BUTCHER'S BLADES, WHICH TO OWN AND HOW TO HONE

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The most popular natural sharpening stones are quarried near Hot Springs, Arkansas, and are generally named after their home state. Arkansas stones cost more than Carborundum but make up for it in their superiority when working with stainless steel and other superhardened metals. These natural stones come in a variety of sizes and grits, but the readily available two-stone kits (medium and fine grits) will answer most any stainless sharpening need from re-beveling a cutting edge to touch-up honing.

Unlike Carborundum, Arkansas stones require oil. The purpose of the slick stuff isn't so much to lubricate as it is to keep the stone clean and gritty by floating the microscopic metal shavings up and out of the stone's pores, where the sharpening movements of the knife blade will scrape them away. You can purchase specially formulated honing oil at sporting goods and cutlery outlets, but any light oil works well.

A third and relatively new class of sharpening tool is the Japanese waterstone. These brick-colored stones require water rather than oil as a honing lubricant, are easy to use, work well on both carbon and stainless steels, and cost far less than Arkansas stones of comparable size. The only real drawback is that they're messy to use. Also, many users claim that they must be stored in water, making them less than highly portable.

No matter what kind of steel your knives are made of or the type of stone you use to sharpen them, the most important part of the honing operation is attaining the correct bevel on the cutting edge. This is complicated by the fact that different "experts" recommend different angles (the norm being 20° or so).

A variety of techniques, formulas, and tricks (and lately, gadgets) are available to help you attain this elusive "best" bevel—but the most straightforward and workable approach I've found is simply to study the existing bevel before you begin sharpening, then check from time to time to see that your honing marks match up. If you don't like the way your knife's original edge cuts, you can alter it... but be careful, since sharpening the knife at too great an angle to the stone will produce a thick, blunt edge that doesn't cut well, while too low an angle will result in a thin, fragile edge that dulls and chips easily.

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