There are many methods to sharpen a cleaver. Can you tell us how to sharpen a cleaver with a wet stone and a butcher’s steel? What are some of the things that we need to be careful when performing the sharpening process?
We will be talking about using a wet stone to sharpen a cleaver since it is the most economical and safe way to sharpen your cleaver. And later, we’ll talk about using a butcher’s steel. You should be careful when you’re handling your cleaver because it will be sharp. If you have not accustomed to sharpen any object or tool, please work with someone who has done so. We don’t want any accident here.
Here are the materials that you need; 1) a kitchen counter, 2) a torn cloth or towel about 1 x 1 ft. in size, 3) a small bowl to hold one cup of water, 4) of course, a Chinese cleaver, 5) a wet stone, it’s a piece of stone block with a coarse and fine gray surfaces. It is also known as sharpening stone. It comes in 8-10 inches in length with a coarse grit surface and on the other side, a fine grit. A common sized stone block with a fine surface would be 8 inches long by 2 inches wide and 1 inch thick. This is what you need to do in preparing the stone before sharpening the cleaver.
Put the bowl of water close to the wet stone. Place a dirty cloth on a sturdy table surface. Use a surface that is relatively permanent like a kitchen counter. Do not use a setting table since you will be moving your body away from the cleaver, and you could possibly cut yourself. Place your wet stone on the dirty cloth facing lengthwise or perpendicular to the edge of your kitchen counter. Place your cleaver just next to the wet stone on the table and the cleaver should be lengthwise of the wet stone.
The blade would be facing left r the right based on whether you are left-handed or right-handed. Now, prepare to sharp the cleaver on the top flat surface of the stone. The cleaver should be lying nearly flat or parallel with the table. For maximum effectiveness in sharpening, position the cleaver on top of the wet stone angled at 20 degrees. With one hand, move the cleaver back and forth along the length of your stone to slowly sharpen the cleaver. Do this four to five times.
After sharpening one side of the cleaver, turn the cleaver over leaving the same angle. Do this four to five times. It takes a little practice to get the blade just right. Now, you are ready to do all types of cutting.
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