Pocket Knife Sharpening A Very Brief Tutorial

Step One Examine the edge of your blade. Look to see if you have a very dull blade and/or a blade with several obvious nicks, chips, scores, or burrs. Or, is your blade simply beginning to dull.

Step Two Select the sharpening stone grit. If you have a very dull blade, start with the rough grit.  If your knife is only beginning to dull, you can use a finer grit (not the polishing stone though!). How do you tell which side is the rough grit? Sight Thumbnail test Water test

Step Three Prep the sharpening stone. If you’re using a lubricant, get it out. Pour an ample amount all over the surface of the stone. You don’t need to drench it, but don’t be stingy either. Water Mineral Oil Dry

Step Four Place the knife at the appropriate angle. Place the knife flat on the stone & then raise it approximately 15°. The key to knife sharpening is maintaining a constant angle. Different knives require different sharpening angles. For a pocket knife, shoot for a 10 to 15 degree angle. This will give you an edge that’s sharp enough for most daily needs, but not sharp enough to perform heart surgery.  Angle guides can be purchased, if desired.

Step Five Sharpen side one of the blade. Imagine you’re attempting to shave off a very thin piece of the stone’s surface. You can bring the blade into the stone or stroke the blade away from the stone. If the knife blade is curved or if it’s longer than the stone, sweep the blade sideways as you work, so the entire edge is sharpened evenly. Apply moderate pressure as you sharpen. No need to bear down hard on the blade. After you make one stroke, start back at the beginning and repeat. Do this about 6-12 times.

Step Six Sharpen the other side of the blade. Flip the blade over & repeat the steps you performed for the first side of the blade.

Step Seven Make several alternating sweeps. After you’ve sharpened each side, make several alternating strokes- sharpening one side and then sharpening the other successively.

Step Eight Flip the stone to the finer grit & repeat! After you’ve sharpened each side, make several alternating strokes- sharpening one side and then sharpening the other successively. For our purposes in this class, you DO NOT want to use the finest grit – the polishing stone. Let’s watch a quick online video… https://youtu.be/lbfKb22qG60 (start at 2:51)