Knives are one of the most versatile tools in the kitchen. Whether you’re cooking a big meal or slicing up a couple of oranges, these sharp blades are a necessity.
Like scissors, a knife can cut, slice, and chop, but you can also use it to pry open jars, peel fruit, and tap wine bottles. And just like scissors, knives get dull quite quickly–and sharpening a dull blade can be a frustrating task.
What do you do if you need to sharpen a double edge knife? A lot of people don’t know how to sharpen a double edge knife, and often buy knives that don’t have a sharp edge or are dull, causing them to be uncomfortable to use.
The good news is, there are many ways to easily sharpen a double edge knife.
The first method is to use an electric sharpener, but these are very expensive and can be a bit difficult to use if you don’t know how to use it.
Basic steps for sharpening a double knife :
- Clean your knives and dry them off with paper towels. If they have any rust on them, use steel wool to remove it.
- Place both sides of each blade against the edge of the stone. Hold the handle down firmly so that there is no movement at all. The idea here is not to move the blade around but rather let the weight of the blade do the work. You can also hold the blade by its spine if you prefer.
- Use short strokes back and forth across the entire length of the blade until you feel like the tip has been worn away enough. This should take about 30 seconds per side.
- Repeat step 3 again using long strokes from top to bottom. Again, this will only take about 30 seconds per stroke.
Once you’ve done those two sets of strokes, repeat step 2 once more.
What’s the difference between a single and double bevel knife?
The main differences between a single-beveled knife and a double-beveled knife:
- Double-bevelled knives
Double Bevel Knife – Double beveling creates an extra angle along the cutting surface which allows for greater control when making precise cuts. It also makes the knife easier to sharpen because the edges don’t get as dull over time.
- Single-bevelled knives
Single Bevel Knife – A single beveled knife is just what it sounds like; a straight line running through the center of the blade. Single bevels tend to make sharper cuts than their double counterparts, but they lack the precision needed for some tasks.
More advice and theory on sharpening angles for knives
The angle at which a knife edge is sharpened makes a big difference to the appearance of the edge. You can create a sharper looking edge by sharpening the knife at a sharper angle.
As well as being a useful technique for cutting and scraping, sharpening is thought to clean a blade of impurities. To sharpen effectively, the blade must be struck at a precise angle and be held at exactly the correct angle while the sharpening process is taking place.
How to sharpen knives with a whetstone (for Beginners)
The whetstone, or water stone, is one of the oldest tools for sharpening knives or other cutting tools. It works by grinding away a small amount of metal from the blade and then polishing the blade edge with water.
This gives the blade a very sharp edge with a fine, polished appearance. The whetstone was used before the development of the modern steel blade, but is still the most common method to sharpen knives.
Knowing how to sharpen a knife can be one of the most important things you learn in the kitchen. This is because a dull knife is a dangerous knife: it’s only a matter of time before you cut yourself, or cut something else you weren’t aiming for.
There are lots of ways to sharpen a knife, and you can find out how to do it on your own, but that’s really hard. So let’s say you have a decent set of knives and want to learn how to sharpen them.
To begin, you need to wet the whetstone to get the best results. With this, you’ll need to wet the stone in water, mineral oil, or honing oil.
- Honing oil is the most recommended for this process.
- Next, lay the stone flat on the table. Then, you should place the knife flat on the whetstone with the blade facing away from you.
- Lastly, you should pull the blade towards you in a sweeping motion while applying pressure.
- Repeat this action five times on each side of the blade.
What kind of stones work best for me?
Whetstones come in different shapes and sizes. They range from small handheld stones to large blocks used for heavy duty jobs.
The size of the stone will depend on whether you plan to use it for light duties such as cleaning up after dinner, or heavier uses such as carving wood. In addition, there are two types of stones: abrasive and nonabrasive.
The former removes material from the metal, whereas the latter does not remove any material.
- Abrasive stones
include diamond stones, emery boards, and sandpaper. These are great if you’re going to be using the stone frequently. However, these stones cost more money and take longer to replace once worn down.
- Nonabrasives
include ceramic stones, leather strop, and wooden strop. Whereas, these may look like an expensive option, they last much longer and don’t require replacement often.
If you decide to go with a non-abrasive stone, then you might consider getting a leather strop instead of a wooden one. Leather has been known to hold its shape better over time.
You also have the choice between soft and medium grit stones. The softer ones are easier to control when working with delicate materials.
How often should I sharpen my knives?
It depends on how much you cook and where you live. In general though, we recommend keeping your knives sharpened every 6 months.
That way, you’ll always have a good set of knives ready to go whenever you need them! What’s more, having a well maintained set of knives means less chance of injury while chopping vegetables or preparing food.
Plus, if you’re cooking regularly, then you won’t have to worry about buying new ones all the time.
Hardness vs. Toughness knife edge
Knife hardness is the ability of the blade to resist permanent deformation, and toughness is its ability to absorb energy and not crack under repeated use.
A knife’s edge should be hard enough to resist chipping and to hold its edge. The opposite of hard is tough, which means flexible and resistant to breakage. The best knife edge is a combination of the two.
The ideal knife has an extremely thin cutting edge that can easily flex without breaking or cracking when used in a variety of tasks. A good example would be a paring knife with a very fine tip.
This type of knife will have a harder steel than one with a thicker point like a fillet knife.
When choosing your first knife it may seem as though you need something more durable but this isn’t necessarily true. If you are just starting out then a softer steel such as carbon steel or stainless steel will work well.
These steels tend to bend less so they make better beginners’ blades. They also won’t rust if properly cared for. However, these types of steels don’t hold their edges nearly as long as high end steels do.
