Keeping Knives Sharp D

Keeping Knives Sharp If you want keen edges, you’ve got to get abrasive BY SUZANNE ROMAN ull knives are no fun. Instead of slicing burnish an already sharp edge. In other words, Dquickly and cleanly or mincing finely, a dull steeling won’t make a dull edge sharp. (For more knife mauls food, smashing and ripping rather than on steeling, see Basics on p. 69.) “Sharpening” or cutting. Touching up the knife’s edge with a butcher’s “honing” (I’ll use the terms interchangeably here) steel may improve it a little, but after a while the metal uses an abrasive material to wear away the old, dull on the knife’s edge has bent and chipped so much edge, to expose new metal beneath, and to estab- that there’s little of the edge left for the steel to re- lish a new, sharp edge. align. It’s time to hone the knife, to abrade a little bit Getting the right angle—When you sharpen a of metal to form a new, sharp edge. knife, you want to make sure that the two sides of There’s no need to send your knives out to be the knife blade intersect evenly (at the same angle) sharpened, or to use the rotary sharpener on the along the length of the blade, making a sharp, sym- back of an electric can opener, which will grind your metrical edge. Some knife sharpeners require more chef’s knife down to a paring knife in no time. That’s practice than others to consistently put a uniform because you can choose from a variety of really bevel on both sides of the blade. effective tools to sharpen your knives. I’m going to Honing a knife yourself gives you control over describe four types of abrasive sharpeners that can the sharpening angle, which determines not only put a new edge on your knives without taking off how easily the knife will slice through food, but also too much expensive steel. how long the edge will last. Sharpen each side of Some require a bit of skill and A knife honed to a sharp 20° the blade to half the a steady hand, others do more angle will easily cut through overall desired angle. of the work for you. You can 45° food, but the attenuated 221⁄2° To put on a strong and spend as little as $8 for a edge has little metal to sup- sharp 45° edge, hold ceramic sharpener, or close to port it and will wear down the knife at half that $100 for a diamond abrasive. quickly. The edge of a knife angle (221⁄2°) from the Steeling vs. honing— sharpened to a more obtuse sharpening stone. Keeping your knives sharp needn’t be a constant 60° angle is quite strong because there’s a good bit chore. While it’s a good idea to steel your knives every of metal right behind the edge, but the knife will time you use them, you’ll probably need to hone them need more force to cut through food. Most sources only once every couple of months, depending on how recommend sharpening a knife’s edge to an angle often you use them and on the kind of metal they’re between 30° and 45°, a good compromise between made from. Hard stainless-steel knives stay sharp for a sharpness and durability. long time, but they’re not easy to resharpen. Soft Double-bevel for a durable edge—You can also carbon-steel knives (the kind that stain when they get a strong, sharp edge by first putting on a thin, come in contact with food) will dull faster but are narrow edge, and then sharpening just the very edge easier to sharpen. Even though most of the more ex- at a second, more obtuse angle. The blunter angle pensive new knives are made from a high-carbon keeps the knife sharp longer, while the thin overall stainless-steel blend and will stay sharp longer than profile of the edge will enable the blade to cut easily carbon-steel knives, they too will get dull. into food. Some ceramic-rod knife sharpeners, de- Before going any further, I need to define and scribed below, make it easy to put on this kind of clarify some common terms. “Steeling” a knife, two-bevel edge. The Chef’sChoice 110, an electric something you see butchers do often, is not the sharpener, even puts on a third bevel. same thing as sharpening or honing. Steeling, The smoother the abrasive, the more pol- which involves passing the knife’s edge along the ished the edge—When choosing a knife sharp- length of a finely ridged steel rod, is not intended to ener, you also need to think about how abrasive create a fresh, new edge, but rather to refurbish and the sharpening materials (called “hones”) are. Illustration: Michael Gellatly 40 FINE COOKING Copyright © 1994 - 2007 The Taunton Press Coarse hones take off metal fast and leave a rough, sawlike edge. The knives will need a few strokes on a steel to smooth off some of the edge’s ragged- ness. For kitchen knives, a saw-toothed edge isn’t such a bad thing. Just as a serrated knife will slice through a tomato skin when a smoother edge can’t get a start, a jagged edge helps the knife bite into food. But over time, the individual “teeth” of a Use smooth, consistent ragged edge will bend and break off, dulling the strokes with a sharp- knife and requiring steeling and more frequent ening stone. Placing sharpening. Finer hones don’t take off as much the heel of the knife on metal with each pass, so it may take more work to the short end of the put a good edge on the blade, but they leave a stone nearest you, smoother, more polished edge that doesn’t need to slide the knife across be steeled right away. the stone, pulling it No matter what sharpener you use, make sure from heel to tip as you your fingers are out of the path of the knife blade. go. Flip the knife over The instructions that come with the sharpener will and sharpen the other tell you how to hold the sharpener so that your side, pulling the knife hands aren’t in danger. towards you and slid- ing it from heel to tip. THE OLD STANDBY, SHARPENING STONES The traditional tool used for honing knives is the sharpening stone. Sharpening stones are made from a variety of materials, from natural Arkansas stone, to manmade Carborundum stones, to diamond- studded blocks, all of which are available in a range of grits (coarseness). The stones vary in price from $10 to over $100 and can be found in kitchen- supply, hardware, and specialty tool shops. Sharpening stones give no angular guidance— you have to rely on feel, sight, and sound as you scrape the knife at an angle across the stone. To hone a knife on a sharpening stone, first anchor the stone to the table by placing it on a damp towel. Depending on the kind of stone, put on a is stroking the knife at the same angle pass after pass coating of oil or water. The liquid keeps metal par- and hitting the stone at the same angle on both sides ticles from clogging the pores in the stone and of the knife to form a straight, sharp edge. With glazing it over. Put the heel of the knife on the practice, you can get it right. short end of the stone nearest you, edge facing out, and with both hands supporting the knife at the CERAMIC STICK LOOKS LIKE A TINY STEEL desired angle, push the knife across the stone (see If you’re comfortable using a butcher’s steel but not illustration above right). Turn the knife over and, a sharpening stone, you may want to try honing starting contact at the heel of the knife and mov- your knives with a ceramic stick. The Zip-Zap This ceramic knife ing up towards the tip, pull the knife towards you. sharpener (The Zanger Company, PO Box 1184, sharpener looks like a Repeat the strokes on both sides of the knife until Enfield, CT 06082; 800/229-4687) is available in tiny steel, but it actu- the edge is sharp. kitchen-supply and hardware stores for about $8. ally takes off metal. You can sharpen a knife to any angle you want The four-inch-long medium-grit ceramic stick is Hold the knife still and with a sharpening stone. The angle of the edge fixed in a wooden handle that keeps your fingers draw the ceramic stick you’re putting on depends on how high you lift the out of the way of the blade. You use the ceramic along the edge with back of the blade off the stone. Remember that stick the way you would a steel. Holding the knife slow, steady strokes. you’re putting half the angle on each side of the still, rest the cylindrical stick on the edge of the 1 blade, so hold the blade just 22 ⁄2° from the stone knife near the heel and push the stick towards for a 45° angle (see illustration at left). Hold the the tip of the knife. Turn the knife over and push back of the knife closer to the stone for a smaller the stick along the other side of the blade. Repeat angle and a thinner edge, or hold the back higher on both sides until the knife is sharp.

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