To sharpen knives at home, you will need a sharpening stone, damp tea towel, water, steel, and paper with a 90 degree corner. You prepare by placing the damp towel and stone on the bench, then use folded paper to guide the knife to a 22 degree angle on the stone. The method is to sweep the knife held at a locked wrist from heel to point 10 times on each side of the coarse and fine stones, then finish on steel a few times per side to maintain the angle.

1. how to:
sharpen your knives at home

2. you will need
• A sharpening stone (carborundum or
ceramic)
• A damp tea towel
• A jug or cup of cold water
• A piece of steel
• A piece of paper with a 90º angle
corner

3. preparation
1. Place a damp tea towel on your bench
nice and flat.
2. Place the stone, course side up, on
the tea towel and close to the edge of
your bench.

4. preparation
5. Take your piece of paper and fold it
diagonally to give you a 45º angle.
Fold again to give a 22º angle (this will
be a guide to determine the appropriate
angle for your blade on the stone).
6. Sit the piece of paper on the stone and
rest the blade of your knife on the
paper. This will help you to achieve an
angle of about 22º on the edge of your
knife.

5. method
7. Once your paper is sitting at the correct
angle with your knife in place, lock your
wrist so as the knife remains at that
angle through the movement.
8. Start with the heel of your knife on the
right hand side of the stone and sweep
it across the stone so that the point is at
the left hand side of the stone. Repeat
this 10 times.
9. Turn the knife over and set the correct
angle again using the piece of paper
and lock your wrist. Sweep the knife
from the heel (now on the left side of
the stone) across to the right. Repeat
this sweep 10 times.

6. method
10. Turn the stone onto the finer side and
repeat the sweeping action right to left
10 times on each side and then left to
right 10 times.
11. Finish the sharpening by gently
sweeping the knife along a piece of
steel a few times on each side. Make
sure you maintain the same angle
when using the stone and the steel.

7. If you have a ceramic stone this will be considerably finer than the
tips
carborundum stone and you can repeat the process on both sides
of the ceramic stone. This step is not necessary for general
sharpening but can improve the edge of the knife a great deal if you
need a very sharp knife.

8. This presentation was proudly bought to you by:

9. A special thank you to
David Peddle

10. For more fresh ideas, visit
bffm.com.au