1. Between sharpening the knife, use a sharpening rod to prevent the blade from becoming dull. Sharpening rods are also often referred to as "grinding steel". Generally, they are not used to bring back a blunt knife that has become ill, but to keep the knife sharp in daily use.
Using a sharpening rod can generally delay the time of sharpening a knife with a whetstone or diamond. This is a good thing: using a whetstone or diamond grit will erase the metal on the blade and shorten the life of the tool. The less whetstones you use, the longer your knives will last.
What is the role of the sharpener? It can readjust the metal on the blade, smooth out small scratches, nicks, and smooth out spots. Compared with the sharpening stone, it does not grind a lot of metal off the blade.
2. Hold the sharpener with your non-dominant hand. The angle of the grip should make you feel comfortable, and it should point to the outside of your body. The tip of the rod should be higher than the handle of the rod.
3. Hold the knife firmly with your dominant hand. All four fingers should hold the handle of the knife, and the thumb can be placed on the back of the knife, away from the blade.
4. Hold the knife and the sharpening rod at an angle of about 20°. The angle you use doesn't have to be precise, just roughly match. No matter what angle you decide to use, or what angle you accidentally use, make sure to maintain the same angle throughout the sharpening process. Compared with continuously using the same angle, changing the angle midway will make the metal of the blade edge less smooth.
5. Keeping a 20° angle, move the knife across the upper part of the sharpener. When moving, try to start from the root of the knife and stick to the sharpening stick until the tip of the knife sticks to the sharpening stick at the end.
In order to master this step, you need to move your arms, hands, and wrists. To do it right, the most important thing is the movement of the wrist. If you don't move your wrist, you can't grind the entire blade on the sharpener from beginning to end.
6. Keeping a 20° angle, move the knife across the lower part of the sharpener. The arms, hands, and wrists use the same movement to lightly grind the knife through the lower part of the sharpener. The force used only needs to be the same as the weight of the tool itself. After the upper part and the lower part are finished, you have completed a round.
7. Before using the knife, grind 6-8 rounds with a sharpener.
