How to Sharpen Your Knives

3 FOOLPROOF WAYS TO SHARPEN YOUR KITCHEN KNIVES

The knife is like an extension of our arm!

It's an essential tool for a pleasant kitchen experience.

For it to perform its function flawlessly, it’s important to always be sharp.

If you decide that the following information is important to you and want to keep it, download the "How to re-Sharpen Your Knives" brochure here.

1. Sharpening with a sharpener

1.1 Insert the knife into the sharpener's slot;

1.2 Slide the knife back and forth;

1.3 Wash and dry the knife to remove metal debris.

It’s not the most efficient method, but it is the simplest one, and it gets the job done.

2. Sharpening with a sharpening steel

2.1 Hold the sharpening steel upright;

2.2 Slide the blade in a movement from the outside to the inside, along the entire length of the sharpening steel. It’s important that you place the blade at an angle of approximately 10-15º against the sharpening steel;

2.3 Repeat the movement the same number of times on both sides of the blade.

3. Sharpening with a whetstone

3.1 Submerge the whetstone in water for 5 minutes, or until there are no air bubbles;

3.2 With the edge facing you, hold the knife at 45° to the center of the whetstone;

3.3 Tilt and keep the blade at 10-15°, relative to the surface of the whetstone, which should correspond to about 7-10mm of space between the whetstone and the blade;

3.4 Apply pressure when pushing the blade, and release it when sliding back, in order to not to round off the edge. Repeat until you find burrs on the edge.;

3.5 Turn the knife on itself to sharpen the back of the blade. Repeat the same process, but on the opposite side.

Note: Burrs are metal debris that appear on the other side of the edge when sharpening.

After a long period of use, the cutting edge may suffer greater wear and, in this case, it will be necessary to resharpen it using a professional process with a sharpener or use a sharpening machine.

However, never use a method that could cause the blade to overheat, as it may break the blade.

ICEL has a sharpening service.

For more information, contact us by sending an email to doramateus@icel.pt or helenabelo@icel.pt or call the number + 351 262 925 032.

KEEP KNIVES OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN.

Cátia Barbosa_Edições do Gosto Photography