How to Sharpen a Knife at Home

A dull knife is not a knife that needs replacing. It is a blade whose edge has rolled or worn flat from cutting boards, drawers, and normal use, and a whetstone removes just enough steel to bring back a working edge. The steps below come from the sharpening instructions Wusthof, Shun (Kai USA), and MAC Knife publish for their own knives, the grit ranges those brands and an independent San Francisco sharpening shop actually stock, and the CPSC recall database, not from a lab test run by this site. See how we score and research for the full method.

How to Sharpen a Knife on a Whetstone, Step by Step

This is the same basic sequence a home cook uses on a $30 knife or a $200 one. The angle and grit choice change by brand; the motion does not.

1. Pick your starting grit by condition, not habit. A chipped or very dull edge needs a coarse stone in the 220 to 400 range, matching the low side of Wusthof’s Whetstone J 400/2000 and MAC’s King Combination Water Stone at 220/800 grit. A blade that just feels slow needs nothing coarser than 1000 grit, the low side of Wusthof’s Whetstone J 1000/3001.
2. Soak or splash the stone as its label says. Full water stones like MAC’s King combination stones need a soak until they stop releasing bubbles; splash stones only need a wipe of water between passes. Check the stone’s own instructions rather than guessing.
3. Set the angle and hold it. Wusthof grinds standard forged blades at 14 degrees per side and Asian-style blades, such as santokus and nakiris, at 10 degrees per side. Shun grinds its knives at 16 degrees per side and molds an angle guide into the handle of its own whetstones. If you do not know your knife’s factory angle, match what the maker states for a similar shape, or use a clip-on guide such as the “Slider” Wusthof sells for its stones.
4. Draw the blade across the stone from heel to tip. Keep the angle steady, use light even pressure, and alternate sides at a consistent pace. Sharpen one side until you can feel a thin burr, a slight wire edge, along the full length of the blade, then flip and raise the same burr on the other side.
5. Move up in grit once the burr is even. Progress from the repair grit to a mid grit around 1000 to 3000, then to a polishing grit in the 3000 to 8000 range for a finer edge. Bernal Cutlery, an independent sharpening shop, stocks four bands for this reason: 100 to 500 for repair, 800 to 3000 for regular sharpening, 4000 to 6000 for refining, and 8000 and up for a mirror finish.
6. Remove the burr. A few light passes on your finest stone, or a couple of strokes on a leather strop, knock off the wire edge so it does not fold over and dull the knife again within a few cuts.
7. Flatten the stone before you put it away. Water stones dish out in the center with use. MAC sells a flattening tool, the Naniwa Stone Fixer, because an uneven stone changes your angle without you noticing.

Honing vs. Sharpening: What Is the Difference?

Honing realigns an edge; sharpening removes metal to rebuild one, according to Shun Cutlery’s own care guide. A honing steel straightens the microscopic edge that has rolled sideways from normal cutting, so a few strokes can make a knife feel sharp again even though no metal comes off. A whetstone or hand-held sharpener actually grinds away steel to create a new edge, the only fix once honing stops working. Shun’s guide notes honing habits vary by household, some cooks hone once a week and others daily depending on use, while sharpening is a much less frequent job.

How Often Should You Sharpen a Kitchen Knife?

Brands do not agree on a single number, so treat these as starting points, not a rule. Shun’s own guide says sharpening about once a year is often enough for home cooks who hone regularly. MAC Knife’s sharpening and repair page gives a shorter interval: once every two months for most households, a figure aimed at knives that see daily use without much honing in between. The gap comes down to honing habits: a knife honed weekly needs a whetstone far less often than one only touched up once it stops cutting cleanly.

Common Sharpening Mistakes

• Changing the angle mid-stroke. A wobbling wrist rounds the edge instead of grinding a clean bevel, which is why Shun builds a molded angle guide into its own whetstones.
• Skipping the burr check. Moving to a finer grit before a burr has formed along the whole edge leaves the middle of the blade duller than the tip and heel.
• Jumping straight to a high grit. Starting a chipped knife at 3000 grit or higher, instead of the 220 to 800 range Wusthof and MAC’s own coarse stones cover, wastes time without fixing the damage.
• Letting a water stone glaze over. An unflattened stone stops cutting evenly, which is why MAC sells a dedicated flattening stone for its King combination stones.
• Sharpening a serrated edge on a flat stone. Bernal Cutlery prices serrated sharpening separately from straight edges, because the scalloped edge needs a tapered rod worked into each gullet.

When to Replace a Knife Instead of Resharpening It

Some brands publish an exact sharpening angle and some do not. Victorinox’s US support and FAQ pages list no specific degree figure for its kitchen knives, and MAC Knife’s own sharpening page says it uses discretion to pick an angle case by case, so a knife from either brand is a reasonable candidate for a professional’s judgment rather than a home guess. Professional regrinding is not free: Bernal Cutlery, an independent sharpening shop, lists per-inch pricing from $1.75 for a standard whetstone and strop pass up to $5 per inch for Japanese single-bevel, mandolin, and Scandinavian grinds, with thinning and resurfacing work starting at $40 and up. Run that math against the knife in your hand: a chip deep enough to need heavy regrinding on an $18 utility knife rarely clears that bar, while the same chip on a knife you paid $150 or more for usually does. If a new blade makes more sense than a repair, The Best Chef’s Knives of 2026 uses the same published-spec method to compare current models, and The Best Knife Sharpeners of 2026 covers electric and pull-through options for anyone who would rather skip the whetstone motion entirely.

FAQ

What angle should I use to sharpen my knife?

Match the maker’s own number when you have it: Wusthof states 14 degrees per side for standard forged blades and 10 degrees for Asian-style shapes like santokus, while Shun states 16 degrees per side. MAC and Victorinox do not publish a fixed angle, so match a similar blade shape or use a clip-on guide.

Is honing the same as sharpening?

No. Honing realigns a rolled edge with a steel and removes no metal, while sharpening grinds away steel on a whetstone or sharpener to create a new edge, according to Shun Cutlery’s care guide. Honing keeps an edge working longer between the less frequent job of actual sharpening.

What grit whetstone should I buy first?

A combination stone covering roughly 220 to 1000 grit on one side and 3000 grit or higher on the other handles most home knives, matching the ranges sold by Wusthof, MAC Knife, and Bernal Cutlery. Add a stone in the 6000 to 8000 range later only if you want a finer polished edge.

How do I know when my knife needs sharpening instead of just honing?

If a few strokes on a honing steel no longer bring back a clean edge, the edge itself is worn down and needs a whetstone or sharpener, not more honing. Feeling for drag or tearing on a tomato skin instead of a clean slice is a simple, immediate check.

Can I sharpen a serrated bread knife the same way?

Not on a flat stone. A serrated edge needs a tapered sharpening rod worked into each individual scallop, which is why shops like Bernal Cutlery bill serrated knives as a separate service from straight-edge sharpening.