Knife Sharpening Article by Crazy Crow Trading Post

Sharpening Your Knife Blade

Knife Care Article

Crazy Crow Trading Post ~ Updated October 6, 2026

Sharpening Your Knife Blade

Knife Care Article

Crazy Crow Trading Post ~ Updated October 6, 2026

The most difficult knife care task is said to be sharpening a blade. Crazy Crow Trading Post primarily carries Carbon Steel knife blades, which are authentic for the Colonial and Fur Trade Period and are easier to sharpen than modern stainless steel. Carbon Steel is more prone to rusting, but when properly sharpened, will hold a good edge for a long time and is also easier to resharpen when necessary.

When sharpening your knife, we recommend using high-quality sharpening stones of either the diamond abrasive type, natural oil stones, or water stones.

Diamond Sharpening Stones: These sharpening stones are graded numerically, and a coarse grit stone is used first for the initial shaping of the edge, followed by successively finer grits to create a razor edge. For example, you can start with a coarse grit of 260, then switch to medium grit of 400, then to a fine grit of 600, and finally for a super sharp edge, use a 1200 grit stone. These stones should be lubricated, and water with a little soap added is used, or a product like Windex also works well.

Waterstones Roughly equivalent to diamond stones in the way that they are graded, they normally run from 150 grit up to as high as 8,000 grit for a super high polished edge on things like wood carving tools. These stones must be soaked in water before use and are a bit messier to use than oil stones or diamond stones, but they cut faster and can produce a very fine edge. Water is the lubricant for these stones.

Oil Stones: These stones come in natural or synthetic varieties. Synthetics are graded similarly to diamond stones, in various grit sizes. Natural stones, known as Arkansas stones, are quarried and are graded by stone density, such as soft, hard, black and translucent. These stones are lubricated with a light oil, such as mineral oil, or light machine oil can also be used.

Ceramic Stones: This sharpening stone is normally used to obtain a final polish for a super sharp edge using water as lubricant.

Sharpening Your Knife Blade: Step-by-Step

Before you begin to sharpen your blade, you should apply a little oil to the stone. The oil will float the tiny metal and stone particles that are produced in the sharpening process, enabling you to wipe them off when sharpening is complete. If the pores in the stone get clogged, it will not sharpen.
As you sharpen your knife on a stone, there are several factors to keep in mind: the angle of the blade, the pressure of each stroke, the number of strokes per side of the edge and sharpening the entire edge. A general rule of thumb is to sharpen hunting knives at 20 to 30 degrees and kitchen knives at 15 to 20 degrees. See above image.
Once you have the proper angle, draw the knife across the stone toward the edge.
Try to imagine that you are slicing a very thin piece off of the stone.
Draw the blade in a sweeping motion so that the entire edge comes into contact with the stone.
Make sure to hone the tip of the knife too as you draw it across the stone.
Draw one edge along the stone, edge-first, until a burr is formed on the other side of the edge.
You can feel the burr with your thumb, on the side of the edge opposite the stone.
The presence of the burr means that the steel is thin enough at the top that it is folding over slightly, because the bevel you have just ground has reached the very edge of the blade.
If you stop before the burr is formed, then you have not ground all the way to the edge, and your knife will not be as sharp as it should be.
The forming of the burr is critically important – it is the only way to know for sure that you have sharpened far enough on that side.
Once the burr is formed on one side, turn the knife over and repeat the process.
Make sure and use the same number of strokes on each side to make a keen edge.
Use progressively finer stones to hone the knife to razor sharpness.

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Sharpening Your Knife – Related Products (click images to view product detail)

The following items are used in the above-article, or may provide added reference and helpful information.

Pocket Sharpener with Pen Holder

Diamond sharpeners cut fast, producing a keen edge quickly and last almost indefinitely. These sharpeners will give you uninterrupted sharpening in any direction. Diamond sharpeners are not messy like oil stones and are great in the field. Use them on your hunting knife, fish hooks, homeware, or tools. Product No. 4920-230-022

8″ Sharpening Stone

Sharpening stones, like Crazy Crow’s 8″ Sharpening Stone, are the most traditional way to sharpen knives and tools. They are versatile and can be used to sharpen almost any edge. Our Sharpening Stone is made from an Aluminum Oxide construction and measure 8″ x 2″ x 1″. Each stone has both a coarse and medium grit side. Product No. 4920-010-008