A lot of butchers you visit possess a wide variety of knives and use them regularly. But what is the difference between an efficient and dull service butcher’s service? It’s nothing huge. Just a small thing called the “blade of his knife”. A blunt knife can not only cause safety and health hazards but also impact the quality of his service largely. Whereas a sharp knife in the butcher shop can make a world of difference to the quality of meat served, safety of the butcher and also his processing time. A good knife is always judged by two things: its sharpness and its grip. There are many ways to sharpen your knife, there is no single right way to do so. Many people have their preferences and ways of sharpening their knife.

Let’s discuss a few tips and the procedure of sharpening the butcher’s knife.

Method of Sharpening

     1. Sharpening Stone

This is the best way to sharpen your knife, but it might take a while to get used to it. It will help you hone your knife. A sharpening stone can be used by dragging the blade across it till it is sufficiently sharp. Then repeat the same process for the other side. Grind the knife across the sharpening stone and flip it whenever required. There are a variety of sharpening stones available like wet, dry and oil-based ones. Make sure you buy the one which suits your knife range

     2. Sharpening Steel

This is an easier and quicker alternative to the sharpening stone. It is apt for home-based use too. To use the sharpening steel, hold it in a way that it points to the ground and hold your knife at a vertical angle against the sharpening steel. Next step is to glide the blade of your knife along the sharpening steel and rotating it so that it smoothens the blade. It is important to understand that too much pressure applied on the blade might harm it. The sharpening process is to be done with light hands. You can repeat the entire procedure until your knife is suitably sharp for you.

     3. Angle Guide

An angle guide adds a technical point of view to the knife sharpening process and helps you achieve better results. It can also give you more knowledge on how to effectively conduct the knife sharpening process.

It is recommended that you sharpen your knife at the same edge which was present initially, to maintain its consistency. If you have forgotten about the original angle of the edge, you can always contact the manufacturer for the details and pictures.

But in case you are unable to do that, according to a rough estimate, the angle is usually between 10 degrees to 30 degrees on each side of the blad and a 17-degree angle is considered good enough and will not make your knife’s blade too shallow.

Reading the above information about knife-sharpening tools, can help you make the right buying decision for a sharpening equipment. It will also give you some tricks and tips to sharpen the blade of your knife effectively.