Home › Home & Kitchen › Kitchen & Dining › Cutlery & Knife Accessories › Whetstones How to Sharpen a Knife With a Whetstone Published: July 8, 2026 · Updated: July 8, 2026
Soak the stone, hold the blade at a steady angle — about 15° for Japanese knives, 20° for Western — and draw the whole edge across a medium grit (around #1000) until you feel a fine burr along the back, then flip and repeat. Finish on a fine grit and the knife will slice paper cleanly.
Recommended Soak the stone, hold ~15-20° steady, raise a burr on a medium grit, flip, then finish fine — Sharpening removes a little metal to form a fresh edge, so a consistent angle matters more than anything. Soak a water stone five to ten minutes until bubbles stop (splash-and-go and oil stones differ — check yours). Rest the stone on a non-slip base, hold the blade at roughly 15° for a Japanese knife or 20° for a Western one — about two stacked coins under the spine — and push the edge away and pull it back with light, even pressure, covering the whole length from heel to tip. Work one side until you feel a tiny wire burr on the opposite face, then switch sides and match the strokes. Move from a medium grit (around #1000) to a fine one (#3000-6000) to polish, keep the stone wet throughout, and finish with a few very light alternating passes to shed the burr. Wipe the knife, and test on paper or a tomato.
