Loading ...
Loading ...
Loading ...
10
Confirm which side of the blade has the large factory Bevel A. Hold the blade in your hand (as
when you are cutting) and if the large factory bevel is on the right side of the blade, the blade
is right handed. For the right handed blades sharpen only in the left slot of Stage 1 so that
only the beveled side (right side) of the edge will contact the honing wheel. Proceed as
described below.
STEP 1
HONING TRADITIONAL JAPANESE KNIVES IN STAGE 1
(RIGHT HANDED BLADES)
In this example which assumes your traditional blade is right handed, you must hone only in the
left slot of Stage 1 (see Figure 11). The number of pulls that you will need to make depends on
the factory angle of Bevel A (Figure 6 and 7) and how dull your blade may be.
Make five (5) to ten (10) pulls (3-4 seconds) in only the left slot of Stage 1 and then check for a
burr along the entire back side of the blade edge. (The burr created in Stage 1 will be small but
can be felt as shown in Figure 9. Make certain the burr is present along the entire length of the
edge. If there is no burr or only a partial burr, continue to make
additional pulls all in the left slot about five (5) at a time and check for a burr after each group
of five (5) pulls. In general 20-30 total pulls in the left slot will be adequate to raise a burr; it is
unlikely to take more than 50 left slot pulls to create the burr. When a burr is confirmed, proceed
to Step 2.
STEP 2
STROPPING/POLISHING THE FINAL EDGE ON TRADITIONAL JAPANESE BLADE IN STAGE 3
(RIGHT HANDED BLADES)
a. Make five to eight (5-8) slow pulls, 3-4 seconds each, only in the left slot of Stage 3 (Figure
12) and then proceed to remove the burr in step b below.
b. Make one (1) regular pull in right slot of Stage 3 along the back side of the edge. (Pull about
3-4 seconds.)
c. Make 2-3 pair of fast pulls (1-2 seconds each) alternating in left and right slots of Stage 3.
Test blade for sharpness using a thin sheet of paper. It should be razor sharp but if not repeat
steps a, b and c above.
Figure 11. Hone traditional Japanese knife only in left
slot of Stage 1 (right handed).
Figure 12. Strop and Polish edge of traditional Japanese
knife in Stage 3. Follow instructions carefully.
Loading ...
Loading ...
Loading ...