When sharpening a knife, what exactly does honing do?
In: Engineering
Honing is used for softer steels, and especially thin blades. This makes it very applicable to western kitchen knives. The edge of the blade will bend or fold, so that the cutting edge is no longer directed towards what you’re cutting. Honig it straightens it out. This is less of an issue with a thicker blade since it’s stronger, so you won’t see someone honing a wood carving knife.
Asian, and especially japanese knives, are typically made with much harder steels. They won’t bend like that, and can be much sharper as a result. Instead, they’ll chip as they wear. Honing a chipped edge does nothing to fix it. It must be sharpened on a whetstone.
You mentioned stropping. Stropping can be considered a simultaneous sharpening and honing, and very mild. The leather tugs on the blade which removes burrs and can somewhat realign the edge. What many don’t know is that a strop also has a polishing compound in it, which acts as a very fine whetstone.
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