Sharpening Stainless Kitchen Knives

Question via Ask the Expert:

I have stainless knife kitchen set.  Bought your 6″ Arkansas stone.  I would like to know how to sharpen these knives as I can’t seem to get a good edge. Do I push the blade on the stone like I’m trying to slice something or drag it backward and not edge first?

I have used the first method for years on my hunting knives but not on stainless and never had any problem.

Thanks!

Edge Expert Response:

Hi John,

We get questions all the time about how hard some stainless steel knives are to sharpen compared to regular carbon steel knives. It sounds like you are a experienced sharpener and you can put an edge on a knife. The key to sharpening is consistency of stroke on both sides of the knife blade and it sounds like you have this down pat.

It is going to take longer on stainless steel knives to get the edge on them because of the hardness. I don’t know what sharpening angle you are using, but I would recommend that you try to get as close to the original angle on the edge as possible so you don’t have to remove an excessive amount of metal to get the edge sharp.  To make sure you get the right angle take a black magic marker and run it over the edges of your knife and then when you start sharpening look at where the black marker has been removed and you can tell if you are matching up to the original angle.

NOTE:  Use moderate pressure when pushing or pulling the blade across the stone; let the stone do the work.  Also, always use honing solution or water as a lubricant when sharpening with Arkansas Stones.  Using a Natural Arkansas Stone without a lubricant will damage and clog your stone, thus reducing its effectiveness and useful life.

There are variables to consider when sharpening SS kitchen knives.  Knowing how these variables affect sharpening will help you to get the best edge possible on your knives.

Stainless Steel – As you know, stainless steel knives are much harder than carbon steel knives, which make them harder to sharpen.  For this reason, you may have to spend more time and effort sharpening these knives than you do your hunting knives.  If it takes you 10 or 12 strokes on each side of the blade to get your hunting knives sharp, it may take you 20 or 30 times on each side to get a harder stainless steel knife sharp.  Just be patient and trust your technique that has proven successful in the past.

Degree of Angle – Most kitchen knives have thinner angles than hunting/sporting knives.  If you are using the same sharpening angle as you use on your hunting knives, you are not going to be successful.  It is going to take you longer to get the edge because you are removing the thinner factory edge and putting a new wider edge on the blade.  In addition, a wider edge will never be as sharp as a thinner edge, so you are never going to think the kitchen knife is sharp.  You will need to adjust your sharpening angle accordingly when sharpening the kitchen knives.  I recommend you try to match up to the current angle on the blade when you first begin the sharpening process.  This will allow you to get a sharp edge quicker and easier.  The easiest way to make sure you are using the right angle is to coat the cutting edges with a black magic marker.  As you sharpen, you will see the marker disappear if you are keeping the right angle to the sharpening stone.  Once you have coated both edges with marker, take a swipe or two down your stone.  If the marker is wiped off over the width of the bevel you have matched the angle properly.  If your angle is too high, only the marker near the very edge will be removed.  If your angle is too low only the marker above the edge will be removed.  Re-coating the edge as you sharpen is a good way to ensure that you’re holding the correct angle throughout the sharpening process.  When you’re finished sharpening and some marker is still present on the blade, put a little rubbing alcohol on a cotton ball and gently wipe the blade to remove the black ink.

Stone Grit – The grit of your stone can also determine how quickly you get a sharp edge and the level of sharpness.  If you have a Medium grit Arkansas Stone (or Soft Arkansas Stone) it will remove metal quickly, but will not put as smooth, polished edge on the blade as a Fine grit Arkansas Stone (or Hard Arkansas Stone).  Adversely, the Fine grit stone will provide a smoother, more polished edge on the blade (which ultimately means a sharper edge), but will not sharpen as quickly as the Medium stone.

As for the answer to the other part of your question, we never recommend sharpening by dragging the blade backwards, or to the edge.  This pushes the metal that is being removed from the blade down to the cutting edge and creates a lot of “garbage” at the cutting point.  We always tell people to start at the edge and stroke away from the edge.  The sharpest edge is a clean, smooth, consistent, polished edge.  Pushing the metal particles toward the cutting edge would contradict your objective.

Hopefully, this helps you understand the difficulty in sharpening Stainless Steel knives and the variables that can affect sharpening.  Like I said earlier, I think you are an experienced sharpener and you can put an edge on a knife.  For this reason, I would not recommend that you change your sharpening method since it sounds like you have been successful in getting sharp edges on your other knives.   Just be patient and persistent and trust your technique.  Remember, the key to sharpening is consistency of angle and equal treatment to both sides of the knife blade.

Have a great day,

Richard S. Smith
President