The
maintenance of a knife
, whether Japanese or not, requires specific equipment, the learning of precise know-how and above all a lot of patience.
Learn sharpening techniques
The techniques presented during this workshop come straight from Japan.
Marina Menini, our host and teacher for the next few hours, is a cutlery consultant and specialist in knife sharpening.
She spent a lot of time in the company of master blacksmiths to know from start to finish the secrets of making Japanese knives, recognized throughout the world for the quality of their design and the finesse of their cut.
Marina begins by detailing the course of her course during which I will learn the BA-BA of stone sharpening.
The objective is to know the right gestures and the use of the stones.
But before getting to work, a bit of history and, above all, a little "blackboard" session are needed to understand the design of a blade, the different assemblies of metals used, the techniques used. …
Read alsoHow to place the fork on the table?
Each knife has its type of sharpening
Cutlery
Go to slideshow (9)
After the theory, place to practice… But it's not my turn yet.
Marina begins by showing me the right things to do.
She explains to me that sharpening a knife by hand can take from several hours to several days, even weeks.
Everything depends on the state of wear of its blade, the use made of it (cutting fish or meat), the type of steel used in its manufacture, but also on certain specificities specific to each owner.
For example, the sharpening is not the same for a left-hander or for a right-hander.
Read alsoLaguiole knives sharpen their weapons
To each stone its function
The stone is not chosen according to the type of steel of the blade, but according to its state of deterioration.
The more work there is to do, the more material to remove to regain the edge, the thicker the grain.
There are three main categories of stones classified by level of abrasiveness: coarse grains (from 200 to 600 microns), medium (from 600 to 3,000 microns) and fine (from 3,000 to more than 10,000 microns) for finishing and polishing.
The price of a stone ranges from a few tens of euros to more than a hundred.
Sharpening a knife: meticulous work
So I start working on the knife I brought.
Marina shows me how to place my fingers on the blade, what pressure to exert on it to perform small back-and-forth motions on the stone, what angle to adopt so that it is perfectly positioned there... It's a succession of many ultra-precise gestures which must be carried out with a certain muscular relaxation and flexibility, otherwise you will tire very quickly.
A much more complicated exercise than it seems!
Read also“Squid Game”: Laguiole knives spotted in the hit Netflix series
Is sharpening really effective?
Marina explains to me that a knife is a bit like a pencil: when the lead is broken or blunt, it has to be sharpened.
So that's what I'm trying to do.
The part in contact with the stone does not measure more than 2 cm… Suffice to say that I have work ahead of me!
After 45 minutes of sharpening, I confess to feeling like I haven't done much.
However, by running her finger over the blade, Marina shows me that this is not the case, that the sharpened area has indeed regained its edge.
Read alsoUpside down bread, crossed knives, spilled wine… When superstitions come to the table
Balance sheet
This workshop is fascinating, very rich in information and technical know-how.
Marina is a real well of science.
She knows her subject like the back of her hand.
Watching her proceed during her demonstration, I was very far from imagining that sharpening a knife could be so complex, and that there were so many parameters to take into account.
It is above all necessary to be armed with a lot of patience to practice this art.
