How Knife Sharpening Works [infographic]

Here at Farris Belt & Saw Company, we know how important it is to keep blades sharp, which is why we offer expert knife sharpening services. Keep reading to get an overview of how the knife sharpening process works so you can better understand how to keep a good edge on your knives.

What makes knives sharp?

The goal of knife sharpening is to keep your knife in a condition that allows it to cut through materials easily, and in order to do that, you will need to understand what allows knives to achieve this effect in the first place. The blade of a sharp knife is honed to an extremely thin edge, which has thousands of microscopic serrations. These serrations catch the material being cut, and the action of the blade tears the surface apart, separating the material into pieces.

What makes knives dull?

Knives become dull over time, as regular use will cause the microscopic serrations on the blade’s edge to wear down. When this happens, the blade can no longer get a good grip on the material, which makes it unable to cut effectively. Another contributing factor to knives becoming dull is the point of the edge wearing down, making the point blunter. This spreads the force of your cuts over a greater surface area and makes it harder to cut effectively.

How do I sharpen my knives?

The process of knife sharpening works like this: you need to rub the blade against a whetstone, which has an abrasive surface that will grind away some of the metal and restore the blade’s sharp edge. For the best results, you will need to hold the blade at a low angle against the whetstone to achieve the keenest edge and to go through a series of grits from coarse to fine. This can be tricky to get right on your own, but fortunately plenty of professional knife sharpening services like ours are available to provide the top-notch results you are looking for. If you are interested in trying them for yourself, just give us a call.