How to Straighten a Bent Kitchen Knife

Bent knives are no good, but straightening them yourself can be a scary ordeal. Our resident sharpening wizard, Naoto Fujimoto, is here to help you straighten your knives at home, worry-free!
One way knives can bend is from smashing garlic the wrong way. Check out our video on smashing and mincing garlic to learn how to do it properly:
• Top 5 Tips for Smashin...
Check out the rest of our knife sharpening videos at • Knife Sharpening Techn...
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[@GrantHendrick]

Thank you, Naoto for a great video - very helpful to see how to straighten without the bendy stick.

[@jameshuffstutler5153]

Just straightened one of my knives that had a bend in it with that second technique. Worked perfectly!

[@KnifewearKnives]

Fantastic, I'm glad it worked for you!

[@davesmith5656]

Hammer and anvil. A surprisingly light tap will straighten. I don't have the link, but a pro Japanese knife sharpening shop does it that way, two types of hammers. As hobbyist, I took in a set of kitchen knives to rehabilitate (many chips, and three bent blades). I tried clamps and pressure. Then by chance I saw that video with the hammer. I taped the head of a five pound hammer (anvil), and a 12 oz. hammer, so as not to mar the knives. I was stunned that just a light tap from about four inches height straightened! Baby taps. I had trouble with the very tip because the hammers are slightly curved, but I got most of it.

[@coopbing]

Thanks for the great video. I just bought a new Japanese knife and it came with a slight Ben in the tip. They said that the 9.5” knives are common to have a bend. How much should I expect a knife store to charge for straightening? Are there any types of blades or materials that shouldn’t be bent? E.g. Damascus or types of steel or construction.

[@KnifewearKnives]

Hey, bending is somewhat normal but they shouldn't have shipped you a bent knife. We charge about $5, or just include it in the sharpening process. San-mai style knives can bend, usually as a result of something done to them, whereas single bevel blades will naturally bend over time due to the two different steels used in their construction.

[@Cynocehali]

This video was very informative thank you. I enjoyed the fact that you explained certain things without it becoming boring. Just subscribed!

[@KnifewearKnives]

Thank you!

[@robinsharkey6658]

You did some great work on that guy who was rear ended and had his knife roll totalled!

[@KnifewearKnives]

That one was extra tricky, definitely a job for a pro like Naoto!

[@alochkaney2601]

Spend more than 2 hours searching for solution 🙁hallelujah find your video !Thank you so much ! I just discovered in my possession vintage Italian folding stiletto pocket knife the point is not straight will try to straighten with the wooden block🙀🙏

[@KnifewearKnives]

That's fantastic, glad we could help!

[@MihaSun]

Thank you for the advice,I bought a knife in Miyabi 4000 fc and the blade was a little bent . I would like to ask you some information,to glue the knife handle which is made from pakkawood them use a good glue or there is a risk that it will come off over time? I am trying to say after many washes there is a risk that the handle will detach from the knife? Sorry for my english

[@KnifewearKnives]

Your English is great! Wood glue won't adhere the wood to the handle super well, I would use Gorilla two part epoxy.

[@MihaSun]

@@KnifewearKnives Thank you

[@aznpride909r]

Where can I buy one those knife straightening blocks?

[@KnifewearKnives]

Unfortunately we haven't found them to sell, but you can make them at home!

[@Temporalplace]

61 hrc knife can be bended this way ?

[@flaviodasilva2022]

Great video Naoto. But how about twisted knives and not bent (like a propell)?

[@KnifewearKnives]

Oof, that's a lot trickier. We'll try to make a video at some point!

[@PolymathicAmble]

Where does one find those sticks or the rough dimensions to make one?

[@KnifewearKnives]

We're looking at getting some in stock!

[@alexh.4068]

I made my own by simply cutting slots in a 2x4. Sadly it did nothing to correct the bends in my vintage knife.

[@Steelforfood]

Will this work on knives of any hardness? Or is there an hrc threshold for these techniques?

[@KnifewearKnives]

It may be more challenging on harder knives, but if you're careful and take your time you should be fine!

[@alexh.4068]

I made my own bending block by cutting slots into a 2 x 4. Either way, after trying the counter method as well as the block method and applying A LOT of force.. well yeah after 1 hour at it I am happy to report the bend in my knife didn't change at all. The steel is just too springy. Knife is a carbon steel Lamson from the 50s or 60s.

[@KnifewearKnives]

Oh no, that sucks! Sorry to hear it, some blades just don't wanna straighten out.

[@alexh.4068]

@@KnifewearKnives ended up figuring it out yesterday using a different method, appreciate the content and reply

[@stefansk8]

Does this work on German stainless steel? I did it for a a few times and it seems to just spring back...

[@KnifewearKnives]

It can, but they're built a bit differently and sometimes a knife just wants to stay bent unfortunately!

[@stefansk8]

@@KnifewearKnives thanks!

[@moondog5553]

Thank you

[@chueii]

how about deba knife?

[@andreb4125]

How would you fix a bent kiritsuke or bunka tip?

[@KnifewearKnives]

You'll have to bent it back gently and carefully, but with tips there's always a risk of it snapping off. I might try using a vice or pliers, wrapped in tape to prevent scratching. Be very careful and gentle.

[@andreb4125]

@@KnifewearKnives Thanks a lot.

[@SharpestStone]

I’ve straightened a few knives on the edge of the counter. I also made myself a straightening stick, but it’s s not nearly as nice as yours. I am interested in purchasing one if you could direct us to where you got yours. I also have a brass hammer for straightening knives. You need a heavy wood chopping block and a gentle touch. It’s easy to mess things up with a hammer if you aren’t careful. Murray Carter has a video with some helpful tips.

[@KnifewearKnives]

That's great to know, thank you! We're planning to stock the bendy sticks, stay tuned.

[@KnifewearKnives]

Looks like we can get them in, they're around $150 CAD. Would that interest you?

[@goul11514]

@@KnifewearKnives wtf

[@OWK000]

My knife was waiting around to be washed and when I went to wash it, it was bent to shit. REALLY BENT. Like Uri Geller got a hold of it, and there is absolutely no reason it could be bent. Totally bizarre. It is usually kept in a wooden knife block. It is a utility knife I like to use when I feel my regular chef knife seems too large. Could I use a knife block to help straighten? It does not seem to want to bend back AT ALL.

[@KnifewearKnives]

That's super strange! If you can visit one of our shops we could fix it, or email hello @ Knifewear.com with photos and we could give you some tips. The knife block might work, but you want to be careful flexing the blade too much.

[@OWK000]

@@KnifewearKnives I can email you some photos. I think it just happened spontaneously, all of a sudden, which is super weird. I was remembering that the tip had seemed a little bent in the past but the knife was quite useable. Now it has reached a whole new level of bent and is no longer useable. It is a 6" utility knife, better than super cheap, with decent steel, full tang with a riveted wood handle, not as thick as a chef knife. Purchased around 40 years old. It was kept in the knife block all the time, except when in use. It bent while laying around waiting to be washed. It's bent and it will not budge. I tried heating it a little. Nope. I watched a video on why knives bend. This definitely looks like a blade that came off a steel roll. I also realized that I would have to heat it until it was all red to make any change. I will miss it some.

[@dialit6973]

How do you fix a knife that has a bent tip

[@KnifewearKnives]

You can bend it carefully with pliers of a vice, but it's very likely that the tip will snap and need to be reground.

[@richardsong]

How about if the tip is bent?

[@KnifewearKnives]

Same approach, but very careful to avoid snapping it. If it's the very tip, there's a good chance it'll snap off.

[@davesmith5656]

With my comments, I didn't mean to imply that bending doesn't work. It does. Just that if you have a hammer and a flat steel surface, tapping might be easier in many cases. In some, it might be better to bend. I think I just thought of a way to straighten a tip - another comment here talked about tips. Get two small pieces (1/2") of flat steel, tape them to the tip, place on flat surface, whack.

[@patrickholloway3608]

Chur, haha, I'm a welder/engineer. I have about 7 hand made knifes worth about 500 bucks each. I just looked a them, bent as fuck Ive never been so angry. Seen this video and straightened my knifes but on one of them snaped the tip, so next time I'll try your idea of just smashing it between two flat bar or whatever, but as for my snaped tip, which ive fixed before 1 time with a whet stone but I'll just use the workshops linisher.

[@davesmith5656]

@@patrickholloway3608 ----- Most videos say use wood or tabletop and bend back into shape. I watched a video from some either Japanese, Thai, or Korean knife workshop and saw the guy straighten a bent blade on an anvil with a couple of light taps with a hammer, similar to what a forger would do with hot steel. Nothing complicated, nothing heavy. It's light taps from maybe as high as six inches with a standard size hammer. Light! I tapped from three inches. If you have an anvil or sturdy piece of flat steel, you might try laying the blade (concave side down, the intuitive way) on it and tapping it. The problem I had was tapping precisely on the little bigger than 1/8th of an inch tip - and I was using a 5lb hammer face as an anvil, with a slightly convex head, and I couldn't get it. For bends in the middle, I got those very easily, proving them on a piece of dead-flat glass (both sides, no rock, no light underneath). For twists, the knife makers have a "chisel head" hammer, and I don't know how they estimate where to strike. You get all kinds of this's and that's on KZbin videos. The worker in the knife shop took maybe as long as three minutes to get the blade he was working on flat to his satisfaction. I believe it's called "cold forging", working steel after heat treatment. But it isn't hard and heavy like a blacksmith's hammer. It is a light tap. Your anger with the knives you got is justified, imo, probably results from the heat treat (usually the quenching stage). The guy should have fixed that. It's not possible to sharpen a bent knife evenly on a flat whetstone. The knives in the Oriental workshop were probably straight when sold, and were bent in use, and if so they were already quenched and tempered, like the ones I straightened, People will [stupidly] pry things with a knife blade. I've done it myself. For grinding down broken tips, definitely go industrial! I have used a $50 belt sander, upside down, for more than just one or two chipped edges. Be reasonably careful with the heat created. I keep a wet paper towel on my bench, and limit the grinding contact to three or four seconds at a time, but those are friends' knives I do for free, so I'm paranoid. I can do in ten minutes what would take hours on an 80 grit diamond plate. The belts wear quickly, but I use 1000 grit, so I don't spend an hour getting diamond scratches out. Just fold the burr over and you're on to your finishing stones, 2K, 3K, 6K, whatever, and strop. The guy in the knife shop does it everyday. There was no narrative, just video, but it was all crystal clear.

[@patrickholloway3608]

@@davesmith5656 thank god for KZbin ha. Imagine having to go and meet some pro knife sharpener who dosent want to tell his serets hah, thanks for the info bro definitely seem like you know what your talking about. Cheers

[@patrickholloway3608]

@@davesmith5656 your last names Smith for a reason haha

[@davesmith5656]

@@patrickholloway3608 Thank you for reading, and the compliments. There's a LOT to be studied about steel (like some 30,000 alloys). I just have observed a little in a specific area. I hope what I've said proves to be useful to you! Just what I've put together on and off. You might be interested in watching some Alec Steele forging vids for forging - very entertaining! In some he does welding, so you could critique! 😁