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Keeping your kitchen cutlery sharp is one of the best habits you can develop as a cook. A properly sharpened knife makes food preparation much easier. Working with a dull knife can be dangerous because you may tend to adopt unsafe techniques such as putting too much pressure on the knife blade or using a very aggressive sawing motion.

Keeping your knives really sharp is fairly simple. You'll need two things: a flat sharpening stone (often called a whetstone) and a hand-held tool called a steel.

The first thing you need to do is wet the stone with either mineral oil or simple tap water. It doesn't really matter which one you choose, but just remember that you can't switch back and forth between the two. The only real advantage to using oil instead of water is that oil doesn't dry out as quickly.

Place a damp kitchen towel on the counter and then put the whetstone on top of the towel. This will help prevent the stone from slipping.

Grip your knife by the handle with one hand and hold it at a 20-degree angle from the flat stone. Use your free hand to apply even pressure to back of the knife and carefully draw the entire length of the blade over the stone.

Turn the knife over and repeat the process. Make sure you maintain that 20-degree angle, and always use an equal number of passes for each side. Keep repeating this process until the knife is very sharp. When you're done, carefully wipe the blade down with a clean cloth or towel.

Now you're ready to finish the edge with a steel. Hold the knife by the handle in your strong hand and hold the steel in your other hand. Repeatedly slide the entire knife blade along the steel on each side. You'll hear the knife "sing" when this is done properly and quickly.
Steeling alone doesn't actually sharpen the blade�it hones it. Honing means you're perfecting the blade by straightening its edge. Frequent steeling will help keep your knife is good condition between each sharpening.

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