Sharpening japanese knive with a wetstone

Using a 400/1000 wetstone...

There are three kinds of Whet Stone. Arato (Rough), Nakato (Medium Rough) and Siageto (Small Rough). Each kind of Whetstone has different use for the sharpening process.

- Arato has a rough surface. An Arato is useful for repairing chips, fixing a broken tip, and making an angle for a sharp blade.

- Nakato (Medium Rough). Sharpening with Nakato makes blade more sharp and good shape (angle) for sharp blade.

- Siageto is used for finishing the process. This work is necessary for keeping a sharp blade.

1/ Put the whet stones in water to remove air from inside them. You will see many bubbles come out of the whet stones. 5 to 10 minutes later, after the bubbles stop coming out, the whet stones are ready for sharpening. Prepare your table it for a good height and good balance when you are sharpening. Also it is good to prepare a towel to keep the whet stones from slipping.

2/ It is always very important to keep same angle of about 10' to 15', which is about two coins height between the blade and the whetstone. Gently push the point you want to sharpen with your first, second and third fingers. While keeping the angle and pushing the point with your fingers, stroke the blade until it reaches the other edge of the whetstone. Then pull the blade back until it reaches the edge of the whetstone. This back and forth is counted as one stroke. Repeat it for about five strokes until you can see or feel some small burrs (edge curvatures).. Then move the position of your fingers to where you have not sharpened yet, and repeat this five strokes of sharpening processed from the tip to the base of the blade.

Next we sharpen the opposite side of the blade. Just as you did before, sharpen the knife keeping an angle of 10' to 15'. Push the point you want to sharpen with your first, second and third fingers. While keeping the angle and pushing the point with your fingers, stroke the blade until it reaches the other edge of the whetstone. Then pull the blade back until it reaches the edge of the whetstone. This back and forth is counted as one stroke. Repeat it for about five strokes until you can see or feel some small burrs (edge curvatures).. Then move the position of your fingers to where you have not sharpened yet, and repeat this five strokes of sharpening processed from the tip to the base of the blade.When your whetstone becomes dry, occational watering during sharpening process will also help and improve smooth sharpening.