How do I sharpen a knife with an asymmetrical blade?

What is a knife with an asymmetrical blade?

Conventional knives have a symmetrical, V-shaped cutting edge. Knives with asymmetrical blades, also known as single-edged or beveled knives, are sharpened on one side only. This preserves the full flavor of the food being cut, since the air gap created by the cutting edge prevents the food juices from running out. Your fish, meat or vegetables will thus retain all their flavor. Japanese knives such as yanagiba, deba and usuba have a beveled edge. Most of these knives are suitable for right-handed use: Japanese left-handers always use the same knives as right-handers, so there are hardly any knives with asymmetrical blades suitable for left-handers.

How do I sharpen a knife with a beveled blade?

Choose a sharpening stone with a grain suited to the steel of your knife and to the wear and tear of the cutting edge. The stone should be soaked in water for about 15 minutes before use.

Step 1 : Place the bevelled area of the blade on the stone, apply light pressure and start to move back and forth on the stone.

Step 2: Raise the handle a little more to sharpen the point, so as to get a little more angle.

Step 3: Feel the edge on the flat side of the blade: it should feel rough. If this is not the case, continue sharpening the bevelled side, otherwise you can move on to sharpening the flat side.

Step 4: Place the flat side of the blade completely on the stone, and work back and forth on the stone as in the first step.

Step 5: Place the bevelled side again, adding a little more angle this time, so that only the cutting edge is in contact with the stone. Sharpen for a few seconds.

Step 6: Return to the flat side of the blade to sharpen for a few more seconds.

Step 7: Finally, finish sharpening by passing the cutting edge (bevelled side) over the whetstone one last time.

You can test the sharpness of your knife on a sheet of paper, for example.