Angie's LIST Guide to
Blade sharpening

Many tools used inside and outside the home contain blades. These instruments require occasional care and service to maintain their operate at peak performance.

Inside the home

Inside the home, the most frequently used blades are kitchen knives, scissors and garbage disposals. These tools should be regularly serviced because they're used so often.

Outside the home

In the yard and workshop, instruments that need regular maintenance include handsaws, circular saws, hatchets, axes and mauls, as well as such gardening implements as lawn mowers.

Follow these steps to sharpen a blade yourself:

Grinding

To grind a tool at home, set the whetstone on a wooden cutting board with the coarse or abrasive side up, then set the edge of the knife or tool against the whetstone. For most knives, the blade should make a 22.5-degree angle with the whetstone. You can visualize this angle by doing the following: Set the edge at a right angle with the whetstone, then move the blade to form half of a right angle (45 degrees), then halve that angle again to achieve a 22.5-degree angle.

Next, move the blade forward and across the length of the whetstone. This can be repeated 10 times on each side of the blade.

Steeling

To steel a tool, the steel should be at least as long as the knife. It should be held perpendicular to a wooden cutting board with the handle in the air. The person steeling the blade should set the edge of the blade against the steel near the hilt at the top of the steel at a 22.5-degree angle. This angle should be maintained while the knife is pulled toward the individual and down the steel in a sweeping stroke for 10 strokes on each side. After grinding or steeling a blade, the blade should be rinsed and dried.

Stropping

Finally, when stropping a blade, the individual should hold the strop taut with the non-dominant hand and pull the blade up the strop backwards. The blade edge should face away from the direction of the motion. Next, the blade should be turned over and drawn backwards in the other direction along the strop. A properly stropped blade will, when pressed, stick slightly to a moistened thumb.