This advice on buying and maintaining water stones (a.k.a. wet stones or sharpening stones) and, more importantly, actually using them comes from J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, the food science geek who ...

“That means the stone has absorbed enough water.” But as Ito points out, high-end Japanese knives “oxidize quickly if wet, so they need to constantly be wiped down and polished.” ...

The King Whetstone Starter Set includes a single water stone with 1,000- and 6,000-grit sides. This level of abrasion is adequate for maintaining even the dullest knives, though a coarser option ...

However, with this style of sharpening stone, you'd position the knife's blade over the edge of a table, then run the wet stone over the blade at a 15 to 20-degree angle until sharp.

Chef Ryan Schmidtberger of Hancock St. in New York says he always recommends getting two stones for sharpening knives, “one in 1,000 grit and a second in either 4,000 or 6,000 grit depending on ...

Our stone was 1,000 grit on the coarser side and 6,000 on the finer side—perfect for sharpening and polishing a dull knife. But again, you’ll need something coarser to restore anything with a ...