We, therefore, recommend a set of stones that include a fixing stone, two grits of sharpening stones, and a single polishing or finishing grit stone. In more practical terms, lower grit stones are used for abrading metal to repair minor chips, medium grit stones are all purpose used to sharpen and establish the edge, and high grit stones are used to polish the edge. It is not common for the average knife owner to use low-grit whetstones since they are used to re-establish an edge or put an edge on the knife for the first time. These stones do not remove large amounts of material from the cutting edge and are used to refine and hone the cutting edge. Intersect your knife at 90° angle to the whetstone. Half that angle, and you will get 45°, and the further half will give you 22.5, which is close to 15° or 20°. So lowering just a bit more will give your preferred angle.

All the stones in this set are designed to be used with water. The set comes with a wood base, a non-slip silicone mat, and a flattening stone. Our recommendation as a beginner knife sharpener is to stay with silicon carbide stones until you have mastered the techniques and then move on to more expensive aluminum oxide stones. This premium set from Sharp Pebble is our recommendation for a good quality stone in this category.

Hand-wash and dry. The dishwasher dulls knives. (Plus, it’s unsafe.) “It’s like putting your soul in there,” says Cooper. Hand-wash gently with soap and water, avoiding gritty scourers, then dry knives before they have a chance to rust. These stones perform the bulk of the sharpening process. Once the knife has been sharpened on these stones, it will be sharp, but the edge will still require refining on a higher grit whetstone. When To Use Fine Grit Whetstones We have a guide on taking the best care of your Japanese knives, explaining best practices and how they can increase your knife's longevity. However, general knife care typically involves always washing your kitchen knives by hand (avoid putting them in the dishwasher) and drying them straight after washing to avoid rusting. The Juuma sharpening and honing stones offer a simplified working principle while at the same time ensuring the highest possible quality in the offered grits. Juuma Cobalt Blue stones are made of an aluminium oxide and a bonding agent. Adding cobalt serves to slow stone abrasion and increase the speed of sharpening. The speed bonus is especially marked when stoning blue steel (blue paper steel that is often used for Japanese planes and chisels). The cobalt gives the stones their blue colour. Juuma is our proprietary brand. Juuma sharpening stones are produced by a renowned Japanese whetstone manufacturer.

Whetstones should be soaked before use. Do this by submerging your whetstone into lukewarm water for approximately 5 to 10 minutes, or until there are no more air bubbles present. If you are unsure of how to use a whetstone or what angle you should sharpen your knives to, all our staff members are professionally trained and can show you the best knife sharpening techniques in our stores.

What is a honing steel? 

In the demonstration I do in the video, I only use my 1000 grit for sharpening and 5000 grit for polishing, as this is the most typical example for most home cooks looking to learn how to sharpen.