The Best Way To Keep Your Knives Sharp

Even The Best Knives Need Regular Sharpening

Thankfully, there are a few easy ways to keep your knife sharp…

You need your knives to be sharp. Dull knives don’t just create frustration — they’re also less safe. A dull blade forces you to struggle with your cuts, which increases the chances of an accident.

Dullness is a natural consequence of all the hard work your knife does in the kitchen. Over time, the blade edge becomes bent, blunted, and chipped, and can’t slice through foods as effectively as it used to. Even the finest steel needs routine sharpening to make your cooking easy again.

Simple Tips for Staying Sharp

Wash by Hand

Hand-wash your knives, avoid dishwasher

Cut on the Right Surfaces

Cut on wood or plastic boards, instead of harder glass and marble

Store Your Knife Properly

Store knives in a block or strip, where their blades are protected

The Most Reliable Sharpening Method

All You Need to Sharpen, Repair, and Fine-Tune a Blade

Water stones are by far the best method for sharpening your blades. It’s easy to learn how to use them, and they’re a reliable way to ensure that your knives are getting sharpened evenly. Whether you’re fixing up an old, vintage blade, or just polishing up your go-to chef’s knife, you can do it all with water stones in the right grits.

What Is A Sharpening Stone?

The Oldest Sharpening Method

A chef using a cream-colored 6000-grit Misen Sharpening Stone to finish sharpening a Misen Chef’s Knife.

Sharpening stones — sometimes called whetstones or waterstones — are stones of varying roughness (called “grit”) that have been used to sharpen knives blades. The concept has stayed the same for millenia: first, they’re first soaked in water or oil, then used to gently scrape away dull metal from the blade edge to remove damage and imperfections, resulting in a new, sharper edge.

A chef sharpening a Misen Chef’s Knife on a blue 1000-grit Misen Sharpening Stone placed on a kitchen towel.

Why Use A Misen Sharpening Stone?

First, they’re easy to use, and even just 1-2 sharpenings a year will get you incredible results. Second, a sharpening stone will work with knives of almost any size, shape, or blade angle. This is great if you have a large collection of different blades, or a varied set like the Misen Essentials Knife Set.

Our Features

Wider Surface

Whereas many cheaper stones skimp on their effective surface area, our stones are wide enough to allow you to sharpen any size of knife with ease.

Premium Materials

Very strict quality control guarantees a consistently high-quality stone that’s made from premium materials that will never damage your knife.

Highly Durable

Unlike other thin stones, our stones are 20mm thick. This will provide you with hundreds of sharpenings extending the life of your knife.

Close view of blue 1000-grit and cream Misen 6000-grit Misen sharpening stones stacked on their storage boxes to show the stones’ width.

Wider Surface

Whereas many cheaper stones skimp on their effective surface area, our stones are wide enough to allow you to sharpen any size of knife with ease.

A close up of stacked green, cream, and blue sharpening stones showing high-quality finish on each.

Premium Materials

Very strict quality control guarantees a consistently high-quality stone that’s made from premium materials that will never damage your knife.

A vertical stack of 220-grit, 1000-grit, and 6000-grit sharpening stones, showing the durable 20 millimeter thickness of each.

Highly Durable

Unlike other thin stones, our stones are 20mm thick. This will provide you with hundreds of sharpenings extending the life of your knife.

Which Stones Do You Need?

It depends on how you use them

A chef rubbing the coarse surface of a green 220-grit Misen Sharpening Stone.

Repairing old or damaged blades

220 Grit

A low 220-grit stone to repair a knife that hasn’t been sharpened in years, or has damage (nicks and chips) along the blade edge.

A chef holding a knife blade edge up to inspect for damage along the cutting edge.

Routine sharpening for regular kitchen use

1000 Grit

A medium 1000-grit stone for a knife that’s regularly honed and has been sharpened within the past 6 months to a year.

A chef placing a wet 6000-grit Misen Sharpening stone onto a kitchen towel on a wood countertop.

Polishing a newly-sharpened blade for a smooth finish

6000 Grit

A high 6000-grit stone to finish off a knife that’s just been sharpened with a 1000-grit stone and give it the sharpest edge possible.

Sharpening Stone grits ranked from lowest to highest: 220, 1000, then 6000.

Repairing, sharpening, and polishing

Complete Set

A 3-piece set that includes low-, medium-, and fine-grit stones. This range of grits in one set equips you with the stones you need to sharpen any blade, and keep your knife collection sharp for years to come.