I've recently bought a really nice Santoku knife from Wüsthof along with a Japanese water sharpener, and since then I've been watching a lot of videos and reading a lot of guides about how to use the sharpener. I've come upon many various ways to do it, but I never know if one is "right" or better than the other to get things started. I've never sharpened a blade before, and I've never really taken good care of the knifes I already own, so I thought now is a good time to start with it.
What I do know is that for Japanese knives, I use a 15 degree angle, and for European knives, it's usually about 22-23 degrees. I also know how to properly prepare the whetstone for use. What I do not know is: how do I do the actual sharpening properly?
Some people I've seen slice the knife over the stone diagonally at the correct angle, while only taking care of one part of the knife (the front, the middle, the back) and move on to the next after a while, while others straight out do everything at once, sharpening the whole blade in one motion, alternating between one side of the blade and the other.
Now my real question is: What kind of technique should I apply as a total beginner, and can I use that technique for both the Japanese and European knives I have (excluding the angle at which the blade is put onto the stone which I know of)?
Also, how often should I sharpen these blades usually to keep them in a decent shape? I have the typical 1000/3000 whetstone.
Best Answer
The user "virtuovice" has some great videos on knife sharpening. It was my introduction to whetstone sharpening and since following his videos, I have been able to sharpen my range of kitchen knives to a pretty incredible sharpness. His videos are mainly aimed at hunting knives, but the techniques can be applied to kitchen knives
Have a look at this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc_TEWmMcD0
The main thing to try and remember is to move with your arms and not to rotate your wrists at the ends of each stroke across the stone so that the angle is kept constant. I'd practice on some cheap knives and just go slowly first. Look at how much metal is being removed from the blade - rinse the knife often and check your progress. Imagine you are trying to take a very fine slice of stone off the top surface.
In terms of technique, you can also take a look at this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lm53mCOQTR8
It's easier to see because of the high grind on the blade.