How To Hone a Knife
- December 3, 2007
- 6,600 Views
from
Grace Choi
(and 8 others) Subscribe
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Chef
Grace Choi
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Directed by
Kevin Hall
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Voice-Over Artist
Mario Bueno
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Production Designer
Karin Olsen
- Cosmetics Provided by M·A·C
- Kitchenware Provided by M·A·C
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Music
Edison Music Corp
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Writer
Howcast Studios
Honing a knife doesn’t sharpen a blade, it straightens it — realigning the edge and maintaining it in between longer and more involved sharpening sessions.
You Will Need
- A steel or ceramic honing rod
- And a knife to hone
- A flat surface (optional)
- And a towel or cutting board (optional)
Step 1: Position rod
Hold the honing rod in front of you, positioned so the tip points diagonally down and away from your body.
If you’re a little clumsy, you may want to place the end of your honing rod on a flat surface covered with a towel or a cutting board.
Step 2: Draw knife against rod
Place the end of your knife, also called the heel, along the top of the honing rod nearest to the handle. Draw the knife downward against the honing rod at a 20-degree angle. As you draw the knife toward the bottom, pull the knife back so the point of contact slides from the heel to the tip of the blade.
Don’t use too much pressure when you pull your knife against the honing rod—you can damage your blade.
Step 3: Repeat motion
Cross the knife under the honing rod to repeat the same motion on the other side of the blade.
Step 4: Follow pattern
Hone the blade in the following pattern: 5 times on each side, then 3, then 2, then single strokes alternating between right and left 10 times. Hone your knife this way every time you cook to keep the blade straight and true.
The only steel that can sharpen a blade, as opposed to simply straighten it, is diamond steel, which is embedded with industrial diamond particles.
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Comments (1)
Wow, not even sure where to start here. The statement ";The only steel that can sharpen a blade, as opposed to simply straighten it, is diamond steel, which is embedded with industrial diamond particles"; is utter crap, though. I assume that the assertion here is that this is the only steel that actually removes material from the blade, which just isn't so.
There are varying degrees of aggressiveness in steels, and the smooth ones, no matter their composition, remove less material from the blades. However, the grooved or slotted steels are magnetized BECAUSE they remove material from the blades.
I think the major misconception here is that honing is somehow different from sharpening. It really isn't. Honing might be defined as a slightly more refined and exacting process, but it is all sharpening, and it all removes material from the blade. In any case, you start with a blade that doesn't cut as well as it could, and you end up with one that cuts a lot better. Therefore, by definition, you have sharpened the blade. Look it up, if you don't believe me. :)
over 2 years ago by Cornelius
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