How To Sharpen Knives

Whether in a kitchen or camping you need to know how to sharpen knives. A dull knife is not a safe knife. Learn how to sharpen knives and cutting tasks will be much easier. Some kitchen can openers also have a knife sharpener on the back but these sharpeners rarely do a good job, and they can't help when you are camping.

To sharpen knives, you will need:

• knife
• whetstone
  

1. Clean the knife blade. Using mild soap and water, remove any dirt, debris or rust that is on the blade and then dry it.
2. Place the whetstone on a flat surface. A table top or very flat rock will work.
3. Grasp the knife carefully. The cutting edge of the blade will be rubbed along the top face of the whetstone. Hold the knife blade at around 22 degrees relative to the whetstone.
4. Pull the knife along. As you pull the knife along the whetstone also pull it to the side. This will result in an even honing of the cutting edge.
5. Flip the knife over. Pull the knife in a similar fashion back the other way with the other side down. Make sure the knife edge doesn't hit the whetstone when flipping as this could put a chink in the edge.
6. Continue this sharpening until the desired sharpness is achieved.
   
7. Clean the blade again and dry.
   

Various grit whetstones are available. An 800 grit whetstone is good for sharpening a knife. Keep whetstones wrapped in a paper towel when not in use.