Ask a chef: sharpening knives

Question: What’s the difference between a knife sharpening steel and stone?

A long time ago, a senior cook asked me to chop some parsley.  Upon handing it over to him, he looked at it and said, “did you chop this with a spoon?” It’s times like these when you need to remember to keep your tools in good condition.

Keeping your knives sharp is one of the most important things you can do as a cook. It not only keeps your food looking pristine, but it prevents injury and increases longevity of your knives.

The two tools used in keeping knives sharp is the stone and steel. A stone is used to create an edge by removing metal from the knife blade in a uniform fashion.  A steel (also called a sharpening honing steel) is used to remove the tiny pieces of metal that come off the blade as it is used. Think of it as a car wash and car wax. The stone should be used once in a while when you find your knives have dulled.  The steel is used more frequently. For example, I steel my knife between  working with different types of food.

If you want to sharpen your knives yourself, I recommend the purchase of a double-sided waterstone with coarse and fine grit.  You can purchase both stones and steels at higher-end kitchen stores like Williams-Sonoma. In Toronto, try Nella Cucina or stores in Chinatown.  You can spend more money on things like giant tri-stones, but for my money the simple double-sided waterstones are the best.  For a steel, I recommend a Diamond Steel.  They usually run about $30 or more, but last forever.

A quick note: steels are generally used for utility knives.  Many chefs avoid them on Japanese knives such as slicers and sushi knives, which do quite well with a waterstone alone.

I recently popped into the new knife store KNIFE (658 Queen St. West, Toronto) and discussed sharpening Japanese knives with the owner, Eugene Ong.  He agrees that Japanese knives don’t require steels so he doesn’t carry them. Howver, he has a selection of nice Japanese knives and waterstones. Although they’re pricier than other products, they are of excellent quality.  It takes a little practice to move the knife back and forth at the proper angle, but once you get it, its fairly easy to do.  Eugene will start offering knife sharpening demos at no cost, so that might be a good way to get more skill and knowledge around keeping your knives in pristine order.

Matt Kantor is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in New York. He has worked in kitchens including Picholine (New York), Gayle and Tangerine (Philadelphia), and Fenouil (Portland). He now works in Toronto and runs Little Kitchen, a catering company that will cook fantastic food in your own home. He also cooks for the monthly event, Secret Pickle Supper Club. Follow Matt on Twitter.

If you have a culinary question, email us at contact@tonguecheek.com. We’ll have a new “Ask a chef” question and answer every other Wednesday.

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