Some knives make you feel like you forgot how to sharpen. You do the same thing you’ve always done, but the edge won’t bite, it won’t clean up, or it gets sharp for five minutes and then feels dead ...

Most home cooks buy sharpening stones in the wrong order, then wonder why their knives still feel dull after a careful session at the sink. If you understand how grit actually shapes and refines steel ...

—it’s a dull knife. Once that blade is dull, it forces a person to misuse a knife, resulting in problems. Traps don’t get carved right. Meat doesn’t come off the bone of your deer right. And, in ...