Is It Necessary to Clean a Knife After Sharpening It?

Using a kitchen knife or a hunting knife, you should always be able to slice food quickly and cleanly. A dull knife is always risky, and you'll probably slip and cut yourself.

The main justification for sharpening a knife is this: Knives are sharpened by rubbing the blade on a sharpening stone, which removes a little bit of metal from the blade's surface.

After the knife has been sharpened, a greyish residue is left behind that is made of a combination of metal and stone that was created by friction.

If the knife is not properly cleaned, the greyish residue can be quite harmful to your health and cause serious problems.

As a result, it is crucial to clean your blade after honing it. I'll provide a thorough explanation of why washing a knife after sharpening is important in this post.

Should You Wash a Knife After Sharpening?

You would observe when honing the blade that the metal is removed when water is added, forming a paste.

You will remove more or less metal from the knife blade, depending on the kind of sharpening stone you are using.

While sharpening the blade, you do not need to remove them; however, it is crucial to do so afterwards.

If the blades aren't cleaned before you prepare your food, the grey residue could be highly harmful. Make sure to wash your blades with dish soap and hot water after sharpening them.

After you've finished sharpening your blades, rinse them in clean water and let them air dry, or pat them dry with a fresh piece of paper. This will clear the blade of all metal and stone fragments.

Metal-removing Honing Rod Types

The technique you employ for honing a knife blade depends largely on what you are attempting to accomplish. Honing rods come in a variety of shapes and sizes.

Two or three light swipes from both sides of the blade with minimal pressure should be sufficient if you only need to realign the edge of the blade and keep it nice and straight.

1. Steel Rod: The steel rods are ideal for smooth honing and won't significantly reduce the steel content of the blade of the knife. This kind of sharpening rod is used in kitchens.

2. Ceramic Rod: Because these rods are a little bit more abrasive than steel rods, a small quantity of metal will be removed.

3. Diamond-Coated Rod: The rod efficiently strips the blade of a substantial amount of metal. The majority of specialists employ these rods for sharpening.

Sharpening vs. Honing

Sharpening and honing are two entirely separate processes. Honing is the process of preserving an already-sharp knife's edge. The blade is pushed back and directly to the edge of the blade when it is being honed.

If done correctly, honing the blade will make it appear sharper and will fix the edge without removing much material from the edge.

Honing your blade before use is always advised if you're an expert in order to acquire superior cutting results.

On the other hand, sharpening your blade really sharpens the blade by removing metal from the edge.

You can use a number of sharpening implements. There is no other way to achieve real results than by using a sharpening stone.

Simply hold the blade's edge at a 20-degree angle and press down with the other hand to use a sharpening stone. The blade sharpens itself as you move it across the stone.

Should You Wash Your Knife After Honing?

Honing is merely the act of maintaining and adjusting the edge of the blade, and if you use a steel rod, it only loses a very small amount of metal off the edge of the blade.

It is not actually necessary to cleanse the blades if you are only using a steel honing rod.

By honing a knife, you simply realign the edge, whereas by sharpening, you take some metal and make an edge.

How to Clean a Knife After Sharpening?

You can easily clean a knife after sharpening it by following the methods shown below.

1. The blade will have a grey residue on it when sharpening is finished.

2. Use clean water to wash the blade's surface to remove the grey residue.

3. Now remove the residue from the blade with dish soap and honing oil.

4. Using a fresh brush and non-metal scouring pad, thoroughly clean the blade of any remaining metal and debris.

Conclusion

I sincerely hope that this article has helped you understand why knives need to be cleaned after being sharpened. Sharpening the blades is always a secure option, regardless of whether you use an electric knife sharpener or a whetstone.