If you own a Japanese Sujihiki knife, there is a high chance you paid a lot of money for it and that the knife is doing a great job in the kitchen. No one wants to pay a lot of money for a knife only to end up ruining it on unnecessary things. That is why we came up with this guide to help you take good care of your Japanese knife.

Test your knife using a piece of paper

For those wondering whether they should sharpen their knives – cutting through a paper using your knife is the best way to find out if you need to sharpen your knife. There always will be a reaction if the blade of your knife feels blunt. Holding your knife with one hand and using the other hand to hold a piece of paper, you can check if your knife will win and cut through the paper. A sharp knife will cut the paper easily and you will be able to see clean edges after the paper has been cut and not a torn irregular edge.

To use this method to test your knife, hold the paper by its edge using your non-dominant hand. Hold the knife with the hand that you usually use and set the blade at the top of the paper and then press it down. The knife is perfectly sharpened if it cuts through the piece of paper without making any sound. If the knife cuts the piece of paper and makes a slight tearing noise then it could use a little honing. If the knife will not cut the paper by pressing down, cut back and forth. If it cuts then your knife is sharp but needs to be honed. However, if the knife doesn’t cut the paper at all then it should be sharpened and honed.

Know how to use the whetstone

When you buy sujihiki knife, your biggest worry could be how to sharpen it. Do not worry if you have never sharpened a knife since you can do it at home even if you are not a professional. Do not wait until your Japanese kitchen knife is so blunt to an extent it cannot cut a tomato for you to sharpen it. You can sharpen your knife with a few correct strokes on the sharpening stone. Even a total novice will be able to sharpen a knife and have it back to working order. You should remember that the most damage you can do to your knife is to run your knife too flat along the whetstone and scratch the side. This might bum you out but your knife will still be functionally fine.

Start with a paring knife

If you have never sharpened a Japanese Sujihiki knife before, start with a paring knife. This is smaller and lighter and easier to manage than professional Japanese knives. When you are starting, you should avoid using knives that are curved as they can be tricky for a newbie to sharpen.