Sharpening kitchen knives correctly…
…and correcting the sharpening edge is essential…
…to extending the life of the knives.
Sharp knives are essential to avid cooks…
…especially those who love to prepare meals.
In order to maintain and improve the sharpness…
…and edge of a knife, strops and hones are used.
Instead of being the sole method for sharpening a knife…
…stropping and honing follow the actual sharpening process.
We will discuss the differences between stropping, honing…
…and sharpening in this article…
…as well as which method is generally preferred.
In addition, we will discuss the overall importance of keeping knives sharpened…
…and additional techniques to consider.
Before that, let us hear Chen’s story…
Stropping and honing the kinves are techniques
that I have learnt from my father.
In order to perfect the technique without causing myself injury,
I spent many years practicing.
I have spilled blood countless times,
because I am not cautious.
Thanks to my father, I can make my own strops
from leather belts or purpose-made strops.
I now have the ability to safely handle knives,
which I hope will make my father proud.
Let’s jump right in!
Understanding the Stropping and Honing Process
In both cases, sharpening and correcting a blade edge…
…are achieved through stropping and honing.
That is to say, neither of these is used for the actual process…
…of sharpening a knife from the point of it being dull.
To better understand how stropping, honing, and sharpening differ…
…here are a few quick definitions:
Sharpening vs Honing vs Stropping
Honing and sharpening have one thing in common…
…both are methods for keeping your blades sharp and effective.
Despite the fact that the terms are frequently confused…
…they are not the same thing. To comprehend the distinction…
… you must first comprehend why blades become dull.
Sharpening
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Sharpening is the process of removing material from the edge of a knife…
…when it becomes dull – typically it involves grinding the material…
…against a stone or other equipment to remove the material.
It creates what is known as a “wire edge,”…
…which will be extremely sharp but not very tough or durable.
Honing
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Honing follows sharpening by using a finer stone to refine the edge…
…smooth out the roughness caused by the coarse stone used in the sharpening…
…and polish the wire edge so it becomes stronger and more durable.
Stropping
- Leather Strop Double-Sided: for beginners and professionals that like honing to keep woodcarving tools razor sharp. Use both sides of the strop to maintain a needed cutting edge.
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In essence, stropping takes the honing process one step further by polishing…
…and removing any leftover scratches or irregularities to make the knife’s edge…
…as sharp as possible.
The stropping process may involve the use of abrasive compounds.
It is therefore necessary to understand what maintenance your knives need…
…before honing or stropping can be completed.
Where the owner of a knife is unfamiliar…
…with the different methods of knife maintenance…
…the knife may require a complete re-sharpening process…
…before it can be honed or stropped.
Here’s the real deal…
A Guide to Honing
Knives that have already been sharpened are honed…
…in order to maintain their sharpness and quality.
Knives are first professionally sharpened by the manufacturer…
…when they are purchased. Sharpness gradually wears away…
…and the knife’s edge gradually becomes less straight…
…and more worn from scratches and knicks as well.
Honing is an easy and straightforward process…
…that can be accomplished at home without a lot of extra equipment.
Honing a knife involves less re-sharpening…
…than it does simply correcting the blade’s straightness.
Honing re-aligns the blade rather than sharpens it…
…but will feel sharper because the blade is realigned.
It is recommended that you hone your knife after every use.
There are two main ways to hone a knife – with a honing steel…
…or by pulling the knife through.
A honing steel is a long, narrow, and rod-shaped metal tool.
Occasionally, they are referred to as “sharpening steels”…
…however, this implies that the rod can sharpen knives.
As a result, honing steels prevent the knife from getting bent.
How to Hone a Knife
Honing steels should be used with the sharp edges facing away…
…from the hand holding the knife, with the tip of the knife pointing upward…
…so that the back end of the edge touches the steel…
…and the sides of the knife pointing about fifteen degrees towards the steel.
By the end of the motion the entire edge of the knife…
…should come into contact with the steel.
While holding pressure on the knife…
…it should be slid down the steel in a downward motion.
The Stropping Process
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Often, stropping a knife is the final process of polishing a knife…
…and removing any imperfections or irregularities…
…that may remain after sharpening or honing.
When a knife is sharpened, a wire edge is created, also known as a burr.
After that, the burr is removed through honing.
Even so, microscopic inconsistencies can persist – this is where stropping comes in.
Andreas Velling, a former Mechanical Engineer…
…and now Marketing Manager at Fractory, states:
In the context of metal manufacturing…
…a burr refers to the formation of rough edges or ridges on the metal piece.
The reason behind it lies in the manufacturing process…
…and the tools involved in its production.
“Once a knife edge has been honed, the newly restored edge has small imperfections and the “micro teeth” along the edge are more aggressive. Stropping will help refine the edge and realign the micro teeth. Stropping after honing will make a sharp edge even sharper for precise, controlled cuts.”
According to Knife Sharpening Seattle
As part of the stropping process, a strop is used.
Suede or smooth leather are the most common materials used for strops…
…but other materials may also be used.
It ultimately depends on two factors – the compound being used…
…and personal preference – whether to use a suede or smooth strop.
It is more common to use a leather strop if a compound is also being used.
A suede strop’s softer surface also provides a more rounded bevel…
…which some people favor.
If you are interested in getting a leather strop…
…we have the best recommendations for you.
The next step is to discuss the compounds used during stropping.
Compounds for stropping are polishing agents that come in block form…
…and can be spread across the leather before stropping begins.
Stroping does not require the use of a compound…
…however the compounds help refine the blade to an even more precise level…
…and provide a much more polished and mirror-like finish to it.
To use a strop, follow the same process as you would with a honing steel.
When holding the knife, the spine should face outwards…
…in the direction the knife will be moved, and the edge should be in contact…
…with the leather at a maximum 45 degree angle.
When honing, the knife should be slid across the strop in a sweeping motion.
Keep reading…
Checkout our best recommendation for leather strops here!
How to Choose Which Method to Use
Whether you choose to hone or strop a knife…
…you should be aware of how to assess its wear…
…and tear to see when it needs maintenance.
As knives’ edges become duller and less straight each time they are used…
…it is generally recommended…
…that the blades be honed immediately after each use.
It’s much better to hone your knives instead of stropping them…
…because honing keeps knives sharp and durable for a long time.
Stropping, by contrast, does not necessarily occur after every use of the knife.
As the knife is consistently honed, the grind will become more precise…
…providing the opportunity for stropping.
Stroping is sometimes chosen over honing by knife owners.
Which method a person should use ultimately depends on their personal preference.
It should be noted, however…
…that a strop will take considerably longer to hone a knife than a steel rod.
By using only the honing method and not the stropping method…
…knives will appear less polished…
….or precise compared to when both methods are used.
Go on…
Knowing When to Stropping and Honing a Knife
There are a few ways to test knives to see how dull they have become.
A popular method is to cut a sheet of regular printer paper in half…
…with a knife while holding it up in the air.
Watch for these signs when slicing the paper:
Generally, knives that cut through paper well do not require much maintenance…
…therefore, if they do, the blade is still sharp.
When the knife slices mostly easily…
…but becomes stuck at the top when it is first used, it is likely time to sharpen it.
When the knife continuously catches on the paper fibers…
…and does not cut through in a fluid motion, it should be sharpened immediately.
It may be time to resharpen the knife if it still cannot be fluidly sliced…
…through the paper after stropping and honing.
If you regularly cook, even though the paper test is a good way to observe…
…when a knife has become dull…
…the user is likely to notice before performing that test.
Chopping vegetables like tomatoes and bell peppers…
…with an outer skin exposes dull knives most.
Sharp knives can quickly slip off the skin…
…but dull knives will have difficulty cutting through thin skin.
You shouldn’t miss this…
The Importance of Stropping and Honing Knives
To a certain degree, we have already discussed why knives need to be maintained.
The main reason is that knives that aren’t regularly honed…
…and stropped will dull much faster, losing their sharpness…
…and straightness much sooner.
In addition, allowing a knife to become dull can have other adverse effects.
In addition, dull knives may not be able to chop vegetables as effectively…
…when it comes to skinned vegetables.
In turn, this can greatly slow down the preparation stage of cooking.
The process also threatens the integrity of the ingredients…
…as much more pressure will need to be applied…
…which could compromise the shape, structure, and texture of the ingredient.
Another safety hazard from dull knives is their tendency to slip.
Knives can slip if they are dull and unable to easily slice through ingredients.
This poses quite a risk to the user’s hand and fingers…
…as he or she may also be applying more pressure…
…resulting in more velocity as the knife slips. Therefore, the user’s hands…
…and fingers become extremely vulnerable to injury and cutting.
Knives are essential kitchen tools and should be treated with respect and care.
You shouldn’t ignore the check engine light in your car…
…just as you shouldn’t ignore the quality of your knife’s blade.
How and When to Sharpen Knives
In this article, we have discussed the similarities, differences…
…and purposes of stropping and honing knives…
…as well as the importance of maintaining the sharpness of your knives…
…through these methods.
Here we will discuss what to do if a knife is too damaged to be saved by honing…
…and how you can sharpen your knives from your own home.
There is a possibility that it may be difficult to restore a knife’s original sharpness…
…that it had when it was fresh from the manufacturing facility.
It is not impossible to re-sharpen a knife back to its original quality…
…it just takes patience and the right equipment.
As opposed to stropping and honing…
…which only refine the blade, sharpening involves reshaping it.
The material from which the knife is made must be harder…
…than the metal from which the knife is made.
When it comes to tools for sharpening knives, there are three main choices.
The three types are whetstones, knives that can be sharpened electrically…
…and knives that can be sharpened manually.
All of these tools can be used to sharpen a dull knife…
…but there are a few key differences between them.
Whetstones: Fine-grained stones are commonly found in the form of rectangular blocks, called whetstones. A knife is sharpened by applying pressure and angles to a whetstone to make it flat. It is entirely done by hand and requires a great deal of skill on the part of the user. However, whetstones offer users the most control over the sharpening process.
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Electric Knife Sharpeners: An electric knife sharpener automates the sharpening process entirely, using motorized wheels inside a machine that slides knives through. These tend to be expensive, as well as not allowing the entire length of the blade to be run through. As a result, the blade ends up unevenly sharp.
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- THREE STAGES: 3-Stage EdgeSelect sharpening system for optimum versatility in providing the perfect edge for each cutting task. Stages 1 and 2 are plated with 100-percent diamond abrasives to sharpen and hone the edge and stage 3 uses a patented flexible abrasive system to polish and help prolong the life of serrated knives
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Manual Knife Sharpeners: While manual knife sharpeners use similar technology to electric sharpeners, the wheels are not motorized. They are a good middle ground for those who want to sharpen their knives faster and easier than with a whetstone, but for less money than an electric sharpener. In comparison to whetstones, manual knife sharpeners do not allow for as precise a repair.
- Coarse for dull and damaged knives
- Fine for polishing the knife and for quick touch-ups for an already sharp knife
- Patented Edge Grip feature allows sharpening on the edge of the table or counter top- prevents the tip of larger knives from dragging over the surface of the counter
- Compact for easy storage. Carbide blades (Coarse) provide quick edge setting capabilities, and the ceramic rods (Fine) are used for the final edge honing
- Non-slip base for added stability and control.Soft grip rubber handle
- Blade guide: straight edge blades: yes, serrated edge blades: yes, household scissors:
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Well…
Proper Knife Care Requires Both Stropping and Honing
Kitchen knives need to be kept sharp and the edges of the blades…
…need to be maintained. Knives, in general, are highly useful instruments…
…that need to be well respected and maintained…
…in order to function at their best.
Both stropping and honing are ways to ensure your kitchen knives stay sharp…
…and do not become dull or less durable too quickly.
Consistent stropping is not necessary and is often more for aesthetics…
…but honing is recommended after every use of a knife.
By completing both processes together, knives can stay sharp…
…and blade quality much longer.
In addition, stropping and honing tools…
…are generally less expensive than sharpening tools.
In this way, you can improve the efficiency of your kitchen knives…
…and reduce the cost of equipment by cleaning…
…and stropping them consistently.
In case you’re looking for the best knife strop…
…we have a list of recommendations!
Sum Up!
Both methods involve using abrasive materials on the blade surface…
…to remove material from the steel until you reach an ideal point…
…where the cutting edges can be maintained at maximum efficiency.
The difference lies in what type of material is used as the abrasive medium.
Conclusion
Maintaining the best quality of your kitchen cutlery…
…requires an understanding of the differences between each method.
Let us know if you have questions about whether…
…or not you should stropping and honing your knives in the comment section below!
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Hi there! I’m a food enthusiast and journalist, and I have a real passion for food that goes beyond the kitchen. I love my dream job and I’m lucky enough to be able to share my knowledge with readers of several large media outlets. My specialty is writing engaging food-related content, and I take pride in being able to connect with my audience. I’m known for my creativity in the kitchen, and I’m confident that I can be the perfect guide for anyone looking to take their culinary journey to the next level.
