Most of the damage happens on the cutting board and in the drawer rather than on the stone. Hard or tough food, boards made of glass, ceramic or stone, and the heat and detergent of a dishwasher all wear an edge down faster than ordinary use does. Keeping those habits in check does more for the edge than any sharpening method.
How-to
How to Sharpen German Steel Knives: Methods and Techniques
Learn how to sharpen German steel knives with a sharpening steel or whetstone, including the angle to hold and the grit to start with.
A German steel blade rarely goes dull overnight. It loses its edge a little at a time, and the tool you pick decides how much metal comes off with each pass. Choosing the wrong one is the most common way a good knife ends up worn down faster than it should be.
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What dulls a German steel edge first
- Tough or very hard food, which can chip the edge
- Glass, ceramic or stone cutting boards
- Dishwasher cycles, where heat and harsh detergent work on the blade
- Loose storage in a cutlery drawer, where the blade knocks against other metal
Steel, stone, or pull-through: matching the tool to the job
A sharpening steel does not grind a new edge. It straightens the fine edge that rolls over with use, which makes it the right tool for upkeep. For most home kitchens, using a steel about once a week is enough, though the right rhythm depends on how often the knife works.
A whetstone is the tool for restoration. It removes material to create a fresh edge, and sharpening stones have been used on blades for hundreds of years. With normal use, a stone is only needed once or twice a year. A pull-through sharpener sits in between, quick and simple, but its results do not match what a stone can give.
The best german steel knives roundup lists the steel and hardness of each model, which helps you judge how hard an edge will be to set. Our verdict is simple: a steel handles weekly upkeep, and a stone handles the job when the edge has really gone.
Four steps for sharpening with a steel
A steel only works if the angle holds, and that is the part most people rush. Keep the angle between 15 and 20 degrees, drag the whole edge across the steel from heel to tip, and keep the motion slow and even. Speed plays no part in the result.
- Set the steel tip down on a flat surface so the rod stands upright.
- Rest the heel of the blade against the steel at roughly 15 to 20 degrees.
- Drag the knife down the steel in a slight arc, from heel to tip, so the entire edge makes contact.
- Switch to the other side and repeat five to ten times, alternating between the front and back of the blade.
Choosing a whetstone grit
Grit describes how coarse a stone is. Pick the starting grit by how far the edge has fallen, then work from coarse to fine so each stone cleans up the scratches left by the one before it.
- Coarse stones around 250: fully regrinding a very dull blade
- Medium stones at 800 or 1000: a blade that has dulled only slightly
- Fine stones up to 10,000: polishing the edge at the end
Why angle matters more than speed
Angle decides whether an edge is sharp or only looks polished. Japanese knives are usually sharpened at a smaller angle, around 15 degrees, while European blades, including most German models, are set near 20 degrees. Hold that angle as evenly as you can on every stroke, because a wobble leaves the edge rounded.
If the angle is hard to hold, practice on an old or inexpensive knife before working on your favourite one. A wrong angle can be corrected on the next pass, so the practice costs little and teaches the feel of the stroke.