Whether it's referred to as a 'single bevel' or a 'chisel grind', we often get the questions of 'how do I sharpen it?' Luckily, sharpening these types of blades are easy and straight-forward.
Since there's a bevel on only 1 side of the knife, all the work will happen on only one side. So find your angle and sweet spot on the side with the bevel. Then work on creating a burr. Once you have the burr formed you will continue going through to your finishing point. At this point, you'll have a large burr on the side without a bevel. To remove it, simply run a strop or a very fine Diamond Stone flat against the burr to knock it off. That's it! You've sharpened your chisel ground blade.
Things to Remember:
- Chisel grounds are most notably found on Japanese kitchen knives. This grind helps to steer the knife through the material you're cutting and really shines when cutting through tough ingredients (like carrots) or very delicate items, such as fish.
- The beveled side should be on your dominate side. So if you're right-handed, the bevel should be on the right side when the knife is in use. Lefties should have the bevel on the left side of the blade.
- There are certain knife manufacturers who make chisel grind blades. Emerson is probably the most prolific. Always check your blade before you first sharpen to see if it's single beveled.