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Knife Sharpeners

Knife sharpeners – recommended products and full knife sharpening information to help you select the best knife sharpener and achieve the best sharpening results. Including video guides on how to sharpen knives. Applicable to a range of knives including: chef knives, kitchen knives, pocket knives and more.

Knife Sharpening - with a Diamond Whetstone

Diamond whetstones - bench stones

Many chefs and home cooks prefer to use a Diamond Whetstone™ to sharpen their favourite knife. A few light strokes is all that is needed. You can use a whetstone to sharpen when you need to re-align an edge or just because you prefer to use a whetstone. Having a Diamond Whetstone™ in the kitchen doesn't mean that you can't also use it to sharpen other edged tools that you may have in your home - scissors, woodworking tools and more. It's a great value tool and there's a lot of sharpening potential from just one sharpener!

Whetstone Sharpening Instructions:

  1. Establish same angle as knife bevel with whetstone. 20° for most knives.
    sharpening angle diagram
  2. Stroke away from the body, alternating on each side of the knife with equal number of strokes on each side.
    sharpening stroke diagram

TIP: Lighter strokes will produce a finer edge. Never test edge on body. Use only water for lubrication.

Video Guide: How to sharpen a Knife with a Whetstone. Courtesy of DMT® ...


>> Buy a DMT® long-life Diamond Whetstone™ - click here!

How to sharpen a Knife - with a Sharpening Steel

Diamond sharpening steels

Traditional butchers steels do not remove much metal because they are about as hard as the knife; they only align the edge. Since they remove very little metal, they round the shoulders of the blade. This diminishes the life of the knife.

DMT Diamond Steel™ sharpening steels are entirely different. A DMT Diamond Steel™ actually sharpens while it aligns the edge - providing value in time and money. Each time you sharpen on a diamond sharpening steel a very small amount of steel is removed, keeping the edge of the knife thin and the angle maintained. The diamond or unbreakable ceramic surface extends the life of knives, this alone can pay for the cost of the DMT® sharpener.

Sharpening Steel Instructions:

sharpening with a steel - step 1
  1. With one hand, hold the sharpening steel point down on a work surface. Using the other hand, hold the knife securely (above).
  2. Lean the blade on the steel, approximately at a 20° angle.
  3. Maintain the angle, and apply moderate pressure as you stroke by pushing the knife down and against the steel. Since we want to sharpen the entire blade edge, start the stroke near both handles and push the blade against the steel to end up at both tips.
  4. Repeat with the other side of the knife and the other side of the steel.
  5. Alternate sides and stroke the knife evenly on both sides. The number of strokes will depend on how dull the knife was to begin with.

TIP: Lighter strokes will produce a finer edge. Never test edge on body. Use only water for lubrication.

sharpening with a steel - step 2

Note: An alternative method, often preferred by more experienced sharpeners, is to sharpen free hand (above).

Video: How to sharpen a kitchen knife with a steel. Courtesy of DMT® ...


>> Buy a DMT® fast-honing Diamond Sharpening Steel - click here!

Knife Sharpeners - Suggested Products by Knife Type

Chef knives, paring knives, carving knives, filet knives & cleavers -
Diamond Whetstone™ bench stones or Diamond Steel™ sharpening steels.

Serrated knives & bread knives - Diafold® serrated knife sharpener.

Ceramic knives - Diamond Whetstone™ bench stones or Aligner™ guided sharpening system.


Diamond Grit Types - Which to use?

DMT diamond grit types guide

By working through the DMT® system of progressively finer grits, you will quickly achieve a razor sharp edge on quality knives and tools. The DMT® diamond products are colour-coded for identification. In our product descriptions, coloured diamond shapes denote the specific grits in which each model is available.

Which grit you should use depends on... How often do you sharpen? How dull do you let your knife or tool edge get before you re-sharpen it? How sharp is sharp enough for you? Ask yourself these questions, and then read the grit descriptions (left) to determine which grit(s) best suits your needs. Hint: the pros use more than one grit & move from coarser to finer grits as they sharpen.

Sharpening Knives - Questions

If you have any questions about knife sharpening then please don't hesitate to contact us.

You can email us at sales@buybrandtools.com.

Or you can call us on (0114) 251 3535 - Monday-Friday (8.45am-5pm).

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Scott, and his small team of friendly customer service advisors work extremely hard to ensure that your order is delivered when you expect it. Scott is available to answer any enquiries you may have.

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