Fill your bowl to the brim and it will spill. Keep sharpening your knife and it will blunt.” Lao-Tzu, ancient Chinese philosopher
The day man learned how to make knives was the day they started thinking about how to sharpen it.
A knife is the most basic tool, and the average adult uses a knife almost every day. Yet very few know how to sharpen a knife properly. Even less know how to make one.
Put simply, you sharpen a knife by grinding it against a hard, rough surface, typically stone or ceramics, or a soft surface with hard particles, such as sandpaper. A leather strop is also often used to straighten and polish an edge.
You know what they say, “A sharp knife is dangerous in careless hands. A dull knife is dangerous, period.” Here are some of the best resources we’ve found for learning more about knife sharpening.
The Basics
- Knife Sharpening – Wikipedia
- Sharpening stones – Wikipedia
- Razor strops – Wikipedia
- Which Angle Should I Use When Sharpening My Knife? – Lansky
- More Advice and Theory on Sharpening Angles for Knives – Sharpener Supplies
How-to
- Knife Sharpening Tricks – Instructables, demonstrates a method that produces “a good general purpose edge.”
- Caring for your knife – Mora Knives of Sweden.
- Time saving sharpening tips – Edge Pro Inc
- The Right Way(s) to Sharpen a Knife – Lifehacker
- Video: How to Sharpen a Knife on a Wet Stone (how to get an extremely sharp knife)
- Video: The Laziest Way to Sharpen Any Knife to Razor Sharp
- Video: How to Sharpen a Bushcraft Knife – Wranglerstar
- Video: Using the Lansky knife sharpening system
- Video: Using the Edge Pro Inc. knife sharpening system – Wranglerstar
- Video: How to Strop a Knife – Ultimate Survival Tips
Books
- The Complete Guide to Sharpening by Leonard Lee. Covers the practical and technical information to sharpen not only knives, but a wide range of edge tools quickly, efficiently and safely.
- The Perfect Edge: The Ultimate Guide to Sharpening for Woodworkers by Ron Hock
- Knife Sharpening Made Easy by Stefan Steigerwald and Peter Fronteddu
Knife Sharpening Systems
- Lansky Deluxe 5-Stone Sharpening System
- Edge Pro Knife Sharpeners
- Smith’s TRI-6 Arkansas TRI-HONE Sharpening Stones System
