How to Sharpen a Knife with Japanese Whetstones, with Naoto Fujimoto

Knifewear: How to Sharpen a Knife with Japanese Whetstones, with Naoto Fujimoto. How do you sharpen a knife with stones? Naoto Fujimoto, resident sharpening wizard at Knifewear, is here to show you the basic techniques of how to sharpen a kitchen knife. He covers how to sharpen a Japanese kitchen knife, as well as how to sharpen a western kitchen knife.
Products in the video:
Knifewear 220 Grit Stone: knifewear.com/products/knifew...
Knifewear 1,000 Grit Stone: knifewear.com/products/knifew...
Knifewear 4,000 Grit Stone: knifewear.com/products/knifew...
Knifewear 8,000 Grit Stone: knifewear.com/products/knifew...
Knifewear Sink Bridge: knifewear.com/products/knifew...
Knifewear Truing Stone: knifewear.com/products/knifew...
Knifewear Nagura Stone: knifewear.com/products/knifew...
Knifewear White Ceramic Honing Rod: knifewear.com/products/cerami...
Knifewear Black Ceramic Honing Rod: knifewear.com/products/cerami...
Knifewear Paddle Strop: knifewear.com/products/leathe...
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[@zoharflax6363]

Thank you for sharing your traditional wisdom, you are a very good teacher.

[@KnifewearKnives]

Thank you!

[@GrantHendrick]

Thank you Naoto - Very helpful. I look forward to your Friday sharpening chat.

[@KnifewearKnives]

Thank you for watching buddy! See you on Friday, we'll be talking natural stones.

[@eugenevictortooms4174]

Ive just found your channel & im finding your sharpening videos very helpful. Thanks Naoto.

[@KnifewearKnives]

Glad I could help!

[@Sam-rf8yh]

Extremely helpful video. Thank you so much.

[@KnifewearKnives]

Happy to hear it, thank you for watching!

[@nitrorsfour]

Been watching for a few weeks now and very pleased to actually learn something. Love the format and your teaching skills.

[@KnifewearKnives]

Happy to hear it!

[@philgoogle1535]

Naoto, thank you for this excellent tutorial. I've learned so much!

[@KnifewearKnives]

Thank you!

[@bicivelo]

fantastic instructions. THANKS!

[@KnifewearKnives]

Thanks for watching!

[@mikebrisebois]

Amazing video! You are a fantastic teacher. Very detailed

[@KnifewearKnives]

Thank you!

[@nicmckenna3671]

This is a very informative video - thank you. I really appreciate the simplicity of the presentation.

[@KnifewearKnives]

Happy to hear it, thanks for watching!

[@noe9088]

just did my first knife sharpening and actually had fun doing so! Thanks so much for the video, I felt nicely guided through the process. Though just the moment when you mentioned to be careful not to cut the leather strap, that's exactly what happened with the tip of my knife 😂

[@mattbonnell7023]

Great tutorial. Thanks a lot.

[@KnifewearKnives]

Thank you for watching!

[@JSWAGIN1]

I've been sharpening knives for ~3 years now and have basically just been doing my own thing. My knives have always come out sharp... but in hindsight, its probably just becasue it was just trial and error where I just sharpen until it's sharp and the first half of sharpening I was probably not doing anything/hurting the knife! This is so helpful!!!

[@robertnijeboer]

excellent video! thank you!

[@KnifewearKnives]

Thank you!

[@vinniegoes1733]

Best sharpening video on KZbin

[@KnifewearKnives]

Thank you!

[@Magajarhead1775]

Ichi ban Naoto!!! Love your videos!

[@KnifewearKnives]

Thank you!

[@davesmith5656]

A burr is like steel peanut butter. The grit of the stone drags metal off the bevel, and it hangs on at the new apex you are forming. Some guys with a SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope) photographed two types of burrs which form, one for softer steels, and one for harder steels. The softer steel is easier to de-burr. If you think of peanut butter clinging to the edge of a butter knife as you spread it, that's what the steel does when you grind a knife on a whetstone: it clings to the apex. If you have a USB microscope, and want to see a big burr, to form a picture of what one looks like, take a knife and grind it on a sanding belt. That will leave a huge burr for you to inspect.

[@yeagemk]

Thanks for this - I just bought the Nigara AS/S Tsuchime Kiritsuke Gyuto from you guys. I love it but wouldn't think to throw it through my 3 stage electric sharpener. I have a good whetstone set but always got discouraged when I tried to use it. I will try the quarter and thimble trick on some of my beater knives to see if I can get a nice sharp edge. Thanks for all the content and for your great customer service. I will be a return customer for sure!

[@KnifewearKnives]

Awesome, I'm glad we could help! Good luck with your sharpening.

[@demonslayer8085]

He’s using nickels not quarters!

[@DmitriMironov]

Haha quite jenius idea:-))

[@oQuivers]

I’m currently waiting for my second fujimoto knife.. been using one for about a year now and it’s CRAZY AMAZING… I would love to learn to sharpen like this. Videos are one thing but having a teacher would be amazing!! Appreciate your skill!!! Have a great day (:

[@KnifewearKnives]

Glad I can help!

[@dentistjk]

Best sharpening video on you tube.

[@KnifewearKnives]

Thanks so much!

[@appleseed666]

When you are pushing the knife spine side facing away from you, are you only putting pressure on the blade in the forward motion? Same question for when you flip the knife with the spine facing towards you, do you only put pressure when pulling the knife back?

[@KnifewearKnives]

Good question! We apply pressure in both directions, it makes the sharpening go twice as fast!

[@MichaelKWang]

How much pressure are you using with your fingers on the knife? And is it applied in both push and pull directions?

[@KnifewearKnives]

Generally a very gentle pressure, never pushing hard, and definitely in both directions!

[@MikeJustice1993]

Do you always need to start sharpening with a coarse stone like a 220 grit or can you start with a 1000 grit then move to 6000 grit for finishing? I only ask because I bought a combination stone and was wondering if I needed to get another. Thanks!

[@KnifewearKnives]

Not at all! If the knife is dull you do need to start on a coarse stone, as starting on 1000 will take too long. If it's in decent shape still, you can start on 1000. Np need to finish a softer western knife on anything finer, but Japanese knives usually benefit from polishing higher than 1000 grit!

[@user-pm7pw1tl3t]

I love how many "pro" sharpening videos there are yet they cant even make the scratch pattern go the same direction on both sides

[@jacmac0422]

Why would that matter? I understand if you are thinning or sharpening a wide bevel but why would the tiny primary bevel matter. He is going for performance not a mirror edge.

[@ronnelestrada5619]

I have a question regarding the soaking and non-soaking stones. I currently purchased a combo whetstone (#1000/#6000) and was wondering if I can soak the whole stone or do I just soak half of the stone (#1000 side) since #6000 is a fine non-soaking stone.

[@KnifewearKnives]

Hey there! I would just soak the 1000 grit side. Some 6000 grits like arashiyama benefit from soaking, but others can crack.

[@MatthewG9631]

Hello, are you using US nickels to measure the angle or will the US nickels be different? thanks!

[@KnifewearKnives]

They're only slightly different, so they'll work!

[@michaellinnett7786]

any guidance on what coins to use in Australia to achieve 15 or 22.5 degrees? I'm mostly interested in 22.5 degrees as my best knives are German and the rest no-name

[@michaellinnett7786]

mucking with Australian coins and an iPhone leveler app, a 20c spacer and 5 x 20c coins gets around 22-24 degrees - close enough for me

[@petersss]

I have a Knifewear 220 Grit Truing Stone - is that an acceptable replacement for a 220 whetstone to use for sharpening?

[@KnifewearKnives]

Unfortunately they're made differently and the trying stone doesn't contain all the abrasive of the regular 220, but in a pinch it would probably work.

[@JulieIelasi-lt7yp]

An i sharpen my everyday Chinese Cleaver this same way too with your Japanese sharpening way ?

[@KnifewearKnives]

Yes, absolutely!

[@davesmith5656]

Use plastic angle guides, about $10 bucks. They're little plastic chips that have a slot for a rubber band to hold them onto your whetstone, so you can re-check your angle at any time. They come in sets, angles from 10 to 20, IIRC. You can stack 10 and 15 if you want 25 for a cleaver. Holding an angle is like learning to ride a bicycle. At first, it seems impossible and you fall a lot unless you have training wheels. After m-a-n-y hours of practice, you finally get it! (Then you can move on to a unicycle! And sharpen to sub-50 Bess.)

[@KnifewearKnives]

Great advice! We sell some plastic guides that we love.

[@nielsvanos3114]

Why are you removing the burr with the honing rod after each stone instead of using the 'peanut butter method'? Thanks

[@KnifewearKnives]

Good question! The spreading method works well, but still leaves a substantial burr. The honing rod clears it up fully so we don't get a false positive when we're raising a burr on the next stone!

[@jaredcook4577]

@@KnifewearKnives why is the peanut butter method even considered a method then if its not ideal? This sharpening stuff drives me bonkers as everybody has a thousand opinions 😂

[@paulneumann7739]

I have a question regarding evenly sharpening sides. I have noticed that I must grind-whetstone quite a bit off the first side to create a burr. When i go to do the second side, it creates a burr in much less strokes than the first side (since it is asymmetrical) do I keep grinding on whetstone second side to make sure both sides are perfectly even? I came up with a counter system- thumb thimbles and measuring tape...I have 3 thimbles to represent each side. Heel-mid-tip...I count 15 strokes on each part of knife and advance the respective thimble one step Just wondering if both sides should be even come the end of the sharpening? ie does this make the knife blade "weak or dull faster"?

[@KnifewearKnives]

Hey, good question! Most people sharpen the same side first every time, which creates an edge biased to one side. This is totally fine! Most people won't notice it and it won't have a serious effect on the knifes performance, although it may cut subtly to one side. It sounds like your method for balancing it is great! Another option is to start on the right side one time, the left side the next time, and so on, but that can be hard to remember. Doing a set number of strokes per side until you raise a burr is a surefire way to keep it balanced!

[@paulneumann7739]

Thank you! I will figure out how many strokes I can do to maker this even on cheap knives.

[@iftihk1]

Dear which sharping stone u use and which brand and where i buying it pls reply me ❤

[@KnifewearKnives]

Hey, I used this series of stone: knifewear.com/collections/knifewear-stones-and-accessories

[@sacoto98]

What is the difference between the nagura stone and the bigger flatening stone? Can't they serve the same purpose?

[@KnifewearKnives]

They can! The nagura stone works like an eraser, cleaning grit off of your fine stones. You won't want to flatten finer stones with every use, so the nagura keeps them clear and working well. You can just use a truing stone, but you wouldn't want to use a nagura in place of a truing stone.

[@sacoto98]

@@KnifewearKnives so the nagura is a much gentler approach more suited for fine stones but not enough for coarse stones

[@passportazul]

I know they are similar, but are we talking US nickels or Canadian?

[@KnifewearKnives]

Great question! We're based in Canada, so we use Canadian nickles.

[@jvh136]

No coins required for 15 degrees. Tangent (opposite over adjacent) of 15 degrees is 0.25. So raised the spine 25% the height of the blade. For 20 degrees it would be 36%, not so easy to eyeball.

[@bc454irocz89]

Can you show how to sharpen chinese clever? Its so big I cant use thumb as guide

[@KnifewearKnives]

We will add it to the list.

[@michaelireland7239]

pull toward you sharp push away blunt repeat thie cycle over & over you are wasting ur time edge wont b sharp u are just removig to much metal & frustration sets in this video perfect if you want a blunt knife

[@KnifewearKnives]

This is a common misconception, but not reality. Working in one direction just means you're moving half as much steel as you could be, and makes it harder to keep a consistent angle. Once you're removed your burr, you're got new geometry for your edge! Hope this helps.

[@dougdecloux6967]

you do not go into detail about how to sharpen the tip of the knife.

[@KnifewearKnives]

Good question, we'll definitely get into it more in a future video!