What is the Best Way to Sharpen Bowie Knives?

If you own a Bowie knife, you'll certainly want to know how to sharpen that blade. While Bowie knives are certainly larger than most other types of knife, sharpening them is really not very different. In fact, you will be able to use the same whetstone as you use for many other types of blades.

First, you'll need to determine what angle the blade is currently sharpened at. This is an important consideration, as changing the angle will have detrimental effects on your sharpening. Most sharpening systems (commercial gadgets) have variable angle adjustments (at least a couple of different angles).

How do you sharpen Bowie knives? First, you'll need to purchase a whetstone (or the aforementioned all-in-one system). The size of the stone is actually up to you. However, you will need to make sure that it is comfortable in your hand. You will also need to determine what sort of lubricant to use. Some knife owners prefer to use oil, while others prefer water only. Some knife owners actually don't use any type of lubricant, but clean the stone between each sharpening with either an abrasive cleaner or a strong chemical cleanser (this will depend on whether you choose a synthetic whetstone or one made of real stone).

Once you have your sharpening system purchased, you will need to know how to sharpen that bade. Bowie knives are quite large, so the best way to sharpen your blade is actually to grind it in circles, down the length of the blade (heel to toe). Make sure that you are able to hold the blade at the correct angle while doing this, or your knife will not take a good edge. The angle is quite important; the entire reason for purchasing an all-in-one sharpening system is so that you don't have to guess at the angle of the blade to the whetstone.

Once you have ground down one side of the blade and raised a burr, you will need to flip the knife over and grind the other side. This will raise a burr all the way down the blade (including the tip of the blade). Once the burr has been raised, you should use a fine whetstone or a strop to remove the burr and reveal the true edge of the blade. Further stropping or honing will polish the edges, as well.