THE FIRST SHARPENING & STROPPING

Your Japanese knife may feel sharp out of the box — and it is — but the first proper sharpening and regular stropping are what unlock its true performance.

This isn’t about fixing a dull knife. It’s about refining the edge and setting it up for years of consistent cutting.

Most Japanese knives arrive with a serviceable factory edge, but that edge is intentionally conservative. The steel hasn’t yet been fully shaped to your cutting style, board choice, or technique.

Your first sharpening allows you to:

For most users, a 1000-grit whetstone is the ideal starting point. It’s coarse enough to shape the edge properly, yet fine enough to leave a clean, usable finish. Light, controlled pressure is key — let the stone do the work.

Once sharpened, the knife will feel noticeably more precise, controlled, and confident on the board.

Stropping is one of the most overlooked parts of knife care — and one of the most effective.

A strop (leather, denim, or even newspaper) doesn’t remove much steel. Instead, it:

Used regularly, stropping can dramatically extend the time between full sharpenings. A few light strokes per side before or after a session is often all that’s needed.

One of the biggest mistakes new knife owners make is over-sharpening. Japanese knives are designed to be maintained, not constantly re-ground.

Think of sharpening as edge setting, and stropping as edge preservation.

With the right balance, your knife will stay sharper for longer — and improve with age.