Little Lesson Number Eight: How To Sharpen A Knife

By Nancy K. Crevier

Life is a series of tasks. Some are easier to perform than others. Some are downright tricky. Some tasks we have mastered, while others remain, for one reason or another, a mystery. In the upcoming weeks, The Newtown Bee will present a series of short articles of Little Lessons meant to light the way to a new or easier way to tackle those day to day duties, or even those less commonly encountered tasks, each one accompanied by a video at newtownbee.com. Welcome to the classroom.

There are four knives that every home cook should have in the drawer, said Chef Patrick Wilson, executive chef and house manager at St Andrew’s Golf Club in Hastings-On-Hudson, N.Y. He is a Culinary of America (CIA) graduate with 34 years of experience and numerous certifications, including the Pro-Chef III from the CIA, Certified Culinary Administrator from the American Culinary Federation, and the Food Management Professional certification from the National Restaurant Association.

“A paring knife or utility knife is for peeling and prepping small items in the kitchen,” said Chef Wilson, “and while a chef’s knife can do these jobs, most people find the paring knife less intimidating for small tasks.”

A chef’s knife, or French knife, is the workhorse of knives, capable of slicing and dicing any fruit or vegetable, chopping, and cutting almost anything in the kitchen. Chef’s knives are available in lengths from 8 to 12 inches, Chef Wilson said, with the 8-inch chef’s knife probably the most popular.

A slicing knife allows the cook to cut straight, thin slices, and larger pieces, he said. The round-tipped knife has beveled edges that prevents the meat or other product from sticking to it and results in smoother slices.

The slicing knife is different than a serrated bread knife, said Chef Wilson, which is the fourth type of knife useful in any kitchen. “The rough, serrated edge of the bread, or tomato, knife lets you cut through the crusty surface of the bread or skin of a tomato without crushing it,” he explained.

But no knife is any good when it is not sharp. “I think it is not uncommon for the home cook to let knives get dull. Maybe they feel that it would be too easy to cut themselves on a sharp knife, but a dull knife is very dangerous. You have an expectation that the knife will cut through the item, but if it bounces off because the blade is dull, you can easily cut yourself,” said Chef Wilson. Only the serrated knife never needs sharpening. “When a serrated knife becomes dull, it’s time to get a new one,” he said, “but that will be years.”

Knives should be sharpened monthly, depending on use, and a sharpening steel used each time a knife is put to work. “When you start having difficulty slicing or feel resistance, or the knife is bouncing back, it is time to sharpen it,” he said.

“There are two kinds of sharpening, with a stone and with a steel,” said Chef Wilson. The stone has one coarse side and one fine side that wears down the steel in the knife a little to provide a sharp edge. “There is a small ‘bead’ of metal that runs all along the edge of the blade. In a dull knife, that bead gets worn off completely and the stone is used to get it back. The steel straightens out that ‘bead’ each time you use it,” he explained. It is not possible to oversharpen a knife, so it is good to err on the side of sharpening more frequently than not enough, he suggested. “You could wear out the blade, but it would take an eternity,” he laughed.

Chef Wilson has a professional multi-oil stone, but home cooks can purchase a less elaborate sharpening stone at any hardware or home goods store. He starts the sharpening process by placing the sharpening stone on a damp towel to prevent slipping, and then making a paste of a little water and Ajax cleanser that is rubbed onto the sharpening surface. “It adds an additional abrasive and makes clean-up of the stone easy,” he said. He prefers never to use oil on the stone surface, as it can clog the pores, but if oil is used, mineral oil, not vegetable oil, should be selected.

Place the knife at a 10 to 20 degree angle on the coarse side of the stone, with the heel of the knife on one end and sweep the knife across the length of the stone, ending with the tip of the knife. Then switch back and forth from side to side of the knife to sharpen it evenly, using a moderate and even pressure applied with the fingertips to keep the blade level. “This sharpens the knife evenly and wears the stone evenly,” said Chef Wilson. Start with 30 strokes on each side of the knife, but experience will tell how many swipes an individual knife will need to sharpen as desired. Repeat the process on the fine side of the stone. “The angle also determines how fast it will sharpen, and how long that edge will last,” Chef Wilson said. “I sharpen mine to the point where I can shave the hair off of my forearm, but I don’t recommend that at home,” he added.

Then, clean the knife with warm water and a rag and finish the sharpening with the steel, a tapered rod with a fine grit surface and a handle on one end. Hold the steel in one hand, level, and starting at the tip of the steel run the blade of the knife swiftly, heel to tip, toward the hand guard. Alternate sides of the knife and keep the fingers behind the hand guard. Again, use several swipes on each side. Use this tool prior to each time a knife is used.

Wipe the knife clean, and get cooking.

To see Chef Wilson demonstrate how to sharpen a knife, visit newtownbee.com.