KORIN Japanese Trading
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  • KNIVES & STONES
      NEW KNIVES & ACCESSORIES RARE & LIMITED KNIVES KNIFE SETS
      WESTERN KNIFE BRANDS
      • Togiharu
      • Korin
      • Misono
      • Suisin
      • Masamoto Sohonten
      • Nenox
      • Masanobu
      • Glestain
      WESTERN KNIFE STYLES
      • Gyutou | Chef
      • Santoku | All Purpose
      • Sujihiki | Slicer
      • Yo-Deba | Butcher
      • Boning Knife
      • Nakiri | Vegetable
      • Petty
      • Peeling & Paring
      • Sole Knife
      • Salmon Slicer
      • Pastry & Bread Knife
      • Chinese Style Cleaver
      • Child's Knife
      • Fruit Knife
      TRADITIONAL JAPANESE BRANDS
      • Korin
      • Kochi
      • Masamoto Sohonten
      • Suisin
      • Nenohi
      TRADITIONAL JAPANESE KNIFE STYLES
      • Yanagi
      • Kiritsuke
      • Takobiki
      • Deba
      • Mioroshi Deba
      • Usuba
      • Fugubiki
      • Sushikiri
      • Menkiri
      • Maguro Knife
      SHARPENING STONES & ACCESSORIES
      • Rough Stones & Diamond Stones
      • Medium Stones
      • Fine Stones
      • Two-Sided Stones
      • Stones Fixers
      • Sharpening Stones Bases
      • Honing Steels
      KNIFE ACCESSORIES
      • Knife Bags & Stands
      • Knife Care
      • Knife Saya Covers
  • KITCHENWARE
      NEW KITCHENWARE
      APPLIANCES
      • Rice Cookers, Warmers & Containers
      • Sushi Neta Cases, Refrigerators & Accessories
      • Super Freezers & Freezers
      • Sake Warmers, Towel Warmers, Tabletop Stoves, Roasters, Air Pots & Carafes
      • Sushi Robots
      COOKWARE
      • Hot Pots
      • Cooking Pots, Pans & Woks
      • Steamers & Stainless Molds
      DISPOSABLE ITEMS
      KITCHEN TOOLS
      • Rice Mixing Tubs, Containers & Spatulas
      • Tweezers, Clam Openers, Scalers, Meuchis & Moribashi Plating Chopsticks
      • Graters, Mortars, Pestle & Grinders
      • Sieve, Strainers & Colanders
      • Cooking Chopsticks, Ladles & Spatulas
      • Vegetable, Rice & Ice Molds
      • Pickle Makers
      • Disposable Food Prepware
      • Disposable Food Decor
      • Mandolins, Vegetable Turners & Slicers
      • Peelers, Cutters, Shavers, Scissors & Fruit knives
      • Stainless Trays, Containers & Brushes
      CUTTING BOARDS UNIFORMS CLEANING PRODUCTS COOKBOOKS
  • SUSHI BAR
      SUSHI APPLIANCES
      • Rice Cookers, Warmers & Containers
      • Sushi Neta Cases, Refrigerators & Accessories
      • Super Freezers & Freezers
      • Sake Warmers, Towel Warmers, Tabletop Stoves, Roasters, Air Pots & Carafes
      • Sushi Robots
      SUSHI TOOLS
      • Sushi Mats / Makisu
      • Rice Mixing Tubs, Containers & Spatulas
      • Tweezers, Clam Openers, Scalers, Meuchis & Moribashi Plating Chopsticks
      • Graters & Scrapers
      • Sauce, Condiments Containers & Brushes
      • Sushi Disposables
      • Rice Molds & Presses
      SUSHI SERVEWARE CUTTING BOARDS UNIFORMS SUSHI COOKBOOKS
      FEATURED ITEM

      Made of a soft polyvinyl acetate material, reduces the impact of the knife minimizing stress to not only your knife but to your hand as well. With a non-slip surface the cutting board allows for precise and accurate cuts!

  • RAMEN BAR
      RAMEN BOWLS RAMEN SPOONS & LADLES CHOPSTICKS RAMEN COOKING TOOLS
  • TABLEWARE
      NEW TABLEWARE TABLEWARE COLLECTIONS MELAMINEWARE
      PLATES
      • Ceramic Plates - Small (Under 6.75")
      • Ceramic Plates - Medium (6.8" - 12.75")
      • Ceramic Plates - Large (Over 13")
      • Glass Plates
      BOWLS
      • Ceramic Bowls - Small (Under 6")
      • Ceramic Bowls - Large (Over 6.25")
      • Lidded Ceramic Bowls
      • Wooden & Melamine Bowls
      • Glass & Stainless Steel Bowls
      SAUCE POTS & DISHES
      • Sauce Pots & Condiment Containers
      • Sauce Dishes
      CHOPSTICKS & FLATWARE
      • Chopsticks
      • Disposable Chopsticks
      • Chopstick Rests
      • Spoons, Forks & Ladles
      BENTO BOXES
      • Wooden Bento Boxes
      • Plastic & Lacquer Bento Boxes
      TRAYS & TABLEMATS TABLETOP COOKWARE
      • Hot Pots
      • Tabletop Stoves
      TEAWARE
      • Cast Iron, Ceramic & Melamine Teapots
      • Teacups & Teas
      • Teaware Accessories & Trivets
      BOOKS MENU HOLDERS GIFT IDEAS DECOR & IKEBANA FURNITURE SPECIAL ORDER
  • GRILLWARE
      KONRO GRILLS, NETS & BASES BINCHOTAN CHARCOAL & ACCESSORIES SMOKER POTS & SMOKEWOOD ISHIYAKI STONES & STEAK PANS GRILLING SKEWERS & CEDAR PAPER
      FEATURED ITEM

      White binchotan is chemical free, almost smoke free, and burns three times hotter than American charcoal for up to 4-5 hours. The incredibly high heat preserves the flavorful juices and adds a beautiful sear!

      GRILLING GUIDE

      New to Japanese grilling and don't know where to start?
      Check out out grilling item suggestions!

  • BARWARE
      KORIN STEMWARE COLLECTION ROCK GLASSES AND GLASS CUPS SAKE CUPS & BOTTLES SAKE & WINE BUCKETS HANDCRAFTED BARWARE SAKE WARMERS
      FEATURED BARWARE

      Elegant & Break-Resistant Glasses

  • SERVICES
      KNIFE SERVICES
      • Western Initial Sharpening
      • Uraoshi Sharpening
      • Complimentary Services
      • Sharpening & Repair
      • Left Handed Conversions
      • Custom Knife Engraving
      • Knife Demonstrations
      GENERAL SERVICES
      • Korin Membership Program
      • Gift Wrapping
      • Gift Cards
      • Custom Chopsticks
      THE JOY OF GIFTING

      Not quite sure what to get from Korin for your loved ones? Put a smile on their face with a Korin gift card!

      KORIN INDUSTRY MEMBERSHIP PROGRAM

      Are you a chef? A culinary student? Or a cook? Then you're eligible to join our program for free!

      Save 10% off Knives | 10% off knife accessories | 5% off tableware | 5% off kitchenware | 20% off knife services & more!

      Sign up today either online or in-store!

  • SALE
      ALL ITEMS KNIVES TABLEWARE KITCHENWARE

Sharpening

Sharpening

Many sushi chefs sharpen their precious knives at the end of each work day. Edge life versus ease of sharpening - it is up to you to balance these considerations and choose an appropriate knife. However, you should choose a knife that matches your level of sharpening experience and meets your needs. If you are inexperienced with Japanese knives and water stones, try to choose a knife that is easier for you to sharpen.

Why so much sharpening?

All knives must be continually worked against a water stone to be used at their fullest potential. As you familiarize yourself with the stone and knife, you may begin to change the bevel based on your needs.

When should I sharpen?

Ideally, you should sharpen the knife right out of the box. This will produce the strongest edge and is especially necessary for traditional Japanese knives. We recommend that customers sharpen their knives before they become too dull. Sharpening a very dull knife will require much more time. Stones can be fragile and should never be over-soaked. Over-soaking will decrease the stone’s quality and make sharpening more difficult. After sharpening, wipe clean and allow to air dry. It is preferable to store stones in a dry towel. Returning a wet stone to its cardboard box can lead to mold growth, which can weaken the stone resulting in cracking or separation.

Knife Sharpening

  1. Soak or splash with water.
  2. Put stone on wet cloth or base to stabilize while sharpening.
  3. Hold knife with your index finger resting on spine and thumb on flat of blade, and three remaining fingers grasp handle.
  4. Start with knife tip. Use two or three fingers of left hand to press edge of blade to stone.
  5. Keep a firm grip on the knife, with shoulders square to the stone and upper body relaxed. Press edge of blade to stone and push along stone, exerting pressure as you move forward and releasing pressure as you return blade to starting position.
  6. Repeat this procedure, pressing the edge closely to the stone and sharpening a bit of the edge at a time until you feel a slight, even burr along the entire edge.
  7. Once you have a burr, reverse the blade. Start with the tip. Exert more pressure on the downward stroke and remove burr, or establish a double-sided edge if desired.

Japanese-Style Knives (Yanagi, Takobiki, Usuba, Kamagata Usuba, Deba Knives)

  1. Sharpen the entire cutting edge until there is a slight and even burr on the reverse side.
  2. Place the blade perpendicular to and flat against the stone. Remove the burr with your middle and index finger gently pressing the edge to the stone and your thumb gently pressing the spine. Pressing both sides of the blade preserves the slightly concave shape of the reverse side of the blade and helps make future sharpening possible. Think of the motion as if you are "pushing" water off the stone.
  3. Flip the blade over again and sharpen the shinogi line by moving your fingers away from the edge and pressing just below the middle of the blade. For optimum performance, it is very important to preserve the original shinogi line.

Western-Style Knives

  1. Note the angle of knife to stone while sharpening.
  2. Angle the knife to establish the cutting edge. A 10º-20º angle is suggested. A smaller angle will make a sharper, but weaker cutting edge. You can use two pennies to gauge an approximately 12º angle. Use this trick to help measure a consistent angle until you feel confident in sharpening.

Please also visit our youtube channel as our knife sharpeners teach their viewers on how to sharpen western style & traditional japanese style knives!

Grits of Sharpening Stones
Grits of Sharpening Stones
   
HISTORY OF JAPANESE KNIFE CRAFTING ABOUT TRADITIONAL JAPANESE STYLE KNIVES ABOUT WESTERN STYLE KNIVES ABOUT KNIFE CRAFTING ABOUT KNIFE CARE ABOUT KNIFE SHARPENING ABOUT ELEMENTS OF STEELS KORIN YOUTUBE CHANNEL
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Contact Us: 1-800-626-2172 | Store Hours - Weekdays: 10am-7pm (EST) Saturday: 10am-7pm (EST)

Location: 57 Warren Street, New York, NY 10007

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