Introduction: Whetstone Knife Sharpener Holder Thingie
I will show you a quick and simple whetstone bridge that I made in my spare time. A whetstone bridge is used to keep your whetstone in place when sharpening your knife. This was kludged together in literally no time at all.
Step 1: The Inspiration
I was inspired when watching this video on how to sharpen a knife yesterday. In the video the guy had a chunk of wood over his sink. The piece of wood served as a holder for his whetstone. It was convenient because any water that was splashed around would shed right off and into the sink. The wood also served as a nice brace so you are not chasing your whetstone all over the counter.
Yes, not all of you will agree with his sharpening method but I will address that later.
Step 2: Work With What You Have
I had an old chunk of wood in the garage that was about 28" by 8". I think it's pine, I have no idea, Its wood, that's the extent of my woodworking knowledge.
I cut off 5" from it's total length and then glued it on top.
Step 3: Make It Fit
I measured to make sure the wood pushed up against my sink faucet, but was also no too long as to smoosh my gnards when sharpening.
Step 4: Add Some Flair
The board I was using was pretty wide. It was double the width of the one the guy in the video was using. For reasons I do not know I left it at the full 8" width and plunge cut some slats with my circular saw in the board to let water through.
Step 5: Finish HIM!!
I ran a belt sander on all the edges and then stained it with some leftover stain I had. I wasn't really going for a finished look, i just knew the stain I used had a sealer in it so I thought it might protect this a bit.
Step 6: How to Use This Chunk of Poorly Stained Wood.
The inspiration for this chunk of wood was in this video. Many people will say that you should never run water constantly over your whetstone when sharpening because you are washing away some of the abrasive. This makes sense so I don't run the water full time, but it does come in handy for cleanup.
Step 7: Other Methods of Sharpening
ChefSteps also has a very good video on how to sharpen. I suggest you watch a few videos from various sources to develop your own opinions and technique.
Step 8: Get a Whetstone and Start Sharpening Foo
All work and no play makes Jack a dull knife....
No, I think I have that quote wrong somehow.
Anyhow, if you are not sharpening your knives often you are more likely to cut yourself. Dull knives are a good way to accidentally lop a finger off so keep them sharp. In-between sharpening you should hone your knife as well.
Need a whetstone? I grabbed one from Amazon but you get them loads of places starting at about 20$ ish.