this achievement. Thanks for the video! I don’t know I lived so long without this in my life. How often should I sharpen my knife?
I sharpen my knife when I feel like I should.
thanks for the 1000/6000 tip. Very useful for low-budget households who actually enjoy cooking and respect their tools : ) Lots of love your way and way to go with your videos. I'm taking great pleasure in learning from you. Looking forward to healthy propositions (less butter/oil/heavy cream), as well :D
This is a good, simple sharpening introduction. The only criticism l would make is that it is far more simple and productive to do one entire side in segments and then flip and do the entire other side. Also, there is no magical number of strokes to do. The correct number of strokes is however many it takes to make a crisp apex. And for an extremely dull knife, l recommend alternating a few passes on each side so that you bring the edge together right in the center of the blade. The other thing l would mention is that it is fine to switch which hand is holding the knife so that you do both sides exactly the same in a mirror fashion. But this is not necessary.
Also, l fully agree that the King 1k/6k combo stone is the best beginner sharpening value out there.
Wow, great tutorial! Have professional chef in family and the sharpening rod was the only way to do it...until now. I expect delivery of whetstone today, will post again after I give this a try. Thank you Joshua!
PSA: if you are just starting to sharpen your own knives pleas use a sacrificial not valuable/expensive knife. You can ruin it and that wont be pretty
This is very good advice. That is also why I recommend having people starting at a 1000/6000 grit just in case they mess up. Any coarser and it could be real bad.
Good thinking.
esteban betancourt Wrong! As Master Usagi said, you must always use the most valuable item for your training, because only then you will care and make no bollocks.
If you choose to sharpen your knives by yourself be aware of the hardness of the knives and their shape because they determine the angle at which you should sharpen them as well as the type of sharpening.
On the other hand, you should have, use and sharpen the best knife that you can afford. With that being said if you learn and master the sharpening of inferior quality knives, when you land a higher quality one you will butcher it, so to speak.
If you master your best knife, the others are a walk in the park.
I tried whetstone sharpening on my first ever Japanese knife years ago, a Tojiro - it was really nice.. until I tired to sharpen it. Still has the scratches on it today! Luckily I realized after a few strokes that I had no clue, so it's not too damaged. And here I am 10 years later... still thinking about trying it again!
i like using a matchbook as the knife riser rather the 2 or 3 quarters. great video!
Hey bud got my KING whetstone last week and sharpened my Cuisinart chefs knife 8" blade for the first time since buying about 6 weeks ago. I followed your instructions and when done it cut very cleanly thru tomatoes. I noticed that the middle area was the dullest. Not dull just not as sharp. As you said practice. Ty so much for video. Dull knives have always been a problem. Gonna try a paring knife that's super dull now.
using a wet towel underneath might help the wet stone from moving too
thanks for this. i use knifes all the time at work they are essential in the kitchen.
Knife sharpening deserves a scientific survey and textbook
a worthy everyday useful topic worth going in-depth for simple every day practical knowledge
2 days before Thanksgiving 2019: I dropped my knives to be sharpened by a "professional" and they wrecked them. Turns out they just used one of those grinding wheels!
Valentine's Day 2020: Chinatown here in NYC (I'm sure other cities as well) has seen business plummet due to the Corona Virus paranoia, so I showed some love by dropping coin down there today. Found the KW-65 in one of the shops, it was $10 more than Amazon but I feel it was money well spent. Now I can sharpen my damned knives the right way and use my honing steel to HONE the edge between sharpening sessions. Thanks for the inspiration
I have many knives and a small stone I use to occasionally keep them from dulling to uselessness, decided I wanted to make one as sharp as I could one day and so I spent some time one it and it stopped improving once I got to a certain point, I never learned how to sharpen them, mostly just used intuition and some vague understanding of physics so I figured I was not using the best technique, it could cut paper but it was a hit or miss and eventually tore it, I looked it up found this video and sharpened while listening, by the end it easily passes the paper cut test. Neat.
Wow you got me. I ordered my wet stone so I can get started.
Your video was well done, simple and informative.
Thank for your time and knowledge.
Take care
On the King 1000/6000 water stone... after only a few uses, the 6000 side is beginning to disintegrate. Per an Amazon Q&A, "Before using the stone, you should only soak the medium grit (#1000, darker) side of the stone for about 2-3 minutes maximum. When using the fine grit side, only splash with water. Soaking the fine grit side will result in cracks and the stone will eventually fall apart."
Thank you! I bought a whetstone and want to sharpen ALL my knives....I'm an 82 year old little old lady but I have this thing about knives....I just keep buying them! But I want them SHARP!!! This video has been VERY helpful! Now I'm going to go try your technique!! Wish me...well, not luck...but...determination???
dude, nice, this is ur third video that i watch and im loving it, your style of cooking it's very similar to mine, of course, i'm still learning and for the guys watching this, follow his instructions, and buy a relatively high hardness knife, it wil hold the edge longer =D
Jose Miguel de Grazia Yeah I would say a beginner knife steel should probably be either white #1 or powdered swedish stainless. Both are very different. The swedish has good edge retention and sharpen moderately easily. The white #1 gets razor sharp very quickly with decent edge retention. Teaches you how to keep a knife clean.
X50Cr15Mov is a nice hardness for a newbie, and it`s very common in for instance german chef knives as well as many other types, and is widely available and affordabl, not too hard for a beginner to practice on as long as they have a good stone.
Personally I practiced a lot of cheap stamped knives, as it`s very simple to see when and where you messed up, and you don`t need a friggin shapton glass to get results.
@@JoshuaWeissman what do you think about blue vs white just now getting into japanese
Just found your channel and I'm loving your content! Although, I believe people should use both a honing rod and a whetstone (I do) and I'll tell you why! Honing rods aren't for sharpening, they just keep the edge sharper for longer. So I just use my honing rod every time before I cook (literally 4 - 5 passes each side) which means rather than having to use my whetstone every couple of weeks, I only have to use it every couple of months, just to revitalise that edge back to razor sharpness.
Keep making videos! 😁
BakersVault I think it’s a bit of a personal preference. I’m super familiar with honing rods but I prefer to just give my knife a few runs on a strop or a quick polish rather than using a honing rod. I like to keep my edge as pristine as possible and honing rods have a tendency to make them more inconsistent. Most of the chefs I’ve worked with seems to prefer to not use honing rods either, but there are a few who do. At the end of the day, it’s all about what works for you! 😃
The wrong honing rod can do more harm than good but smooth steel or extra fine ceramic work well. The trick is to place the rod straight up and down on the table and then control the angle of the knife with the other hand. This can be just as "consistent" as working it on a stone.
Edmond Dantez I've heard of "extra fine" being really useful. Thanks for the tip!
Honing rods are fine for softer German steel, but harder Japanese steel shouldn't touch one since you have a pretty high chance of chipping the blade. Light strokes on a ceramic rod can work in an absolute pinch, but whetstones are hands down the best method for thinner, harder blades.
You don't even have to go through this whole process either. A few edge trailing strokes on a fine grit stone is enough to bring the edge back again.
Patrick Szajner Yep, I agree. This has been true from what I've experienced.
Hey I just sharpened a knife for the first time using this video! It can slice paper now, thanks for the lesson!!!
Sharpened my miyabi knife for the first time on this exact block because of your recommendation. One thing nobody tells you is DO NOT drag your fingers, because indeed you will sand ur fingertips off, and you won’t notice until they start to hurt 😭😭
Try to grab the side part of the knife and your thumb grab the back of the knife rather than he doing is safer
My girlfriends father got me into whetstone sharpening and I absolutely love it
I am finally getting to trying to sharpen a knife myself. I wemt through a process that I thought I remembered. My knife went from no paper cut to what your dull knife example was in this video!
So here I am reviewing the process, and now it's time to do it for real.
i wouldnt recommend sharpening in segments, then its really hard to connect and you will make steps between the segments, its much better to do the whole blade by moving from side to side
Yep, it needs to be the exact same all the way through. Plus doing it that way makes the whetstone dip inward.
Mess up once you have to start from the beginning stage
Ok, so don’t. 👍🏻
@@alejandrospeed6399 m
@@moderndaypirate8931 yeah but if you dip it you get to use your lapping stone. That’s always super fun. :/
This is great timing. Just got my whetstones in today
David Payne *Psychic powers*
Lookin for a knife sharpening tutorial and LOOK WHAT I FIND! Baby face Josh.
Great video. Simple instructions. I see what I’ve been doing wrong. Can’t wait to try your technique. Thanks
My parents owned a knife shop when I was a kid. This gives me such a weird nostalgia
Just got a wet stone for Christmas. Can’t wait to try it out!
What the NEVER tell you in these vids is how hard it actually is to hold the knife at the perfect angle. Its so much so that 90% of those that try will just never get it right
One of the keys with this for those new to sharpening is to keep a consistent angle, as he mentions in the video. Changing the angle even slightly during the process will cancel out your hard work. It's not even just about keeping the angle during the sharpening of one side, you have to keep the same angle for BOTH sides. Otherwise, you completely change the edge geometry and will find your knife likely to "drift" during a cut. Even if there is no drift, it will seriously impact the ease with which it cuts. Definitely consider using a spacer of some sort to maintain the angle. Remember too that the bevel is the combined total for both sides. For example, Henckel knives are beveled at 30 degrees total (15 for each side) except for the Santuko model, which is 20 degrees (10 per side. ) Find out about your knife before you just jump in, or you risk compromising the design of the knife.
Good advice.
Thanks. I get some wood on the ball every now and then! lol
How and what do you use for a spacer?
gbsk12 perhaps spacer wasn't the best choice of words. I knew someone who used a rod affixed to the blade face at the right position to create the angle set. I also know a lot of people who build jigs that will hold the stone in a bracket so that the knife lays flat in a brace and the stone travels the edge at the appropriate angle. My point being that the guy doing this video is obviously pretty experienced. This technique in the hands of a novice who doesn't understand edge geometry can produce some nasty results.
Derek Smalls Thank You! So many RUclips experts only explain about the stones, knifes, angle, but they forget about the granular structure of the alloy, and the geometry of the edge. Our long haired „expert“ here will only produce convex edges, because 4 layers of his kitchen towel prevent an even grinding. The step between 1000 and 6000 is too far, the 6000 will not polish the scratches from the 1000 Stone. I would recommend a 3 or 4 thousand in the middle.
But that’s where the german knife industry lives from: freaks and low wage video chefs who buy an expensive high alloy knife, some wet stones out of any grinding standard, and them learn 20 minutes at RUclips how to sharp it like a razor for 5 tomatoes, then sharpen it again with incredible material loss. The granular structur dictates the angle, the edge the sharpness, the chef the shelflife of the knife.
I've been sharpening knives since 55A.D and this is a good beginners guide
Honing steels are for maintenance, so they have their place.
Not on japanese knives
Simon Volsmann Why not? Just curious
Depends on your knife
Meh, I sharpen with a steel. I know I’m ‘doing it wrong’ but it’s quick and I’m usually in a hurry.
I would definitely recommend a ceramic honing rod so you dont take any metal off the blade!! Should be completely safe for japanese blades aswell!!
100% of what you said is true, but there's definitely more to it than this.
As you finish polishing, the number of strokes needs to progressively go down and your pressure needs to go down. You should finish the blade with nearly no pressure (gravity does the work) and one single stroke per side in order to remove any remaining burr (wire edge) from the knife. That burr is really sharp at first, but it chips off and makes your knife instantly more dull after one or two slices. This goes for any grit whetstone that you're finishing with.
Just got gifted a Japanese knife 🔪 yesterday can’t wait for my journey with it . 🔥I’m seeing your cook book in my sights, thank you for the knowledge josh🙏🏽
Q: As I recall, in "The Razor Edge Book of Sharpening" by John Juranitch (professional knife sharpener) a steel is to be used only to freshen an edge. But as I remember, he said the direction of the draw should be opposite the cutting direction of the blade; the same direction as stropping. This is because the purpose of both steeling and stropping is to straighten out the micro fold-backs along the edge. This makes perfect sense to me and has worked for me for decades. However, RUclips is full of sharpening videos which advise using the steel in the direction of the cut. (IE: as if slicing off bits of the steel.)
Am wondering what your opinion on this is.
NO opinion apparently.
Im still waiting for the opinion
I have that book. There is a misconception of calling it a sharpening steel, when its purpose is to align the burr of the edge. We can do the same just drawing the edge over a fine stone backwards.
Knife is now so sharp that it cut next week's cheese at the same time
Just came back here to say thanks for the tutorial. I've really started to get the hang of it now ❤
The Amazon reviews for this whetstone mention that it's radioactive, at a rate of 10x background. As someone who knows something about radioactivity, I'm definitely fine with this. These people obviously don't have granite countertops, or else they'd REALLY be freaked out to learn that their countertop is slowly microwaving their food. Oh and speaking of which, I guess they don't know how microwaves work either; the Chernobyl elephant's foot is a joke compared to what one of those things put off. 300cpm from the stone just means that the stone is made of stone. I'm buying one.
Came back from the Amazon reviews for this comment. Thanks!
@@jerkinboy95 Incidentally, after getting it and using it once, the "coarse" grit side got as smooth as the fine-grit side, at least to the touch. I'm not experienced enough in these arts to know if this is to be expected or if the one I got is just junk. Pretty disconcerting that it feels completely different after one use.
@@JETZcorp it’s subtle, like grit counts on sandpaper can be. There is a difference though
This was an easier tutorial to follow than others I’ve watched! Thank you! Will update how I go
And?
It's an invaluable skill to learn from a food prep master. In the 1970's I was trained by a Vietnamese cook.
To this day I use a simple stone you can buy from dollar tree using olive oil. Practice and feel the edge using a rowing motion. Hone the blade on every use using a Smith Honing guide for $6 on Amazon.
I have that same feeling when I see someone either using a dull knife, or using a knife LIKE it's a dull knife... I'm a butcher, and whenever I end up working with someone new and they're sawing at a piece of meat rather than slicing it, on the inside I'm raging! I also get a bit pissed when I see them use a honing steel and they clearly have ZERO concept of what it is and how it's supposed to work. It's kind of ridiculous how many people use knives professionally and still think that the steel is meant to actually sharpen their blade....
Mate...ive been a Lamb/Mutton and Venison deboner for 8 years now and the amount of coworkers I have that use blunt knives is appalling. And then they all wonder why they develop carpal tunnel syndrome lol
Alice dated Sam and he was a butcher.
I,m a chef and if someone asks me how to sharpen i say watch a butcher doing it not a chef, I get a funny look but oh well.
If I’m going to be in a cupboard, I want to be in yours! I’ve learned so much. Thanks -The mom of the owner of this RUclips channel.
Friend, I make it a ritual to play THIS PARTICULAR VIDEO, every single time I need to sharpen my cleaver. (bought your suggestion on amazon...instruction are in a different language🤔)... You are a genius in my book (you're cute too and all your vids make me hungry )! Question: I have multiple, store-bought, gifts-given, and "found on the roadside" knives...don't know the blade type, so....are these worth sharpening with the wetstone? another question...did you read my last comment?...LOL, it's been 2 years. - All the best to you my friend...Hi to your wifey and those 2 dudes that hype your vids and provide subjective insight!!! - Be safe, be kind to others, and take care😎
Great videos. Glad I found this. My Girlfriend and I are itching to make the croissants. Thanks
"My Girlfriend and I are itching to make the croissants."
So, Garrett, I hear you're dating a French girl with yeast infection. 😱🥺🤫🤭
Oh come on now.....you know you all were thinking it too. 🤭😏
Jim Thornton
What
The
Fuck
thanks for posting this - just back from Amazon - I ordered the stone you recommended - if I'm unhappy you'll hear from my lawyer -
What's the end of the story?
@@redangrybird7564 knife so sharp, lost fingers, can't reply.
@@95rav Hahaha, really ? Probably his wife confiscated the stone. 😁👍