How To: Properly sharpen a knife

Food editor Ian Knauer demonstrates a simple method for using a whetstone and a steel to keep your blades sharp. Just follow along and learn how.

-What you really need is a whetstone. It should have two sides, one that is coarser grit and another that is finer.
-You want to keep it nice and wet on top. If it starts to dry out then put a couple drops of water on it.
-You want to keep the angle of the knife to the stone at around 20-22 degrees.
-One technique you can use is putting the tip of the knife at the corner closest to you and move it diagonally across the board.
-Make sure you do the same number of strokes on one side as the other.
-Another technique is little circles. You are going to do this back and forth on the entire length of the blade. Remember to do the same amount on each side.
-Next, we are going to hone the knife. This gets rid of tiny burs that occur in everyday use.
-Take advantage of the full length of the honing steel and the full length of the knife. You can move it toward you or away from you.
-Remember to stay at about a 20 degree angle.
-After your done, wipe off your knife because there could be some grit left on it.
-To test the sharpness of your knife, cut through a sheet of paper. If you can do this, then you have a sharp knife.

If you follow these instructions, then you will learn how to properly sharpen a knife in no time.