How To Sharpen

Step 1. Preparing for Sharpening.

First put the whet stones in water to remove air from inside them. You will see many bubbles come out of the whet stones. 5 to 10 minutes later, after the bubbles stop coming out, the whet stones are ready for sharpening. Prepare your table it for a good height and good balance when you are sharpening. Also it is good to prepare a towel to keep the whet stones from slipping. (Our High Grade Whetstones don't need to be soaked in water before sharpening. They can be used after watering the stone surface throughly.)     It is important to check the edge condition before sharpening the knives. The knife I will sharpen today is very dull. It has not been sharpened for 6 months. I begin to sharpen with an Arato.   If you sharpen the knives frequently, you can begin to sharpen with Nakato.

Step 2. Sharpening with Arato.

As you see in the picture, it is always very important to keep same angle of about 10' to 15', which is about two coins height between the blade and the whet stone. Push the point you want to sharpen with your first, second and third fingers. While keeping the angle and pushing the point with your fingers, push the blade until it reaches the other edge of the whet stone. Then pull the blade back until it reaches the edge of the whet stone. This is counted as one set for this job. Continue this for five sets. Then move the position of your fingers to where you have not sharpened yet. Do five sets of sharpening again. Do this from the tip to the base of the blade.

Next we sharpen the opposite side of the blade. like the picture above we start sharpening from the top of the whet stone. Just as you did before, sharpen the knife keeping an angle of 10' to 15'. Push the point you want to sharpen with your first, second and third fingers. While keeping the angle and pushing the point with your fingers, push the blade until it reaches the other edge of the whet stone. Then pull the blade back until it reaches the edge of the whet stone. This is counted as one set for this job. Continue this for five sets. Then move the position of your fingers to where you have not sharpened yet. Do five sets of sharpening again. Do this from the tip to the base of the blade. If your whet stone becomes dry while you are sharpening, put water on it to make sharpening easier.

Step 3. Sharpening with Nakato.

Next we sharpen with a Nakato. Sharpening with a Nakato is exactly same as sharpening with as Arato. Please refer to the explanation and pictures above. Sharpening an Arato makes a good angle and sharpening with a Nakato makes the edge even sharper.

Step 4. Sharpening with Shiageto. ( Completion )

To finish sharpening the knife, we use a Shiageto, Sharpening with a Shiageto is a different job from sharpening with the Arato and Nakato. We start like the picture. Hold the knife to keep an angle of 10' to 15' this time as well. While keeping this angle, you move the blade across the whet stone to the other side. You need to keep the blade touching the whet stone from the tip to the base of the blade. Continue this five times.

Next is the opposite side of the blade. Starting like the picture, you hold the knife to keep the angle and move the blade to the base of whet stone.You need to keep the blade touching the whet stone from the tip to the base of the blade. Do this five times.  Finally you wash your knife. Now your knife must as sharp as the time you first bought it! To master this sharpening skill, it might take time. Practicing is the best way to be great sharpener.

PS: I learned this method of sharpening from custom and kitchen knife maker Murray Carter. Some people have their own way of sharpening.  This is our recommendation of sharpening.   Sharpening single bevel edge (Kataba) Japanese traditional style of knife (Sushi chef knife) is different from sharpening I explained. Now you can check the method of sharpening single bevel edge in Page "How To Sharpen 2" If you have questions please feel free to contact us.