10 Science-Based Strategies to Improving Your Sharpening Skills

Hand sharpening with sharpening stones is a satisfying skill that combines technique, patience, and a bit of artistry. Whether you're a chef wanting the perfect edge on your knives, a woodworker needing precise tools, or a hobbyist who enjoys maintaining edges, learning to sharpen by hand can make a significant difference in your work.

While there are plenty of step-by-step instructions on how to sharpen a particular knife or tool, there’s very little out there to help you improve your skills beyond following those simple instructions. Let's explore some effective strategies to help you enhance your sharpening skills beyond following rote instruction.

For this article, we've drawn on information in the scientific literature on learning, especially with regards to motor skills. If you want to dive deeper by looking into the original studies, we've listed our sources at the end of the article.  

Start with Clear Goals

Before diving in, it's helpful to know exactly what you want to achieve. Setting clear, specific goals gives you direction and will keep you motivated. Goals will help you to measure your improvements and provide structure for breaking down the learning process into more manageable steps.

Maybe you aim to consistently sharpen your kitchen knives to a professional level within a month. Perhaps you want to master freehand sharpening without relying on guides. Whatever your objective, having a clear goal will focus your efforts. Using the SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) goals methodology is a big help here.

Embrace Deliberate Practice

We've all heard that practice makes perfect, but the quality of your practice matters just as much as the quantity. Deliberate practice means focusing intently on improving specific aspects of your technique, often focusing on the areas you need to improve on.

Break down the skill into smaller, more manageable components. Pay close attention to how you hold the blade, the angle you maintain, or the pressure you apply. Don’t try to improve everything at once. It's better to make a few precise movements than many rushed ones.

Spread Out Your Practice Sessions

Instead of trying to cram all your practice into one long session, try spreading it out over several days. This approach, known as Distributed Practice or the Spacing Effect, can help you retain what you learn more effectively. Short, regular sessions, 15 to 20 minutes a few times a week, can build your skills steadily without overwhelming you.

Seek Feedback and Reflect

Getting feedback is crucial for improvement. Consider recording yourself while sharpening as watching the playback can reveal habits or mistakes you might not notice in the moment. Test your blade's sharpness by slicing through paper or by using an Edge-on-Up Sharpness Tester. If you have access to someone experienced in sharpening, don't hesitate to ask for their input.

Intrinsic feedback, the awareness of how movements feel, is also important. Reflect on each practice session to identify what you did, what went well and what could be better. This will help you adjust and fine-tune your technique.

Use Mental Imagery

Believe it or not, spending time visualizing the sharpening process can enhance your skills. It activates similar neural pathways as actual physical practice.

Imagine each step: the feel of the whetstone, the sound of the blade as it moves, the smoothness of your strokes. This mental practice can reinforce the physical skills you're developing and help you perform better when you actually pick up the knife or tool you want to sharpen.

Mix Things Up with Variable Practice

Once you're comfortable with the basics, start introducing variety into your practice. Sharpen different types of edges; kitchen knives, pocket knives, chisels. Use various whetstones with different grits or materials. This variation can make you more adaptable and improve your overall sharpening ability.

Challenge Yourself with Different Tasks

It might seem counterintuitive, but mixing up different sharpening tasks during one session can actually enhance your learning. Switch between sharpening different tools or alternate your techniques. This is known as Contextual Interference, and while it may make the session more challenging, it often leads to better skill retention in the long run.

Learn by Watching Others

Observing experienced sharpeners can provide valuable insights. Watch tutorials online or, if possible, see if you can find in-person demonstrations. Sometimes, seeing a technique performed can make it easier to understand and replicate.

Remember to Rest

Rest is an essential part of any learning process. Your muscles and mind need time to recover and consolidate what you've practiced. Make sure to take breaks between sessions. This downtime can actually make your practice more effective.

In fact, adequate sleep has been shown to be crucial to learning new motor skills. Studies have shown that while skills are encoded during practice, they're consolidated during sleep. Non-REM sleep stages stabilize and optimize newly learned physical skills. 

Stay Motivated with Ongoing Goals

Bringing everything back to the first point in this article, set goals based on your progress. Keep revisiting and adjusting your goals as you improve. Setting new challenges keeps things interesting and helps you continue advancing your skills. But don’t’ forget to celebrate your progress, no matter how small.

Improving your hand sharpening skills with bench stones is a journey that combines patience, practice, and a willingness to learn. Remember, every expert started as a beginner. Enjoy the process, stay committed, and soon you'll be honing not just your blades, but a valuable skill that enhances everything you do.

If you need specific help using a sharpener, or picking out one to fit your specific needs, our Sharpening Specialists are available to help. 

Sources:

Ericsson, K. A., Krampe, R. T., & Tesch-Römer, C. (1993). The role of deliberate practice in the acquisition of expert performance. Psychological Review, 100(3), 363–406.

Schmidt, R. A., & Lee, T. D. (2011). Motor Control and Learning: A Behavioral Emphasis. Human Kinetics.

Cepeda, N. J., Pashler, H., Vul, E., Wixted, J. T., & Rohrer, D. (2006). Distributed practice in verbal recall tasks: A review and quantitative synthesis. Psychological Bulletin, 132(3), 354–380.

Wulf, G., & Lewthwaite, R. (2016). Optimizing performance through intrinsic motivation and attention for learning: The OPTIMAL theory of motor learning. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 23(5), 1382–1414.

Shea, J. B., & Morgan, R. L. (1979). Contextual interference effects on the acquisition, retention, and transfer of a motor skill. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning and Memory, 5(2), 179–187.