Out of all the videos and experts I see who sharpen knives and give tutorials, you are honestly the one who has helped the most. Your insight has helped me get razor sharp knives, especially at work since I work at a slaughterhouse. Now everyone asks me to sharpen their knives. I stayed at the stone for 2 hours sharpening peoples knives thanks to your tutorials. I even send the A-Z sharpening video to almost everyone I know.
this video is definitely the best ive seen for learning to sharpen. the amount of detail and small intricacies you go into is unmatched by any other video ive seen.
I’ve been cooking a lot in my retirement, and enjoying it. A couple months ago I bought a Kyoku chef knife on Amazon. It is a VG-10 core with 67 layer Damascus cladding. It was incredibly sharp and I’ve used it daily. It was still pretty sharp, but recently I ordered the Sharp Pebble 400/1000 stone and tried my luck at sharpening it. The first time I used too sharp an angle and scratched the beautiful finish, and it didn’t get sharp. Since the knife was already pretty sharp I thought I could just give it a few licks on the 1000 side of the stone. Didn’t work, and I never felt a burr. So I took a number of passes on the 400 grit side until I felt the burr. I followed your instructions and then moved on to the 1000 grit stone. It worked beautifully!!! It is now as sharp as a razor again. I just have to figure out how to get rid of those scratches now. Thanks, really like your channel...🙂
I've had so many guided rod systems. After decades of convincing myself that I didn't have the skill to freehand, I finally took the time to learn this skill from this video. After a few tries, I'm slicing paper with my chef's knife from the Cerax 1000 only, thanks so much for your tutorials. I look forward to growing and mastering this skill.
My SO has a Wüsthof Epicure chef's knife that was getting more blunt by the minute, she wouldn't let me sharpen it with angle clips for fear of scratches, even with scotch tape. This video gave me the confidence to freehand my Global G5 and get that factory sharp and she finally allowed me to sharpen hers. So, thank you!
well.. i followed this tutorial and my knife is so sharp. i hardly touch a tomato and it is sliced. this is my first experience with sharpening (except one that i had no guidence and totally scratched a beutiful knife...). so thank you for this tutorial. you explain it so well and comprehensive. easy to follow and learn. and it is very pleasnt to listen to you.
+1, had the same experience where this helped me finally sharpen my knife and get an edge on the whole blade rather than only the heel. Particularly doing each side until there was a burr was something I found incredibly helpful. Previously I would alter strokes even before the stropping phase.
It's been said here a lot already, this is a fantastic tutorial that has answered so many little detailed questions that I have always had about sharpening knives. You can tell you're a serious person who really does their best and truly cares about what they do, and that's the kind of guy I want to learn from.
Thank you for the clear, not overly edited video tutorial that shows the entire process. This has helped me actually learn how to sharpen my knives more than any other resource.
I'm a beginner and therefore have watched a lot of vids on sharpening using a stone, this is the best vid I have seen to date, thanks so much! Subscribed!
Never sharpened a knife in my life but after watching this video I decided to give it a try and sharpen my kitchen knife. The only advice I have for someone going to try this is to be patient with it and before you know it you’ll become more comfortable with it.
There is a lot of really great instruction out there, but I gotta say this helped me the most. Thank you so much for your thorough, and simple, tutorial! Anyone watching this should also watch your "How to Sharpen Fillet Knife" for rounding out the understanding. From here, I can now better understand nuance instruction from other experts. I have been sharpening my own knives for decades, and I was good ...but never great... at it, so I kept hunting through others' instruction. Now I see its because I lacked some of the essential nuance you share in this and the other videos. Again, thank you so much.
Ricky, I know that this video is 6 years old, but I bought a $40 1000/6000 whet stone on Amazon and used this guide to sharpen my wife's Walmart "Pioneer Woman" knifes. I know that they're crappy steel and won't hold the edge better than a butter knife, but I actually put a decent edge on them and I'm very grateful for the wisdom that you have imparted upon me. Thank you Sir for your time. God bless.
I've watched many knife sharpening videos over the _years_. Basically the techniques are similar but in this one and the one you did on cleavers shows the stropping as the last step. I have concluded at this point that your method is the best. Thank you.
This is the video that led me to success! 2 days of practice on my shapton glasd 1k and my kitchen knife can push cut paper. Before, i always had trouble sharpening with the full swoop, but your technique of apexing bit by bit of the blade did it for me. Could never feel a burr before, but that was due to lack of pressure i applied. Don't be scared, give it some pressure people! Did some *very* light, alternating leading strokes to minimize burr, then i went to a simples strop with green paste and gave it ~8, very light alternating trailing passes (4 per side) The result: pops hair off my arm. I was so close to going mad yesterday, this videos saved me. Even a total noob like me could do it after 2 days.
Followed this tutorial, then it suddenly all fell into place, The whole angle thing, i FEEL it now, not try to eye ball it, everything feels so natural now, as if things just CLICKED in my head, My knives are sharp now! seriously sharp! Thank you so much!
You are very, very good teacher. Looking at many your videos yesterday, I decided to try myself your technique. In my small city where I work, I found today only one Chinese stone double sided at 1 euro!, without any information about granulation size. After less than 30 min work and many playbacks your video, I sharpening a kitchen medium knife (13 cm very used in my kitchen, 10 - 20 euro), and surprise I can cut a paper A4 easy, but not in 5 mm slices (my wet Chinese stone will be upgraded soon). I chooses your videos because you explain very well how to grip knife, how to move knife, right and left sides, how to find correct angle, apply pressure, wet stone very often etc. And very important: how to feel relaxed when sharpen knifes. I’m from Romania. Thank You!
Years ago, I used to be able to get any knife shaving sharp, freehand. Then I started using my 1 x 42" belt grinder, which led to sharp, yet uneven edges (another thing I just need to up my skill level on). Watching your sharpening videos & using your techniques, I've gotten ALL of my parents' knives shaving sharp, by hand (Using the razor edge course & fine stone, then a strop with compound). THANK YOU!!! All of the edges were massively f'ed up, & now you can freakin' shave with them. Your videos got me back into hand sharpening, maybe I need to pick up some in-between stones now...
Just bought a Naniwa professional... it's absolutely insane (compared to the cheap stone I had before at least). I'm so happy I finally have decent stuff (and results), for a good price, and it's thanks to you ! Keep going :)
thank you for taking the time to post a very informative and helpful video. this type of sharpening is truly an art, and I feel like a have a chance after watching. BTW, when cutting paper you'll always get a different feel depending on whether you are cutting with the grain of the paper or across the grain. fold a crease in the paper. with the grain the crease will be sharp, and across the grain it will have a noticeably rougher edge. it will always cut more cleanly with the grain. here's to a sharp knife!
Been sharpening my knifes for about 4 months now and this video taught me even more about finding the angle and I love the way you explain how you sharpen, definitely trying your technique on my next sharpen
you are the best you tell things so clearly and explain easily...you got me into knife sharpening and whetstones and after one week of watching your videos I can sharpen knives to god like sharpness...thank you so much I like cooking so sharp knives are better than dull wish the best to you and keep entertaining btw I am 14 and from Slovenia.
I will never forget a wood lathe demo where the turner dulled his skew chisel, the only tool we hone, by tapping it on the lathe bed. He then went to a 60 grit CBN wheel, ground the dull part off, then took it to a leather strop. It then took all the hair off his arm, and would drop through paper. Getting rid of the burr is huge in edge performance...
You probably won't read this comment. If you do, thank you! I have bought a king-kw65 yesterday. Today i sharpened my first knives and am pleased with the results. They where not able to cut through paper now they can. Ofcourse i feel there is a lot of room for improvement but you made me try sharpening something that i did not think i would ever do. So thank you!
Thank you sooooooo much I bought a King 1000 6000 on your recommendation and just watched this video. I have never had my knives as sharp as they are now, teetering on dangerous. I know feel comfortable enough to purchase some entry level Japanese steel. I appreciate the way you take your time explaining in such detail. Thank you 🙏, keep up the great content.
Such a fantastic tutorial. I took some patience with me a german chef knife with chips on the razor and my cheap Chinese whetstones and started to work by your guide. I figured out how to work with the burr. I removed the huge chip on a 180 grit stone and sharpened it on a 600 grit after that a little strap work and the blade is shaving hairs from my hand like a razor. Thank you very much!!!
Great video. After so many videos and practice, this ties together several concepts. Super. Side note... I didn't think the demo knife was that sharp and was stated as such in the vid, but the points have been made very well. Thank you.
I'm loving your videos mate. I just purchased a few Stones with a lot of guidance from you... A 240/320 Carborundum stone (it's actually a very legit brand here from Brazil). - should arrive in 3 days. A KDS 1000 (that one arrived yesterday and I'm dying to give it a try) A S-3 (King 6000) - I was just gonna keep the 1000, but today I saw a deal that I couldn't resist. I found specific deals and that's why I didn't get the KDS 1000/6000 and got 2 separate stones instead. Also I have no base for the coarse stone nor the 1000, but a cloth will probably do the trick. I have a very nice knife that's actually pretty sharp... I will run it through the 1000 and then the 6000 to see if I can improve it. Not sure if I should develop a burr on it since it's still rather sharp. And I also have a good knife that got a bit damaged when the disc on one of those sharpening accessories dislocated while I was using it, so that will be my first test developing a burr on the coarse stones and than moving up to the 1000 and then the 6000. Keep it up!
One of the better tutorials I've found. I learned the basics of your technique and so far getting really good results, even though I still have more practicing to do. Thanks much, friend.
I have heard so many turners say turning tools don’t need to be razor sharp and that the tool edge won’t last beyond the first minute of lathe time if they are too sharp. I am glad to see someone who agrees with my thoughts. Sharp cuts better and lasts longer.
Thank you so much !! You're the man ! I'm french, and it was so much better to me to watch your video without understand everything than french videos with approximativ technics !!
This is a great video. I'm completely new to sharpening. I bought a cheap 1k/6k stone and tried sharpening a tired old santoku knife that hadn't been properly sharpened in 7 years. I think it cuts better now than when it was new! It's nowhere near a professional job (...yet?), but it does exactly what I need it to.
Not sure how I found your channel a couple weeks ago but I did. It made me start wanting to sharpen my knives, which I've been using in the kitchen for years now with no sharpening. After watching a few of your videos, especially the ones on budget equipment, and I decided to try it. Bought a cheap Kuma knife and a cheap 1000/6000 whetstone (and the Rust Eraser, but that got lost in the mail in the first ever ordering snafu from Amazon in the nearly 20 years I've been using them... I'll have to re-order that once the refund is done) and today I set to it! Practiced with the Kuma, which arrived fairly sharp but not a lot better than my older knives and got it a bit sharper. Went to work on one of my older knives and, while it took a bit longer, I did get a much nicer edge on it than before. I'm sure I'll get better with practice, and I'm sure better knives would do a lot better but I'll work with what I have for now. Thanks for your channel and encouraging me to do this!
Thank you so much for your tutorials. I’ve only known your channel for a month and I went on a knife sharpening spree at my work. You have shown me that all you really need is an 800/1000 grit stone to make a knife sharp. Thank you for what you do!
Don't know whether you read/reply to comments on older video's of yours, but just discovered your channel lastnight and have discovered that your video's are the most relaxing/satisfying thing i've ever watched, i think i have found some sort of therapy in your videos. Instantly subbed and will be binge watching for quite a while! Cheers!
I've just picked up the Suehiro Cerax 1010 and Rika 5000, with a Naniwa stone holder and sink bridge. Can't wait to have sharp knives. I feel like I'd be better using a hammer when I cook, with the state my knives are in. Thanks for the tips in the video.
I'm finally starting to understand this technique! I was putting too much pressure on the stone and needed to majorly relax my arms. Listen to the sound, it will tell you whether you're doing it right or wrong. Now all my knives are sharp
Great video. I’ve been procrastinating for fear I’ll totally mess up my knives edges. I hone to keep the edge but that only goes so far, it’s time. Thanks so much for sharing this video.
Thanks for the detailed and intuitive explanation of all the moves, it really helped a lot! Just bought my first stone and sharpened all my crappy knives to get some practice. I have to say, getting the technique down is much harder than it looks, but the results turned out better than expected for a first try. I can actually slice paper with all of them now :) The biggest pain in the ass was getting a burr on the tip of a chef's knife, the rapidly increasing curvature towards the tip makes it really hard to stay on the correct angle. Had an easier time with a santoku-style knife due to its gentler curve and shorter length - it made it way simpler to figure out a good hand placement and keep my strokes on target all the way through.
Hello Rikki I really like your Videos you helped me alot learning how to free hand Sharpen ... i just have one thing that confuses and bothers me alot . When i sharpen my Chef knives i start on lets say the right side after 10 Minutes of sharpening i start feeling a nice burr like you say ... than i switch my knive and start doing the exact same thing on the other side but the burr starts to devolp much much faster... so this means in the end i sharpend one side more than the other one ... i start seeing this on the endges of my knives one cutting edge side lookes “longer thicker “ than the other one... for the rest i follow everything you say after i deburr on the cerax 1000 i switch to a shapton pro 8000 and do the polishing... for the polishing do you think it is better to do push and pulls or just single pulls ...please help me am i doing everything right ? .... I work as a professional Camera Assistant tv commercials feature films etc so if you like or have any questions i can help you with Camera Setups Lightning questions or colour correction green keying or editing questions ... keep up the good work 👍🏼 and Greetings from Italy ...
Hi I just got my first stone and really want to help my semi professional wife keeping her knifes sharp. And i thought to use a tiny and convenient handheld microscope from Carson and I thought it was a really cool idea and it worked, the microscope was great at showing exactly how bad my first tries was and helped me correct it. Can you talk about if there would be any cons of using a microscope to review ones work? Thanks in adavance and the microscope is a Carson MM-300 MicroBrite and it's an absolutely wonderful little toy for kids and interested adults for viewing insects, patterns in leaves and just in general micro stuff :)
Very helpful, just got my first stone today, managed to not make the knife duller anyway always a good start, ty for great easy to understand tutorials👍
Burrfection I hope so, and maybe I have to correct myself I actually did manage to get somewhat of an edge on my first knife and now looking at this again I think I know how to get it better😉 ty again for inspiration I wouldn't even be trying this without your vids😂
Thank you so much for posting this video. After watching this video and trying my best on a King stone, I now have an idea of what sharp is! I have much to learn still, but I kind of know how to make a blade sharp now thanks to you!
Just followed this tutorial (though I used two different stones) and I got my Chinese cleaver (the knife I do practically everything with) sharper than ever before. It's as sharp as it was when it came out of its box. I do the fingernail test rather than newspaper (personal preference) and it has passed it like never before. Thank you for this tutorial! 👍🏽😉
amazing you put in the ambidextrous part, as I am that as well and I have expensive knives and recently bought sharpening stones, still a bit hesitant to start honing (pun intended) my skills and I think it makes more sense to have 1 grip and then just switch hands, so I will just develop that this year, thanks a lot.
Thanks for the video. I know it's a few years old but I'm week 5 of learning to do this. Your speed is insane. you don't see the skill gap till you're doing it properly as a noob
thanks man, i actually got pretty decent at it and sharpen knives for my family now! it actually got me into cooking with vegetables more and ive been losing weight since then. thanks for doing what you do bro@@Burrfection
I went and bought stones and followed your tutorial and my knives are extremely sharp. On the way I just found it a little hard to find the proper sharpening angle with my knives using your technique because the edge of my knife was already improperly sharpened in a wrong angle. So I just had to make corrections with a coarser stone and try to keep the same angle all the way to 8000 grit while feeling the burr. So, when you're describing how to find the right angle you should mention that it doesn't really work if your knife is already sharpened in a wrong angle etc. Thank you for the teachings, listen to your wrist! :)
Got a crappy set of Burghoff knives at a county fair about 20 years ago. X30CR13 steel, which I think is kind of a 420 equivalent. They were dull when we got them and I always avoided using them, preferring cheaper, thinner, sharper blades (Waverex, Victorinox). Decided to try to sharpen them with a 1000 grit stone that I have. My arms got tired before I saw any improvement. Guessing that I need a courser stone?
Watched this twice, tried it once, turned 6 dollar practice knife into pointy butter knife. Watched again two days later, tried again; practice knife almost as sharp as it was before turning into butter knife. Ah well, that's the difference between watching a video and developing a skill. Practice knife will be down to a knitting needle before I get the hang of this I think.
Hi, Ryky, great tutorial. Did it along side of you (used a 400 and 1000 though) and the result was great! Been getting all the knives i can find in my kitchen to practice (there cheap but you have to start somewhere i guess).Thanks for your video!
Excellent video. I bought a whet stone from my local hole-in-the-wall hardware shop here in Indonesia. The writing on the box is all in Chinese and no Arabic numerals so I have no idea what the grit on each side of the stone is. My first try at sharpening didn't result in me being able to cut paper without sawing back and forth. Didn't know about the de-burring process that you describe and I thought perhaps the problem was that the grit was too coarse. Will give the alternate left, right strops a try and see if I get a sharper edge. Good to know that I should be able to get a sharp edge even without a high grit stone. Thanks a million!
Great video. I just recently bought my first professional knife 🔪, but after some time it doesn't cut like a razor anymore. So now, I'm buying a sharpening stone... wish me luck 😆
Your a really good teacher, but unfortunately I can't seem to sharpen my chef knife at all. I think I'm following all of the steps that you've showed. I've watched many of your sharpening videos and I would love to sharpen my knives as well. If you have any further suggestions or a list of common mistakes for me, that would be very much appreciated. Thank you for all of the time you put in to teach people this important skill.
Ordinary chef's knives are often made from very tough stainless steel that's very difficult to sharpen by hand. Many variables are in play. The knife steel may be tough enough that only the tiniest amounts of steel are removed by each stroke on the stone.Many strokes might be required to recreate a primary bevel. However, when freehand sharpening, it is difficult to lay down each stroke on top of each other so can reshape the blade. A frequent result from freehand sharpening of alloyed stainless steels is a rounded edge caused by many strokes at different angles. The knife remains fairly dull. Furthermore, the material of your stone may not be best suited to grind away the steel of your knives. You may have to try different stones in order to find one that works in a reasonably short period of time. The real trick to all this is to find a knife and a series of stones that work together. Non stainless steel knives are easier to sharpen in general, though they don't stand up to use by many different users. Somebody always leaves the knife to rust in the sink over a weekend by accident.
Great video. Your advice about applying pressure only on edge trailing passes was very helpful. I got excellent results after following that advice. Question: does the grey metallic particles often need to be cleared away as shown in the video? I was always told those particles actually help to sharpen the knife.
I was wondering the same about the particles and washing them away. I think it's mainly because the stone he's using is a wash and go so he's just keeping it moist. I would assume he's also a little faster at home than in this video too. Just a guess though.
I've found that 600 is coarse enough to do some cutting albeit a bit slower but not painfully slow but not too coarse to where you can't get a fine edge without stropping. A good 1 step grit and i love the spyderco medium ceramic stone.
LOL my question from the previous vid of yours that asked about European sharpening angles and Japanese method has just been answered in this vid. Cheers bud.
Very cool. I have an old military knife which was gifted by a high ranking soldier to my late grandfather. Its very dull and has small chips on the edge. Can I use the same technique to sharpen it?
This is indeed a fantastic channel, thank you Ricky! It has actually inspired me to purchase a couple of stones (1000 and 3000 grit) and start sharpening my knives myself - there is nothing more frustrating (not to mention - dangerous) in a kitchen than a dull knife! My knife set is not something fancy, pretty mid-range, actually, but my knifes are sturdy and well balanced, so they can be used and of course - will benefit from sharpening. Stones are not something exceptional either, but I believe will be a decent enough starting point so that I can get the hang of and the proper feel of sharpening knives - something I have never done before. To that regard I have a few questions! 1. I saw a few tutorials on this channel already, but all seem more or less "specialized", either for a specific technique, or specific equipment. Is there like a "basic" video that shows a more general approach that applies to more types of knives, something that a true beginner should know and do before he starts "going fancy" with more stones, more elaborate techniques, etc. Something, that would be a good starting point, giving a wide variety of knives a good enough result (maybe not perfectly super-duper katana-style sharpness, but still a properly sharp knife for kitchen use)? Is there such a video already on the channel which I have not found yet, or if not - could you make one? I am sure plenty of people would benefit :) 2. Is there a video about sharpening a paring knife? Any useful tips on technique? It is a far tinier knife, so I am sure it is a bit more tricky than a large Chef's knife! Perhaps this again could be another video project for you! Best regards Momchil
Would you want to hone the edge to straighten it out before you start to sharpen it? This is a great demonstration. I feel like I really could sharpen like a pro after this.
At 8min you said you don't apply pressure on edge leading strokes yet the movement you make with the knife is what you call an edge trailing stroke 10 seconds beforehand? is leading away and trailing towards yourself? great videos by the way, just wanted to clarify, thanks
Leading edge stroke: you are moving the edge against the stone and the knife spine is trailing the edge. Example at 9:16. Trailing edge stroke: you move the knife on the stone having the spine preceding the edge. Example at 22:10. When he use the Push&Pull technique he exert pressure on the edge just when the edge is trailing. Example at 10:20.
Thank you! Do you have videos on how to resharpen a hollow ground blade as found on straight razors? I'm now a all notifications sub as you have great content, and would like to see this on your channel. Thanks 👍
The edge you worked up in this video is all I need or want to invest time into. Don’t get me wrong I know a sharper edge is desirable but I’m not masterChef in fact I don’t cook at all. Thanks. I’ll be searching your videos on what types of stones to buy.
thanks for trusting what i do. i made this video years ago, and years later Naniwa reached out to offer a partnership after I have used their stones for years. have a look store.burrfection.com/collections/sharpening-kits/products/naniwa-ryky-edition-5-piece-sharpening-pro-kit
