It’s very important to keep any cutting tool, be that a chef knife, chisel or plane blade sharpened. A sharper tool requires a lot less effort to use requiring less strength and gives both a better finish and greater control. This improves both the experience of using it and safety.

Our friends at Hitohira Japanese knives produced this great video on knife honing

One thing we don’t recommend on our knives is the use of a steel sharpening rod. These are very aggressive and should only be used on the knives you don’t care about. A more modern and safer for the knife version is to use one with a ceramic rod.