How To: Sharpen a knife on a Triple Oil Stone

sumaps2 describes how to sharpen a knife using a triple oil stone. The stone itself consists of three stones: a coarse stone, a medium coarse stone, and a fine stone. First, you must place the stone in a reservoir which has been filled with oil. In this example, transmission fluid is used because of its ability to keep metal from binding to the stone. However, you must be extra careful in washing the knives afterwards. All your knives can be sharpened with the triple oil stone, from your paring to your boning knife. The key to using the stone is to use the full stone, not just the middle. Then you start from one corner of the coarse stone and place the tip of your knife blade almost flat against the stone. Draw the knife all the way across to the opposite corner. Then repeat using the other two corners. Repeat this about 30 times on each side. Use a paper towel to wipe off the oil. Move to the medium stone and raise the blunt edge of the knife about 10 degrees higher than before. Again, draw the knife across the stone from corner to corner, repeating 30 times on each side. Finally, move to the fine stone and angle the knife at about 15 degrees. Repeat 30 times on each side again. To finish the knife, a steel is used. Set your thumb in the thumb guard groove as you hold the steel. Then set the bottom of the blade flat against the steel and draw it down counter-clockwise while the hand holding the steel stays steady. The knife should be sharp enough to shave the hairs off of your arm. Lastly, don't forget to wash your knives with warm, soapy water to remove all the oil.