A knife is arguably one of the most crucial instruments in your kitchen, which is why you should treat it with care. The cooking procedure cannot be finished without a knife.
We all understand the significance of a knife and how essential it is in the kitchen. Even if you don’t have a knife, your kitchen is still unfinished. A knife may be used for several reasons, therefore it’s crucial to take good care of it.
Knives can be very useful and everyone has knives in their kitchen but buying a knife is not the only thing to do. We all know that a knife is only useful inside the kitchen when it’s sharp. If your knife loses its sharpness even the finest and the best knife can be useless. You will need a grit whetstone that will help your knife to retain its sharpness back.
Many people here would be aware of what grit whetstones are but many would’ve heard this for the first time. People who know what grit whetstones are are confused about which grit whetstones are the best for your knife and which one to buy.
For people who have no idea about a grit whetstone, for you, this post is going to be helpful. I have mentioned the best grit whetstones that suit a kitchen knife. These whetstones are capable of sharpening even the dullest knife and can also be used for honing already sharpened knives.
One should know that not every whetstone is perfect for your knife and there can be chances that you might need more than one whetstone. Today we will cover everything. If you want to know which whetstones are the best for your knife then read this article to find out everything.
What is a grit whetstone?
Now that you’ve finally bought the best knife after carefully evaluating everything for cutting meat, you might be thinking that you’ve done your job but wait a minute, let me tell you that buying a knife isn’t the only thing you need to do.
For the people who have no idea what grit whetstones are and for those who don’t know which one is best for their knife, we will look at the basics first and then go ahead. A grit whetstone is nothing but a stone that is built of grits that are of many different sizes. These stones can offer roughly smooth surfaces. It depends on how rough or smooth the whetstone should be for selecting the right one for your knife and they are suited for various sharpening purposes as well.
You might have used a whetstone before but you would’ve used the wrong one all the time and now that you want to know which is perfect. Let’s look at it together.
If you’ve no idea what grit whetstones are and you are using the wrong ones then you can easily damage the best knives available in the market and curse the manufacturer. Some digits are printed on the side of the whetstones. These digits indicate the size of the grit that is used for making the stone.
When a gritstone has a low grit size it simply means that they have a low density of grits. These stones are rougher and they are perfect for knives that are dull and extremely blunt. The roughness of the stone tends to decrease as the grit size increases. The highest-sized grits are used for the finishing touches of a knife.
When we talk about the best gritstone for a kitchen knife we can see that there are three categories of grit whetstones that can be used for sharpening your kitchen knives. These three types are categorized according to sharpening the dullest knives to the ones that need finishing touches. Let’s quickly have a look at all three of them.
Coarse Whetstones with Grit size 1000 or less
You can have the best knife with yourself but let me tell you that if you don’t have the right sharpener then your knife won’t be as good as you thought. Many people have no idea which whetstones their kitchen knife needs.
If you have a knife that is very much dull then you are going to need a whetstone with a grit size of 1000 or less. Less grit size whetstones are for very blunt knives. This tool will help you to remove all the nicks and chips on the edge of cutting providing a smoother outline. One should not use this whetstone for all the knives and also do not use it regularly as they are very abrasive and rough. This can easily damage your knife which can cost you a lot.
One should not use a whetstone less than 1000 for sharpening the knives regularly.
Medium Whetstones with a grit size of 1000-3000
If you have a knife that requires sharpening and you know that whetstones are used for this but you have no idea which whetstone is perfect for sharpening your knife regularly then you should go with the medium-sized ones.
The medium-sized grit whetstones are the best for sharpening your knives regularly. The whetstones that have a grit size of 1000 are the best for sharpening those knives that have not lost the cutting edges. These knives are the ones that require reshaping of the edges nominally from time to time. Higher grit sizes that are 2000 or 3000 are for those who want to regularly sharpen their knives. These whetstones have a smooth surface and are best for regular use. The best knives that are used for cutting meat also require these sized whetstones.
It will also help you to improve the performance of the knife and its durability. However, you should note that this grit size is only good for regular sharpening but you cannot use it efficiently for maintaining the edge of the blade. The grit size is 2000-3000 is also considered perfect for boning the knife. More sophistication of the blade may cause the edge to bend as muscle and the sinews of the meat are cut through which sharpening would be needed.
Finishing stone with a Grit size of 4000 to 8000
This is the last grit size you can reach and it is the furthest you can go when it comes to sharpening your knives. The grit size of 4000 to 5000 is used for finer sharpening but when you can ahead that you can use the stone for the finest finishing.
These stones are not for dull knives. These stones help to provide the best finishing to your knives. Using whetstones in the range from #4000 to #5000, you can achieve a nape sharp cutting edge on meat cutting cubs. The grit-size jackets of #5000 to #8000 are best suited for fruit and vegetable cutting knives. This is because they produce the finest finish that is unlikely to bend. After all, they are soft for these foods.
Sharp Pebble Premium Knife Sharpening Stone
This is a whetstone that one can use for any type of knife. A not only knife this premium whetstone is capable of sharpening any kind of cutting tool. You can use it to sharpen kitchen knives, cutting knives, scissors, hunting knives, pocket knives, and much more.
This is a very durable whetstone that is constructed using aluminum oxide which is directly imported from Japan. This is a two-sided stone with 1000/6000 grit for a coarse and fine combination that can be used according to your preference. You can use a dull knife on it and also use it for providing fine finishes to your knife making it a very versatile option to buy.
The manufacturer has kept in mind the safety and stability of the product and kept it inside a non-slip bamboo base so that it stays in one place while using it. The base of the stone is high enough which makes it very easy to use. You won’t have to apply oil and directly use water. It also comes with a manual that will help beginners to use the stone properly and safely.
Pros
- Superior and high-quality sharpening stone
- Safe to use
- Value for money
- Durable
- It has a silicone base to hold the stone inside a bamboo base.
- It is two-sided
- eBook manual included
- Easy to use and clean
Cons
- The fine side of the stone is soft
- Bamboo might crack if it’s wet
- Too wide for smaller blades
Click here to check the current price
https://www.amazon.com/Sharp-Pebble-Sharpening-Waterstone-Whetstone/dp/B01FZZUL30
KING KW65 1000/6000 Grit Combination Whetstone
If you have got a dull kitchen knife or other gardening and woodworking blades then this is the product you should be looking at.
The KING KW65 1000/6000 Grit Combination Whetstone will surely help you to resharpen the blades and knives and provide you with excellent results. King is a well-known brand when it comes to whetstones and you can rely on this product. This is a dual-sided stone that has 1000 grit size on one side and this side can be used for honing your knife and blades while the 6000 grit size on the other side of the stone can be used to provide finishing touches to your knife.
This stone will help you with everything. It will help to transform the dull blades into sharp ones. It has got a robust base made up of plastic and it is light brown. This helps to hold the stone in one place on your kitchen countertop. It has got an instruction manual but the instructions are in Japanese so you’ll have to search about using this stone.
Pros
- High quality
- Affordable price tag
- Dual-sided helps in honing the blades and providing finishing touches
- Value for money
- Made in Japan
- Good for beginners as well as professionals
Cons
- It can be too soft for some knives
- Not good enough for serrated knives.
Click here to buy
https://www.amazon.com/KING-KW65-Combination-Whetstone-Plastic/dp/B001DT1X9O
Conclusion
Buying the best knives for daily kitchen use and for cutting food items can be difficult but once you’ve bought it there’s still a thing that you need to know. Whetstones are used for sharpening your dull knives and providing them sharp finishes.
However, many people have no idea what grit whetstones are and those who know about them have no idea which one is best suited for their knives. In this article, I have mentioned the grit sizes that are perfect for different purposes and sharpening needs. You can use the grit stones accordingly. I hope this article was informative and useful.