Question about my knife sharpening... realized I was doing it all wrong

I've been cooking in a small diner in Lincoln for about 4 years now and always thought I was sharpening my knives right. I'd use a pull through sharpener every few days and they'd feel okay for a while. Then last month a sous chef from a nicer place stopped in for breakfast and saw me doing it. He just shook his head and said I was grinding away the edge instead of honing it. I had no idea pull through sharpeners basically destroy a blade over time. He showed me how to use a whetstone on one of my old Wusthofs and the difference was insane... like cutting through a tomato with no pressure. Has anyone else made the switch from pull through to stone and felt dumb about it after?

2 comments

2 Comments

leo_harris14d ago

Man, that story hits close to home. I got a buddy who runs a food truck and he swore by those pull through sharpeners for years until he borrowed a knife from another chef and it cut through a bell pepper like butter. He said he felt like an idiot for not switching sooner. Now he's got a couple of cheap whetstones and he's always bragging about how much better his knives stay sharp. It's crazy how such a simple change can make a huge difference in the kitchen.

patel.leo14d ago

Did your buddy find it tricky getting used to the whetstone at first? I've heard some folks get intimidated by the angle and pressure stuff, but once you get the hang of it it's hard to go back.