Let’s prepare the kitchen knives and other knives sold by ibuki blade
so they’re in the best possible condition for use.
*Please note that sale and oulet items
may have slight warping or minor nicks in the blade.
Recommended Tools
RulerHammer and hammer stand
Magnifying glass
Whetstone or sandpaper
Checking for Warping in the Blade
Hand-forged knives are not perfectly symmetrical,
and slight warping may remain from the forging, hardening, and machining processes.
While there are various methods for removing warping,
we’ll introduce a simple method using a hammer.
Use a ruler to check the base and tip of the blade, respectively,
to see if there is any warping.
If you notice a slight warp, you may be able to feel a slight bulge with your fingertips.
*In the sample photo,
you can see a warp of about 0.5 mm. Try tapping the bulging side lightly with a hammer.
In most cases, tapping the blade body gently with a hammer will correct the warping.
*If you do not have a soft hammer, use masking tape
or wrap the hammer in a cloth to prevent scratching the knife.
For paring knives, santoku knives, and boning knives, use a hammer weighing about 500 g;
for deba knives and large gyuto knives, a heavier hammer, such as one weighing 1,000 g, is required.
Additionally, if the tang is not straight,
you can correct it by tapping it with a hammer.
*Important Notes
Please do not reheat or reheat and reshape the knives sold at our store.
Since they are manufactured under precise temperature control, reheating will cause the steel to lose its original properties.
2. Check the blade tip for nicks
Since this cannot be determined by visual inspection alone, use a magnifying glass with approximately 10x magnification
to check for nicks.
If the knife cuts through paper cleanly and smoothly,
use a medium-finish whetstone of 1000 grit or higher.
If there are nicks
and you feel resistance when cutting paper,
use a whetstone of around 400 grit to smooth the edge.
The methods generally recommended for resharpening cannot correct these nicks.
Set the angle at which the cutting edge contacts the whetstone to 60 to 70 degrees, with the blade tilted upward,
and first flatten the cutting edge evenly.
Use a magnifying glass to confirm that the nicks have been removed,
then adjust the angle to around 15 degrees and begin shaping the blade.
If you sharpen it evenly and carefully, the cutting edge will shine like a thread; in Japan, this is called “attaching a thread-like edge.”
*At this stage, sharpen only the cutting edge.
*If you don't have a whetstone, you can also sharpen it with sandpaper.
Easy and fast, to whet knives by sand papers