The best way to ensure maximum efficiency from the knife you bought is to clean and maintain it. If left alone for too long, the blade of the knife could start becoming dull. Not only would it fail to perform the tasks it was purchased for, but there is also a higher chance of the knife slipping on any object you try to cut. Just as there are many Microtech knives for sale, there are also many different ways to sharpen the knife, read on to know more.
Popular methods
One of the most common and recommended methods involves the use of a whetstone. It is important that you do not use a drag-through type of sharpener as it could cause more damage than good to your knife. Similarly, sharpeners designed for inexpensive cutlery should also be avoided at all costs. Using a power driven grinder wheel on the knife you can potentially ruin your blade. The heat could burn the temper on your blade, making it impossible for the knife to maintain a sharp edge. Using a power driven grinder wheel could also make the warranty on your knife void. Without a warranty it could be expensive if not impossible to get it professionally sharpened.
How to go about sharpening your knife
You would first need a few materials to sharpen the knife you bought using the whetstone procedure. The following steps should help you understand the process involved in sharpening a knife using this method:
High quality knives, such as Microtech knives definitely need a high quality sharpening stone. Such stones should be available in most hardware stores. A sharpening stone, or a whetstone is named that way since you need to apply a little bit of oil or water to wet the surface before you can begin using it. Applying water or oil serves to remove any metal shavings left while grinding at the edges of the stone.
The best way to ensure that your knife gets sharpened is to maintain a constant angle between your knife and the whetstone. Failure to maintain this angle could affect the final quality of your knife. The knife you bought could potentially not have the sharp edges you were looking for.
A whetstone has two sides, a rough grit and a fine grit. The fine grit is most useful in sharpening your blade with finer grit producing better results. You should begin to sharpen your knife first on the rough grit and later on the fine grit.
The edge of the knife should always be moved first across the stone. You should apply a little pressure, just a bit more that the weight of your knife while moving the stone. Do not let the tip of the knife slip off the edge of the stone, as this could serve to make it blunt. You should do the same number of stroke on each side to ensure the best end quality of your knife.
Once sharpened, it is always a preferable option to regularly maintain and take care of your knife.