The Difference Between Honing and Sharpening Your Knives (and Why It Matters)

As KitchenKnifeGuru explains in the above video, honing is the delicate act of pushing those little teeth back in alignment. There are three things to remember when honing a knife:

1) Find the right angle and keep it there. (I’ll get to that shortly.)

2) Don’t press hard. Just a little more than the weight of the knife itself.

3) Don’t overdo it. Generally, 3 or 4 swipes per side’s enough.

The angle needed will depend on the where your knife was made. According to KitchenKnifeGuru, most German and Western knives should be honed using an angle of around 20 degrees, though some Henckels and Wusthof factories sharpen to 14–15 degrees; most Japanese knives are sharpened between 11-15 degrees. When in doubt, contact your knife manufacturer.

To hone, hold your honing steel perpendicular to the table or countertop with your non-dominant hand, keeping the tip resting on a folded dish towel. Hold your knife in your dominant hand at the appropriate angle, with the base of the knife at the top of the hone. Pull the knife towards you as you slide it down the steel—with light pressure—finishing at the tip. Repeat on the other side of the blade. Repeat two or three more times per side, then try slicing a sheet of paper. If it slices cleanly, you’re done. If not, re-hone a couple of more times until it does.

And if honing doesn’t seem to be cutting it, perhaps it’s time to sharpen. Once a knife is sharp, honing it regularly should keep it in good, slicing and dicing order for some time. (A well-maintained knife only needs to be sharpened a couple of times a year.)