Whet Stone Sharpening

When using knives or other such bladed tools, they tend to get dull; However, while using something like a sharpening block can be easy, a whetstone can get your blades even sharper than they were before. While I may not be an expert at knife sharpening I have sharpened my own knives on a whetstone for years. Sharpening a knife on a whetstone sounds like a difficult process, but is surprisingly simple and only takes a small amount of finesse. So, in the next 5 steps, I will show you the simple process of soaking the stones, proper sharpening technique and honing after the use of the whetstone. By the end of this video, you should have the basics to start using a whetstone effectively.

1. Whet Stone
2. Dull Knife
3. Honing Rod
4. Flat Workspace
5. Rag

First off, the whetstones have to be soaked in water. You can soak the stones for as little as 20 mins or up to an hour. The time is only really determined by the time available. However, soaking the stone for longer will yield better results. This is due to the fact that there will be more water to trap the shavings of metal leading to an easier time grinding the blade. After the stones are soaked a place to work is needed.

Now to find a workspace for the process of sharpening, the basic requirements are a clean flat space to place the stone on. Now optionally a rag can be close by for the cleaning of the blade after the process is finished or for cleaning the area of any water. Finding a good workspace will also allow for comfort while working on the knife. Allowing for better sharpening overall. After finding a workspace the angle of the blade will need to be found

The biggest part of the process of using a whetstone is finding or making the angle of the blade. Finding the angle of the blade is the most important step in the process. Finding the angle can prevent damage to the blade and ensure that the blade will sharpen correctly. You can find the angle of the blade by simply placing the knife on the whetstone and tipping the blade up and down until it feels stable across the stone. Proper movement of the knife is the next biggest thing to learn when sharpening the knife.

After you have established the angle that you are holding the blade at the actual sharpening actually comes into play. Using a smooth motion, you want to move the blade across and up the stone. lift the blade up and find your angle again and repeat the same motion, until you have a bur on one side of the blade. Do be careful though you want to drag the blade in one direction only, to prevent damage to the blade. Once the knife develops a bur on one side switch to the other and repeats this step on the blade.

Once done with the sharpening process grab a honing rod. A honing rod will correct any discrepancies in the blade and will even out the cutting edge. Honing the edge is a simple process, simply bring the knife down smoothly and evenly in a downward motion against the rod. Alternate sides between the strokes to ensure the correcting of the cutting edge. Once the blade has been honed wipe it down with a rag and the knife is ready for use once again.