5 November 2011 - 0:00Three Knife Sharpeners to Consider

There is nothing worse than starting a major cooking project and discovering your main tool, your cooking knives, are dull. There are three types of manual knife sharpeners to consider. Electric sharpeners are easy but they can take the temper out of a good steel knife.

The first sharpener is the traditional sharpening steel. This is simply a fine round file with a simple handle. You can buy them ready made or put one together from two simple parts found at any hardware store. Sharpening steels are quick and will put a nice edge on your favorite cooking knife. You simply stroke the steel down each side of the blade a few times.

A newer design out on the market is a handheld sharpener. A simple handle holds two small pieces of steel at an angle. A hand guard protects you from slips. You run the tool down the knife blade to put on a nice new edge.

For the professional cook the way to go is a ceramic sharpening stone. These are two to three ceramic rods mounted in a frame. The rods are of increasing smoothness so you can work your way down to an extremely fine edge.