How to Sharpen Kitchen Knives: The Main Methods, Honestly Explained

Sharp knives make cooking better. That's not a sales line, it's practical. A sharp knife goes where you intend it. A dull one, like a toddler, does whatever it wants. A dull knife requires force, and force is where accidents can more likely happen. It's also where tomato skins resist, onion layers compress instead of slice, and herb chiffonade turns to bruised mush.

There's something else worth saying here: if your knife edge wears out, that means you've been cooking. Nobody apologizes when the tread on their tires wears out. We expect it to happen. Same with a knife edge. Maintenance isn't a failure, it's just part of using a tool. Congrats! Let's cook more!

So yes, sharpen your knives. The question is how. And the honest answer is that it depends on who you are, how you cook, and how much you want to invest in a new skill. There are always exceptions to any rule in knife care, but here are the main methods, what they actually do, and who each one is right for.

One more thing before we get into tools: cut feel is about more than apex sharpness. How a knife moves through food depends on the shape of the cutting edge, yes, but also on the geometry of the blade from apex to spine. A thick blade is harder to push through a dense vegetable than a thin one regardless of the apex sharpness. A flat grind behaves differently than a convex one, etc. The tools below address the apex. The blade geometry is baked into the knife you bought. Both matter. If you want to understand the parts of a knife and what they do, our anatomy guide covers every term.

First: Honing vs. Sharpening

These words get used interchangeably. They don't need to be.

Honing does most of its work by smoothing and realigning the steel at the cutting edge. Under a microscope, the thin metal at a knife's apex bends slightly with use. A honing rod pushes and smooths that edge back toward alignment. It removes very little steel in the process, mostly it's simply moving steel that's already on the edge. Importantly, honing does not address chips, nicks, or dings in the cutting edge. It only works if the edge hasn't been rounded out too much. There's a point in every knife edge's lifespan where honing stops helping, where the edge is genuinely worn down rather than just bent, and at that point, sharpening is what's needed.

Sharpening removes metal to create a new edge. When honing no longer improves the knife, sharpening grinds away the dull steel and reveals the "sharper" (shaped) steel below.

The practical difference: honing is maintenance you do when the edge stops performing the way you want. Sharpening is something most home cooks need once or twice a year. The tools and skills required are different.

If you keep the micro-serration on the apex of your knives through regular maintenance, you'll be able to get through the skin of most anything with ease — that textured edge grabs and cuts rather than sliding off. It's part of what makes a well-maintained knife feel so different from a neglected one. Curious what "sharp" actually means in measurable terms? The Brubacher Edge Sharpness Scale (BESS) gives you a concrete way to think about it.

Method 1: The Stick by Sharpow — Start Here

What it does: Easy, low-friction daily or weekly maintenance that keeps the apex from ever rolling in the first place.
Skill required: You already have this skill.
Best for: Everyone, as the first line of easy maintenance.

The Stick by Sharpow is the thing to reach for before you reach for a honing rod. Think of it like spreading peanut butter on bread, a smooth, easy motion that home cooks aren't afraid of. You spread it along the edge of the blade in a comfortable, natural stroke. That's the move.

Here's the logic: if the edge never "rolls," you don't need a honing rod to straighten it back out. Regular use of the Stick by Sharpow prevents the problem that honing is meant to fix. It's the maintenance before the maintenance.

How often? That depends entirely on use. Leave the knives in the block and they'll stay sharp for a long time. Cook daily on a hard board, and you might want to use it weekly. Cook a few times a week on a good wood or plastic board, and every few weeks might be enough. There's no universal schedule, it has everything to do with the hardness of your blade and what you're cutting, what board you're cutting on, and how you cut. Dragging a knife across a board rather than lifting it, using it on a titanium or glass surface, or letting it knock around in a drawer will dull the edge faster. Use the Stick by Sharpow when the knife stops feeling right, when it loses bite, and you'll regularly catch it before the edge needs a honing rod, let alone a sharpening.

Method 2: The Honing Rod

What it does: Smooths and realigns the edge between sharpenings when The Stick by Sharpow isn't enough.
Skill required: Low — but worth learning the right way from the start.
Cost: $40–60 for a decent rod.
Best for: Everyone, as needed — not on a fixed schedule.

A honing rod is the long metal or ceramic rod that came with your knife set and probably rarely leaves your block. Most cooks ignore it. Most cooks' knives are duller than they need to be as a result.

Here's how we suggest learning to use one, and this differs from the way most tutorials show it. Most tutorials have you hold it vertically in one hand and sweep the knife down it with the other. That method is fine once you've built the muscle memory. It's like knowing what it looks like to dunk a basketball, most of us know the motion, but we can't replicate it without practice. Learning it that way as a beginner makes it hard to build consistent results.

Instead: lay the honing rod flat on the counter. Get a high-contrast light source, a lamp or bright overhead light works. Lay the blade flat on the rod, then tip it up slowly until the shadow cast by the cutting edge disappears. That's your "angle." Now slide the blade from tip to heel, pushing the bent portion of the edge down and straight. Work from tip to heel, not heel to tip. It's easier to maintain consistent pressure this way, and it's a motion that feels more natural to most people when starting out. Curious about what the heel of a knife actually is? We've got that covered too.

Use it when the knife stops performing the way you want, not necessarily on a fixed schedule. A knife used on a soft wood board for slicing vegetables needs far less attention than one that's been used to break down a whole chicken on a hard surface. The knife is more like a pair of shoes than a car with an oil change interval: drag your feet and the soles wear faster. So it is with knife edges.

One firm note: honing does not fix chips, nicks, or dings. And it only works if the edge still has something to align. When honing stops improving the knife, when it feels dull immediately after you've honed it, that's a signal that sharpening is your next step.

For a deeper look at rod types and technique, including the difference between smooth, ridged, ceramic, and diamond rods: How to Use a Honing Rod.

Method 3: Pull-Through Sharpeners

What it does: Removes steel to create an edge quickly, proposing that you do it without skill, though skill actually matters for decent results.
Skill required: More than advertised.
Cost: $15–80.
Best for: Inexpensive, soft knives where long-term performance isn't the priority.

Pull-through sharpeners sorta work, in the sense that a dull knife will cut slightly better after one pass on the tool than before it. The first time you use one is usually the best result you'll ever get from it. After that, either the abrasive wears down or the blade geometry shifts, and results diminish, often without you noticing, because it's a gradual change. It's a frog-in-hot-water situation: the small shifts are hard to perceive until you're suddenly wondering why your knives never feel sharp anymore.

There are real mechanical problems with most of these tools. They're typically aggressively removing more material than necessary and altering blade profiles (changing arc) over time. The heel and front third of the blade, which contact the cutting board most and usually go dull first, often end up worse off: many using pull-throughs create a reverse bow where the knife no longer contacts the board at the heel. A knife should be sharpest where it works hardest. These tools often invert that.

There's also a directional issue. The name tells you what most people do and are taught, they pull through from heel to tip. We see the opposite get the best results for most people: start at the tip and push toward the heel. It's easier to maintain consistent pressure between the abrasive and the blade. And since knives go dull mostly in the front third, where they contact the board, pushing through means you're working more on the part that actually needs it.

If you use inexpensive knives and want a simple tool that makes them functional without much thought, a pull-through can be fine. Just pay attention to the downsides. If you use good knives, they deserve better.

Method 4: Whetstones

What it does: Gives a skilled user full control over the edge, the highest possible result when done well.
Skill required: High. Weeks to months of consistent practice and muscle memory development before reliable results.
Cost: $40–200+ for quality stones; significant time investment.
Best for: Cooks who enjoy the craft and are willing to put in the time.

Here's something worth saying clearly: the sharpener walks through the door. It doesn't have a UPC code. It's not what Google can sell you for a price and have shipped to you. The sharpener is the person, the one who chooses their tools, understands what they're trying to accomplish, and builds the skill to execute it. A whetstone in the wrong hands produces worse results than even pull-through tools used as push-throughs. A whetstone in skilled hands produces results that little else matches.

Getting to skilled hands takes real time. We're talking weeks to months of consistent practice with many different knives in many different conditions. It's one thing to sharpen knives you own and use every day, you know the nature of their edge, how they've been used, what they need. It's a completely different challenge to pick up a neighbor's knife that's been used hard and abused in ways you can't know, and correct it on stones. Expect to run a full-length film to get through half a knife in your first sessions. It can and often does take that kind of time.

Most of the YouTube algorithm shows you people who are confident and past the learning phase, intermediate and advanced skills, presented as if they're accessible to beginners. They're often not. What you're building is muscle memory, plus the understanding of what you're trying to accomplish, plus how the tools interact with different metals and profiles, plus the ability to feel what the edge is telling you and adjust. All of that has to happen before results become consistent. Videos struggle to deliver on the full needs of learners in this subject matter.

A few things that help when starting out:

• Buy the best stones you can afford, not the cheapest. Most people spend a little, have a bad time, and want to quit the method. The stone's particle density and uniformity directly affect how quickly you get feedback and results. Start with two grits, something in the 200–400 range and something in the 1000–2000 range, and learn those two stones before anything else. Buy the most expensive, best-cutting abrasives you can afford.
• Don't start on a knife with a big bolster. The profile will fight you. Start on a simple flat knife until the motion is natural.
• Practice on inexpensive knives first. Your good knives will wait.

For a detailed breakdown of what trips people up and how to fix it, read: 9 Common Whetstone Sharpening Mistakes (and 6 Ways to Finally Win).

If you want to learn in person, Vivront offers whetstone classes in Edina. It's a genuinely satisfying skill once it clicks. Just go in knowing what you're signing up for.

Method 5: Professional Sharpening

What it does: Restores your knife to or beyond factory condition using professional equipment and skill.
Skill required: None on your end.
Cost: Typically $8–15 per knife, once or twice a year.
Best for: Most home cooks, rental properties, even line cooks.

For most home cooks, the best sharpening path is to use the Stick by Sharpow regularly, hone when needed, and have knives professionally sharpened once or twice a year. The math works in every direction, cost, quality, and time.

Professional sharpening uses equipment and technique that remove steel correctly, maintain the knife's original geometry, and repair chips and damage that home tools are challenged to address. The difference in how a professionally sharpened knife cuts is often very noticeable, especially if your knives have been through years of pull-throughs or benign neglect.

How often: For most home cooks who use the Stick by Sharpow and hone between sharpenings, once or twice a year is right. The better guide is feel: when honing stops improving the knife, it's time. How quickly you get there has everything to do with what you're cutting, what board you're using, how you cut, and how often. If you want to think through your own schedule, we've written a full guide on that.

How to find a service: Look for a dedicated knife sharpening shop with professional equipment. Ask how they adjust their approach based on how knives present themselves at the time of service. A good service has many ways to sharpen knives and can work across different blade types and conditions. Vivront's pros sharpen all sorts of knives on various equipment in Edina, Minnesota, and offer mail-in sharpening to anywhere in the US. We'll send a kit, you ship your knives, we return them sharp. Or set up a sharpening subscription so it happens on a schedule without thinking about it. Easy.

Have a specific brand? We offer dedicated mail-in kits for Wüsthof knives, Shun knives, and Miyabi knives — each sharpened to the geometry those blades were designed around.

What Angle Is My Knife?

Sharpening angle matters — but probably less than you think, and consistency matters more than precision. A knife sharpened consistently at 16° will outperform one sharpened inconsistently at exactly 15°. The angle shapes the tradeoff between sharpness and durability: narrower angles cut more finely, wider angles hold up longer.

The general ranges: most German knives (Wüsthof, Zwilling, Henckels) are designed around 15–20° per side. Most Japanese knives (Shun, Miyabi, Global) run 10–16° per side, with some as narrow as 9–12° on premium lines. Asian-influenced hybrid designs like Cangshan often fall in between. If you're sharpening at home, erring toward the manufacturer's intended geometry preserves the blade's designed performance. If you're not sure what that is, our knife sharpening angle guide covers most major brands.

Does Brand Matter for Sharpening?

Yes — meaningfully. Different brands use different steel alloys, heat treatments, blade geometry, and intended angles. These choices affect how the knife responds to sharpening tools, how often it needs attention, and what approach gets the best results. A few examples:

Wüsthof knives are made from a proprietary stainless steel hardened to around 58 HRC, sharpened to 14° per side on most current lines — sharper than classic German convention. Fully bolstered models need bolster attention over time as the blade recedes. We sharpen Wüsthof knives here.

Zwilling J.A. Henckels produces two distinct lines that are commonly confused. Zwilling (twin-figure logo) is made in Germany at around 57–58 HRC. Henckels International (single-figure logo) is made in Spain and Asia at around 56–57 HRC — slightly softer, benefits from more frequent honing. Both are designed around 15° per side. Full breakdown here, and we offer mail-in sharpening for both.

Shun knives use VG-MAX or SG2 steel at 60–61 HRC, sharpened to 16° per side on most lines. The higher hardness means they hold an edge well but can chip if used on hard surfaces or with improper technique. They need a sharpener who understands hard steel. Shun mail-in kit here.

Miyabi uses VG-10, SG2, or MC63 depending on the line, hardened to 60–66 HRC. Some lines have a Honbazuke hand-honing finish from the factory. The steel is hard, the angles are tight (9.5–12° per side on many lines), and the results when sharpened correctly are exceptional. Miyabi mail-in kit here.

Cangshan uses Swedish Sandvik steel on most lines, hardened to 58–60 HRC, sharpened to 16° per side. Performance-oriented at an accessible price. Full Cangshan sharpening guide here.

Ceramic knives are a special case. The blade material is zirconium oxide, which is harder than steel and holds an edge a long time — but when it goes, only diamond abrasives can address it. Standard honing rods, whetstones, and pull-throughs don't touch it. Most sharpening services decline ceramic work. Full ceramic sharpening guide here — Vivront does take ceramic knives, including chip repair.

What About Serrated Knives and Scissors?

Serrated knives dull differently than straight-edge knives — the individual serrations wear down at the points, not at a flat bevel — and sharpening them requires a different approach. Most home tools don't address them well. Full guide on serrated knife sharpening here.

Scissors are a separate subject entirely. The geometry is different, the steel is different, and the sharpening approach is different. A dull pair of scissors that chews fabric or folds paper rather than cutting it cleanly is a fixable problem. Full guide on scissor sharpening here. Vivront sharpens both.

How Often Should You Sharpen?

When honing stops working. That's the real answer.

The longer version: a properly sharpened knife, maintained with the Stick by Sharpow and occasional honing, can go six months to a year between sharpenings for a typical home cook. But "typical home cook" covers a lot of ground. How long your edge lasts depends on what you cut, the hardness of the metal, what board you cut on, whether you drag the blade or lift it, whether you store knives in a drawer or on a magnetic strip. None of these make you a bad cook, they just affect the maintenance interval. Same as shoes. Same as tires. Easy.

Signs your knife needs sharpening rather than honing: it feels dull immediately after honing, it slides off tomato skin, it compresses herbs instead of cutting them, it requires noticeably more force than it used to. When honing stops improving things, stop honing and sharpen. For the full breakdown, including how steel hardness and cutting surface affect the schedule, read the complete guide.

A Note on Japanese Knives and Blade Geometry

Japanese knives are typically sharpened to a lower primary angle than Western knives, and can even be single-bevel in geometry. They respond beautifully to whetstone sharpening when it's done well. But here's something worth understanding: very few people can reliably feel the difference between 15 and 17 degrees, or 17 and 20. The angle only describes the apex and the first bevel behind it.

What most home cooks actually experience as "how sharp this knife feels" has as much to do with what the knife is made of, how it was crafted, and the shape of the blade from apex to spine as it does with the angle of the edge. A thin, well-ground blade pushes through a dense vegetable with less resistance than a thick, flat one — regardless of how sharp the apex is. This is why two knives can be sharpened to the same angle and feel completely different in use.

If you have Miyabi, Shun, or other Japanese knives, make sure any sharpening service, professional or otherwise, is experienced with Japanese blade geometry and more importantly, thickness and metals. Vivront both sells and sharpens Japanese knives regularly.

The Practical Summary

If you're not doing anything right now, start with the Stick by Sharpow and professional sharpening once a year. That combination will change how your kitchen feels without requiring you to learn anything new. You'll likely find yourself making excuses to cook, because the knives are so fun. :)

If you want to go deeper, our whetstone classes in Edina are a good place to start. And if you just want your knives sharp without thinking about it, mail them to us — we'll handle the rest. You get back to cooking.

Keep Everything Sharp

Vivront sharpens kitchen knives professionally — mail-in from anywhere in the US, same-day drop-off at our Edina shop (in by 2pm, not Sundays), and a mobile truck for Twin Cities customers. Set it and forget it with a sharpening subscription. Know a school? Our PTO fundraiser program lets parents send in knives and a percentage comes back to the school.