Knife Sharpening Steel

Knife Sharpening Steel - View our range of Knife Sharpening Steel here at Anthony Ryans cookware shop, offering excellent quality Knife Sharpening Steel to suit your needs.

A knife sharpener is a tool which is used to sharpen the blades of knives by grinding them down to even out the surface of the blade. There is a vast array of knife sharpeners available from homeware stores, ranging from commercial electric grinders to simple whetstones. A knife sharpener is an extremely useful tool to have around, as a sharp knife cuts much more effectively, and regular sharpening can extend the lives of your blades. When a knife is made, it is moulded into a very specific shape which is designed for a particular cutting, slicing, chopping function.  Obviously the blade is originally produced with a sharp blade and then sharpened to continue its function to its best ability. Over time, this edge will break down, even when a knife is carefully handled, and a knife sharpener is used to refresh this edge. When using a hand held knife sharpener like a whetstone or a sharpening rod, the knife is run along the sharpener in smooth, even motions to clean up the blade. These sharpeners are made from coarse materials which smooth out irregularities in the blade. Other sharpeners have an electric component which rotates or jiggles a grinding surface while the user holds the blade against it.

Knife sharpening is not impossible, but it does require some skill. It is important to angle the blade as you sharpen, and to maintain the angle to ensure that the blade is being sharpened, rather than simply ground away. As you sharpen, a burr will appear. A burr is a thin lip of metal which overlaps onto the unsharpened side of the blade, this is a good sign; once it appears, you can switch sides to refine the edge and get the knife's edge thin and crisp for best cutting.  Most of all take your time.