Sharpening
A knife is a tool. A tool needs maintenance so that it can continue to work efficiently and pleasantly.
One of the main maintenances to be carried out on a knife is its sharpening. Indeed, through wear, the edge becomes dull and no longer cuts as it is capable of: the blade must be resharpened.
Here are two videos that I made where I show the sharpening of a knife with a symmetrical edge (which we mainly meet in our kitchens) and that of a knife with an asymmetrical edge (for traditional Japanese knives). I got more videos on my Instagram.
Here are the grit of stones recommended according to their use :
- grain 220/320: a stone to repair a very damaged blade, to redo a tip
- grain 400/500: a stone for repair a damaged edge, redo a slightly broken point, resharpening the angle on a thick knife.
- 1000/2000 grit: a standard sharpening stone for creating a clean bevel on a edge that needs resharpening.
- grain 3000/4000: a finishing stone to obtain an slightly aggressive edge, to pass through the skin of tomatoes for example, for cutting vegetables in general.
- grain 5000/6000: a finishing stone to obtain a more polished edge and therefore a smoother cut, for slicing meat, cutting vegetables in general.
- grain 8000/10000: a stone for polishing edge, mainly useful for cutting raw fish, such as for making sashimi or sushi.
Three accessories for sharpening:
A cork stopper can be helpful to grab the burr.
A leather placed/glued on a wooden board will finish polishing your edge and hone to obtain a very clean edge and very nice cut.
A diamond stone (Atoma 140 type) or a flattening stone to resurface stones that tend to hollow out after several sharpenings.
About Belgium Coticule : It is a yellow stone that I love for sharpening. Little hard, very abrasive. Great balance of fineness and teeth on the edges
About natural Japanese stones:
These stones are rocks selected for their abrasive properties. Japanese stones are recognized worldwide for their quality. Natural stones do not have a "grit" as such but there are coarse, intermediate, fine, ultra fine stones; soft, semi-soft, hard, ultra-hard stones. I mostly use them for polishing but they sure can be used for sharpening too. Here are some examples :
- Natsuya (often a 1000/2000 grain equivalent): often large orange stones, very useful to start sharpening
- Aizu or Mikawa Nagura (3k 4k grit equivalent): it gives a clean but sufficiently aggressive edge for cutting vegetables with soft skins such as tomatoes
- Ohira Uchigumori, Maruoyama shiro suita, soft and fine stones : equivalent to a 5000/6000 grit: clean sharpening for cutting meat and fish, but also vegetables.
- Nakayama suita, or harder and fine stones : an ultra fine stone (equivalent to 8000 and more): mirror sharpening for cutting raw fish.
There are many mines and many stones. Each stone is unique and has properties of abrasion, polishing, ease of use, etc.
Don't hesitate to ask me for advice on choosing a stone or if you need precision on sharpening.
Here is a video about knife maintenance too :