A sharp knife not only cuts better but is safer to handle than a dull one. Often, a knife dulls when its edge becomes misshapen. Using a sharpening steel can help restore its shape and keep your knife on the cutting edge.
Instructions
1. Choose knives with blades that will take reshaping with a steel. Look for high-carbon steel alloys of molybdenum or vanadium.
2. Know the properties of the knife steel you plan to use. Diamond-coated steels are intended to sharpen very dull blades by giving them a new edge, not to keep the one you already have.
3. Place the heel of the knife blade against the tip of the steel, blade toward you, at an approximate 20-degree angle. The blunt edge of the knife should be raised about a quarter-inch above the cutting edge.
4. Pull the edge of the blade across the steel in a sweeping motion such that the tip of the blade ends up touching the handle of the steel. Maintain the 20-degree angle.
5. Put the steel on top of the knife, with the blunt edge angled 20 degrees away from the steel.
6. Draw the knife across the steel again. This time you are reshaping the other edge.
7. Repeat Steps 3 through 6 from 5 to 10 times, always alternating sides and always maintaining the 20-degree angle while making sure you pull across the entire length of the blade.
Tags: 20-degree angle, across steel, blunt edge, cutting edge
