Honing and sharpening are often used as if they mean the same thing, but they do different jobs. Knowing the difference saves your knives from needless wear and saves you time.
What happens to an edge
A kitchen knife edge is very thin. As you cut, especially on hard boards, the edge bends slightly to one side. The knife feels dull even though most of the edge is still there. Over a longer time, the edge also wears down and becomes rounded.
Honing: straightening the edge
Honing pushes a bent edge back into line. It removes little or no metal. You hone on a rod, often called a honing steel. Ceramic rods are slightly abrasive, so they straighten and lightly refresh the edge at the same time. Steel rods mainly realign.
How to hone
- Hold the rod upright with the tip resting on a towel on the counter.
- Place the heel of the knife against the top of the rod at about the same angle the knife was sharpened, roughly 15 to 20 degrees.
- Draw the knife down and toward you so the whole edge, heel to tip, passes along the rod with light pressure.
- Alternate sides for five to eight strokes each.
Many cooks hone before each use or every few uses. Light pressure is enough; pressing hard can damage the edge.
Sharpening: making a new edge
Sharpening grinds away metal to form a fresh edge. Whetstones, pull-through sharpeners and rolling sharpeners all sharpen. Because it removes metal, you only need to sharpen when honing no longer brings the edge back. For a home cook, that is often every few months, depending on how much you cook and what you cut on.
Which one does your knife need?
- Hone if the knife was sharp recently and has just started to feel less crisp.
- Sharpen if honing does not help, the knife slides off tomato skin, or you can see shiny spots along the edge when you look at it under a light.
Make both last longer
- Cut on wood or plastic boards rather than glass, stone or ceramic.
- Hand wash and dry your knives instead of using the dishwasher.
- Store knives so the edge does not knock against other tools, on a magnetic strip, in a block or in a knife roll.
Shop honing rods and sharpening tools.