Kitchen knives should be sharpened regularly to maximize and use to their full capabilities. Regardless of what you do, a dull kitchen knife is one of the most annoying things to experience. From having a hard time cutting through meat, or just cutting in general, a dull knife won't cut it.
In this article, you will know how to choose a good ceramic honing rod to keep your knives up to their full potential. Below is the list of the best ways to sharpen your knives with different types of methods. Read on!
Tell-tale Signs That Your Knives Are Still Sharp Enough
With daily use, even some of the best knives in the world get dull. If you want to learn whether your kitchen knives need sharpening, there are some things you can do.
Hold a folded paper hanging from your hand. Get your knife, lay it on top of the paper's edge, and slice it downwards; if it cuts through, they are still sharp. But if it falters, your kitchen knife may need some sharpening up to do.
When to Use the Honing Rod
Honing rods are often bundled with kitchen knives set. However, as most mothers would say, they don't cut it. What they mean is, honing rods bundle with kitchen knives is inefficient when it comes to sharpening your kitchen knife. However, one thing they do is file the edges of your knife, thus improving its sharpness but in a slight way.
Using ceramic honing rods is pretty easy, as long as you follow these directions. First, you must ensure that when you're honing your knife, it is on a 15-degree angle, then you carefully sweep through the rod with your knife, thus, honing its edges.
How to Use Honing Rod
- Step 1
Hold the plastic or rubber tip firmly in a vertical position. Ensure that the honing rod's tip is planted on the counter or table for a firmer foundation. Then hold your knife in an upward position kissing its tip to the honing rod's body. Ensure that you are on a 15-degree angle.
- Step 2
Maintain constant pressure and a 15-degree angle. Slide the knife's tip up and down, sweeping through the body of the honing rod. Ensure that whenever you go for the sweeping motion, the knife's edge is sweeping through the honing rod's metal body.
- Step 3
Slowly pull the knife back and forth, ensuring that every edge of the tip is sharpened through. Once the first side is done, go for the other side. This maximizes the overall sharpening of the kitchen knife.
Sharpening a Knife with a Whetstone
Whetstone is by far the most popular sharpening equipment for kitchen knives. To do this:
- Step 1
Secure your whetstone on top of the counter. Make sure that it doesn’t move. Place damp towels under the whetstone to ensure it doesn’t move while you are sharpening your knife.
- Step 2
Sharpen the first side in a sweeping motion with light pressure. Still, put in a 15-degree angle and a slight amount of pressure and slowly sweep the knife's edges through the whetstone.
Place your one hand on the knife’s handle while the other hand is putting pressure on the middle part of the knife to make contact with the whetstone.
Then slowly, in a circular manner, let the edge of the knife sweep through the whetstone in a constant motion. Once finished, go for the other side again. Do this again and again until you find the right sharpness for your daily cutting needs.
Conclusion
To use kitchen knives at their best, you may need the help of a good ceramic honing rod. However, there are still alternatives to honing rods such as whetstones or even electric sharpener if you have the budget.
Furthermore, knives' sharpening is a must, especially if you constantly chop or slice through different food ingredients. We all know how annoying and unpleasant it is to slice through different meat cuts with a dull knife. Rest assured, if you want to sharpen your kitchen knives, just refer to the instructions above.
