If you are using a steel sharpener, you have to start with the base of the knife being at the base of the steel sharpener and then move your hands away from each other in such a way that the blade slides on the steel sharpener towards its tip. When you reach the tip, you should see that the blades tip is also on the tip of the sharpener. This is the kind of stroke that is to be applied when you are using a steel sharpener. These methods that are used to sharpen your knives are manually done. It is found that the wear and tear of the knife is more when it is done manually. Hence some people prefer to use a grinding stone which is machine operated.