To keep your knives really sharp, you'll need to care for them on a regular basis. The techniques of sharpening and steeling your knife are quite simple.
A sharpening stone has two sides: one rough, one fine. The stone needs, first, to be soaked in either water or mineral oil (never substitute one for the other). You will have either a waterstone or an oilstone.
Place the stone on a damp cloth to stabilize it. Then, holding your knife at a 20-degree angle to the stone, draw the entire length of the knife blade over the stone. Use your free hand to exert pressure on the blade firmly and evenly from tip to hilt.
Turn the blade over and repeat the process, over and over at a 20-degree angle, until the blade is very sharp. Always allow an equal number of passes for each side.
After wiping the sharpened knife clean of any metal and oil, use the steel to finish the edge. Holding the steel with your fingers safely behind the guard, repeatedly slide the knife from hilt to tip down one side, then the other, over the steel. The knife will "sing" when this is done properly and quickly.
Steeling alone does not sharpen a knife, but hones it. It actually realigns the molecules on the sharpened edge, straightening the edge. Between sharpenings with the stone, use the steel frequently to keep the blade in good condition.

Instructor: Katherine Alford