Knife Sharpening

Professional Knife Sharpening Service

Kitchen Saito's Professional Knife Sharpening Service

We offer a knife sharpening and polishing service using a very fine whet stone. All knives are sharpened professionally by hand and prices are $20 for a knife under 20cm and $25 for a knife over 20cm. An extra charge may occur, depending on the quality of the knife. This service includes free pick-up and delivery to customers who live within the Ballina/Byron/Gold Coast region. For all other customers, we use Australia Post to ensure speedy delivery of knives for sharpening at a cost of $9.95. Please contact us for more information.

Knife Sharpening Basics

Sharpening knives at home is a skill which takes a lot of practice, but with patience and perserverance, it can be done by anybody. Although there are many different ways of sharpening knives, the concept behind successful sharpening remains the same. And whilst sharpening knives is a relatively simple procedure, developing a good technique requires a lot of practice to master. To sharpen your knives efficiently you may need to have 3 different stones, all possessing a different grid.

A coarse stone (#100) is useful for when you need to repair the edge of a damaged blade.
A medium grade (#1000~1200) is appropriate when you need to create a sharp edge.
A finishing stone (#4000+) will help endow your knife with strength as well as a razor-sharp, mirror like and beautifully polished edge.

Stone Preparation

Firstly, soak the stone in water for approximately 5 minutes. This will help the stone to absorb water and help prevent the knife getting hot whilst being sharpened. It is important to make sure that the surface of the stone is flat. If it's not flat, work with stone fixer or rub the surface with rough grain stone with water until flat. Alternatively you can rub your stone on a level concrete floor. Set the stone steadily on a workbench etc. If it's slippery, place a wet cloth under the stone. Wash the knife well to prevent from slipping while you are sharpening.

Sharpening for Double Edged Knives

Place your right thumb to the heel of the blade, and your left index, middle and ring fingers to the blade: approximately 1/3 from the tip of the knife. Place the knife on the stone at about 50°. Depending on the purpose of your knife, give an angle of 10°~25° to the stone. Hold the blade at the desired angle, and starting with the tip of the knife at the stone closest to you, slide the blade towards the other end of the stone and then back to where you started. At the same time as sliding your knife back and forth, also slightly move your knife right to left to sharpen all parts of the blade.

An important tip is not to press your knife against the stone, but relax and only slide the knife. Ideally, your motions should remain the same even if someone pulled the stone away. Keep sharpening until you feel roughness or ‘burr’ on the other side of the blade. Your knife should have burr all along the blade. Once your knives gets burr all the way through, turn the blade over and sharpen the other side to get rid of the burr. It is a good idea to sharpen the front side of the knife 6 times to the back of the knife 4 times. Sharpen until all the burr is removed. You may need to repeat this a few times to adjust the edge. If you have a finishing stone (#4,000+), use this to repeat the same procedure to endow your knife with strength, a mirror like polish and the sharpness of a razor.

Remember; a tapered edge can be sharp but fragile at the same time. A greater angle can give your knife longer durability, although you can’t expect the sharpness of a razor. Wash your knife thoroughly with a sponge and detergent to remove all dirt from sharpening and then rinse with warm water before drying completely with a clean cloth. If storing the knife for a long period, apply camellia oil or machine oil and wrap with news paper.

Single edged knife

Unlike double edged knives, you do not need to give any angle to Japanese single edged knives as the blade is already cut to the angle.

To sharpen, place the large angled edge flat to the stone. Start from the tip to the heel using the same procedure as you use for sharpening a double edged knife. Sharpen the blade all the way through until you feel burr on the blade. Turn over the knife and place the back of the knife (flat side) flat to the stone. Sharpen until all burr is removed. You may need to repeat sharpening on both sides a few times to adjust the edge. The idea is to sharpen the edged side 8 times to the flat side 2 times.

If you have a finishing stone (#4,000+), use this to repeat the same procedure to give your knife strength as well as a razor-sharp, mirror like polished edge. Wash your knife thoroughly with a sponge and detergent to remove all dirt from sharpening and then rinse with warm water before drying completely with a clean cloth. If storing the knife for a long period, apply camellia oil or machine oil and wrap with newspaper.

Knife Sharpening

Professional Knife Sharpening Service