razor sharp knives are hot

so the first lesson you learn about using a kitchen knife is that a sharp knife is better than a dull knife. dull knives leading to slippage and the a lot more cuts and accidents. i've had my fair share of cuts over the years because the knives in my mother's kitchen are almost all dull (except the one decent knife i had professionally sharpened so i could have something decent to use).

but now that i have my shun chef's knife... i wanted to make sure i could keep it super super sharp. i got it over winter break (a christmas present to myself) along with a honing stick to help maintain its edge. but i didn't get a sharpening stone - since it would be a while before the knife would lose its edge enough that it'd need one.

fast forward 3.5 months and the the knife is still sharp, but not as sharp as it was when i first got it. so i got a 1000/6000 grit waterstone. it's made in japan and the 1000 grit side (think sandpaper but more like clay than a coarse grit like sand) is used to get it reasonably sharp and the 6000 side gives it a mirror like finish and super sharpness.

after soaking the stone in water for 10 minutes (that's why it's called a waterstone), it took less than 10 minutes to get the knife sharp enough to cut through a piece of paper with ease. i think i could get it a little sharper with some practice, but still i think once a month of sharpening will keep my knives sharp. and sharp knives are hot.