Every knife you invest in is bound to lose its sharpness and shine with time. A dull knife is something none of the chefs would prefer to use. Isn’t it!
Do you know? A dull knife is supposed to increase the chances of injuries as they may get dragged, or skip while you cut or chop with them.
Knife sharpeners are being used for ease since ages, but the best professional knife sharpeners are much more modified versions with latest technological developments.
Some of you may prefer manual or some may want an electric one. We have explained five different types of pro knife sharpeners like the electric, manual, honing steels, serrated knife sharpeners, and professional sharpening stones.
Getting confused!!!! Don’t be, as we have the opinion of experts expressed here for making you aware of some of the knife sharpener facts and features that you weren’t aware of….
Contents
- 1 5 Professional Knife Sharpeners: A QUICK COMPARISON
- 2 Professional Electric Knife Sharpeners
- 3 Best Manual/Handheld Sharpeners
- 4 Professional Sharpening Stones
- 5 Professional Sharpening/Honing Steels
- 6 Professional Serrated Knife Sharpeners
- 7 Manual VS. Electric Knife Sharpeners – Which is better?
- 8 How To Select The Perfect Knife Sharpener? - Buying Guide
5 Professional Knife Sharpeners: A QUICK COMPARISON
Compact For Easy Storage
Simple And Easy To Use
Light In Weight
Ergonomic Design
Safe And Versatile
High-Quality And Well-Made
Highly Durable & Long Lasting
For Razor Sharp Knife
Extremely User Friendly
Professional Electric Knife Sharpeners
A 2 or 3 process is being utilized by many of the electric knife sharpeners. This helps in creating, honing, and sharpening the edge of the knife blade. Just after turning on the sharpener the sharpening stones will spin and the knife is drawn through the given slots giving desired sharpness to the blades.
You get a perfect angle by these popular devices which simplify the knife sharpening chores.
★ Premium Choice ★
1. KitchenIQ 50009 Edge Grip 2-Stage Knife Sharpener
This is not less than a work horse in the kitchen. You can use the knife sharpener quickly and easily as a professional chef and sharpen your dull and damaged knives along with everyday maintenance.
Just in a few pulls through the fine slots you can get the desired sharpness. You should work smarter in the kitchen with a sharp knife that certainly speeds up your prep work while you are in the kitchen.
Be it the double-beveled Euro or the American style knives you can sharpen them with ease.
The coarse sharpening slot includes carbide blades that quickly sharpen any sort of blades. The ceramic rods of the fine slots are ideal for polishing and finishing the edge and are perfect for light touch-ups which concern an already sharp knife. The edge grip bottom allows stable sharpening.
Pros:
Unique design sharpens straight edge double-beveled knives
Two stages of sharpening with
Small size and gives big results
Non-slip base for added stability
Carbide blades provide quick edge-setting capabilities
Coarse for damaged and dull knives
Stainless-steel with soft touch accents
Cons:
You need to be careful while sharpening knives
★ Premium Choice ★
2. Chef’sChoice 15 Trizor XV EdgeSelect Pro Electric Sharpener
This is another electric knife sharpener which is loved by professionals world-wide. This works well for converting traditional 20-degree factory edges of professional and household knives into great performing ones.
Automatic adjustment and accurate control of the sharpening angle is enabled by the advanced, patented spring guides.
This owns a 3-stage edge select sharpening system for optimum versatility in providing the perfect edge for each cutting task.
They don’t disturb as the noise is between 65 dB and 75 dB. It sharpens wonderfully and helps to prolong the life of knives. You get ultimate sharpness and effortless cutting. The gadget measures 10 L x 4.25 W x 4.25 H inches approximately and weighs 4.42 pounds.
This comes with a 3-year limited warranty.
Pros:
Ideal for converting traditional knives into high performers
Great for sharpening straight edge and serrated blades
Easy to use with adjustable features
3-stage edge select sharpening system
Precision angle guides
Features simple on/off switch
Cons:
You need to follow the manual strictly
Don’t forget to also check out our guide to the how to use smiths knife sharpener.
Best Manual/Handheld Sharpeners
In output these are similar to electric knife sharpeners and make the sharpening process simple. They feature lesser slots but are extremely durable. These are portable and handy and the professional cooks who are frequently engaged in traveling just love to use these manual operating devices.
According to the design of these sharpeners the operation pattern is decided. These transform the dull knives into perfect cutting form.
★ Best Value ★
1. Priority Chef Knife Sharpener
If your search is for a sharpening tool which possesses high-quality, is reliable, and durable, then you can try this product with confidence.
This offers a two-stage sharpening system that helps you to sharp your blades to razor-sharp finish. Designed for comfort this manual knife sharpener features a non-slip cushion at its bottom enabling an easy grip.
This professional-grade sharpener is a complement for the busy kitchens. This is a device which is safe, versatile, and easy to use which works for all types of high-quality, hard-steel blades.
Just save money on buying new blades as this will recycle your dull stockpile back to life. You get a 100% satisfaction guarantee or a 100% refund keeps you covered.
Pros:
Liked by many professional chef’s
These are stylish, durable, with ergonomic design
This turns dull knife blades to new ones
You get 100% guarantee or money back
Comes in a sleek innovative design
Sharpens to perfection
Cons:
A great option for the ones who prefer manual sharpeners
★ Best Value ★
2. Amesser Handheld Professional Knife Sharpener
This complete 4-stage professional knife sharpener takes care of blades in every way. This takes care of sharpening and honing both and with just few proper pulls at each slot in one direction the knife blade comes out to factory sharpness.
These do the job quickly, safely, effectively, and in an enjoyable manner. With the diamond, tungsten steel, and ceramic rods for fixing coarse sharpening this system works brilliantly.
This sharpening tool is designed to fit in small space like drawers or kitchen cabinets. This comes with an ergonomic handle and the slip-resistant mat offers a secure, stable, and confident-inspiring grip. Even a cut-resistant comes for added safety.
Even a cut-resistant comes for added safety. This is strong durable and designed to last a lifetime. You get it in a careful well-wrapped package that keeps it away from any breakages.
Pros:
Provides a razor-sharp edge in seconds
Easy-to-use sharpener
Compact size sharpening tool
Ambidextrous in nature
A stylish edition to your knife collection
Comes in well-wrapped box
Cons:
Not suitable for knives which are extremely dull
Learn More About How To Sharpen Scissors
Professional Sharpening Stones
Using sharpening stones is probably the oldest and the commonest ways to sharpen your dull and damaged knives. There are 3-most common materials used:
- Novaculite
- Aluminum Oxide
- Silicon Carbide
These Arkansas stones are natural and the other one known as Crystolon are man-made. Some of these stones come with diamond abrasives to get the optimal cutting edge.
★ Best Overall ★
1. Sharp Pebble Premium Whetstone Knife Sharpening Stone
This complete knife sharpening kit includes superior quality whetstone, bamboo base for holding the stone, along with guides and manual.
This is highly durable, long-lasting, and designed to sharpen any blade out there. This can be put to multi-purpose use and can sharpen any butcher knife, paring knife, cleaver knife, sushi knife, chisel, straight razor, pocket knife, scissors, or even an axe.
The safety feature stays well covered as this comes with a Silicone base for holding the stone inside. The non-slip bamboo base ensures that the stone is fixed in one place while sharpening the blade.
The sharpening kit is extremely user-friendly and easy to assemble and can be easily cleaned by using water as for sharpening it uses water. Be it the professionals or the home chefs this tool comes with unparalleled performance and quality.
Pros:
This is a complete knife sharpening kit
Highly durable and long-lasting pro knife sharpener
Versatile knife sharpener can be put to multi-purpose use
Non-slip bamboo base
Cons:
Would be great if customer support was a bit better
Professional Sharpening/Honing Steels
The primary objective of a knife sharpening steel is to hone a knife blade. This is possible through certain cuts or styles. The cuts are mostly regular, diamond, ceramic, and combination.
You need to match your knife for sharpening steel in order to get best results as these are specifically designed so by the manufacturers.
★ Most Recommended ★
1. Kota Japan 12 in. Diamond Carbon Steel Professional Knife Sharpener Rod
The brand Kota Japan is well-renowned for producing some of the best diamond sharpening tools. This features diamond electroplating, state-of-the-art manufacturing for precision kitchen, home or hunting blade sharpening.
This just turns the dull knives and tools into new with a razor-sharp finish. The knife sharpener rod is designed to ensure higher sharpening efficiency.
This is certainly a pleasing and attractive addition to your kitchen or work area and the ergonomic handle is designed for aesthetics and practicality.
You get the finest quality sharpening products at an affordable price. The knife is 100% tested and comes with an impressive lifetime guarantee by the manufacturer.
Pros:
State-of-the-art manufacturing
Oval shaped
Feature an ergonomic handle
Attractive elegant design
Comes with unconditional life-time guarantee
Cons:
Liked by the users with no cons as such
The right wat to hone should be strictly adhered to
Professional Serrated Knife Sharpeners
As serrated knives are uniquely shaped, so it could be difficult to sharpen them with a stone. Be it the manual or the electric knife sharpeners both could damage your serrated knife.
There are knife sharpeners that are especially designed to accommodate serrated blades and this is probably mentioned in the product details that whether the sharpener is suitable for serrated knives or not.
★ Most Recommended ★
1. Zulay Premium Quality Knife Sharpener -Straight/Serrated Knives
You can revive, restore, and fine tune your serrated knives with this amazing tool. This handheld 2-stage sharpener is the easiest and fastest way to restore the sharp, shiny edge that is much needed by your knives for top performance.
You can put a fresh edge on the dullest knife and it takes just a few swipes to experience beautifully sharpened knives. The coarse slot revives dull or damaged blades while the blade to honed and polished to perfection with the ceramic slot.
The non-slip padded bottom keeps the sharpener steady on any surface and the smart design snuggles comfortably in any drawer or counter top.
It will more fun when you slice, mince, chop, and more with a knife that has adequate sharpness. Even the decade-old knives can be revived with this versatile sharpener in few seconds. You get 100% satisfaction guaranteed or money back offer by the manufacturer.
Pros:
Revives, restores, and fine tune your knives
This saves your time, money, and efforts
Sharpens the dullest serrated knives
Smart design that can fit in any drawer or counter top
100% satisfaction guarantee or money back
Cons:
A great one in this category with no cons as such
Manual VS. Electric Knife Sharpeners – Which is better?
Selecting the best knife sharpener is a matter of personal choice. Though owning both is not a bad option but you may like to settle for one of them. But there is always a criterion of selection:
1. What is your knife type?
2. What is your preferred price range?
3. Which one you prefer? A compact and portable knife sharpener or a one with more features.
Let us take a quick look at the features of both and see which is better than the other:
1. Manual Knife Sharpeners
- They require skill and offer less chances to thin out the blade much.
- Ability to sharpen knives by hand.
- Compact and enable easy portability.
- Good for quick touch-up.
- Better price point.
2. Electric Knife Sharpeners
- Extremely convenient to use.
- Require minimal efforts by the user as compared to the manual ones.
- Designed to be intuitive.
- Offer more features and functions as compared to the manual knife sharpeners.
- Premium quality sharpeners.
Bottom Line
The electric knife sharpeners are much easy-to-use but may thin the metal of the knife if used unmonitored. On the other hand, the manual knife sharpeners are easy to carry and preferred by pro cooks who travel a lot. As far as the features are concerned none can beat the latest designed electric knife sharpeners. Still, the choice is yours and choose the one you like the most and ensure that the abrasive used is of high-quality.
How To Select The Perfect Knife Sharpener? - Buying Guide
Since it is about knife sharpening, utmost care needs to be taken as any wrong move could lead to injuries or cuts.
These sharpeners could appear simple and easy to use but the adequate knowledge to find the right product is a must.
Features and factors that will describe a good knife sharpener:
The Knife Sharpener Type
Before you select the knife sharpener you need to ensure the type of knife sharpener you choose. Above we have mentioned about different types of knife sharpeners such as the electric, manual, stones, honing steels, and serrated knife sharpeners. You should select the type according to your preference and knife blade type.
Base Material and Handle Quality
The base material and handle should be sturdy and durable to ensure proper performance of the sharpener. Low-grade material can ditch you anytime so prefer plastic based fiber which will ensure good support while you undertake the sharpening process.
Bevel Types
The shape of the knife blade will further dictate your decision of picking the right professional knife sharpener. It is also dependent on one thing: how strong and sharp you expect your knife blade to be. The common types of the bevels are:
Convex Bevel
Chisel Bevel
Double Bevel
Flat Bevel
Hollow Bevel
Sabre Bevel
Sharp And Smooth Edge
Any of the knife blades should never be over sharpened as this may break or damage the knife blade. This will reduce the life-span of the blade too. Ensure that the sharpener you select doesn’t over sharpen it and rather sharpens the blade evenly.
The Grinding Edge Material
This is available in three types:
Diamond Rod: Grit rating of over 1000, gives a smoother finish despite a sharper one.
Ceramic: Metal blades can be sharpened with it easily.
Tungsten Steel:Most blunt knives can be handled with this.
Before you take the decision of buying a professional knife sharpener then you can pick one like the above mentioned or go for a combination of either of them.
Stage System
As we have mentioned in the knife sharpener details that they offer different stages for sharpening purposes. Your blade sharpening requirement and stages tend to vary and the selection should be done accordingly. Let us see what the stages offer:
Stage1: This is for sharpening a really blunt knife.
Stage2: This helps in dealing with any nicks or scratches on the knife blade.
Stage3:This stage caters to immediate sharpening and knife usage.
Stage System
Each side of the blade is sharpened according to the angle specifications of the knife blade. We can take an example here when a blade is sharpened at a 20-degree angle then the total angle of 40-degrees is what the knife blade possesses.
Needless to mention, some of the knives come with a 15-degree angle while most of them have a 20-degree angle. The knife blades with greater angles make a stronger and more durable blade but increasing the angle makes you lose sharpness.
When its angle of sharpening then, place them properly in the slots according to the knife sharpener type. The electric (have motors) and manual knife sharpeners have slots while the stones and honing steels lack this.
Wrapping Things
Bring life to your lifeless knives with the best professional-grade knife sharpener. We have tried our best to put the things in best way for you.
Whichever type of knife sharpener you choose, just go for the one with superior features and high-quality performance. You need not spend a fortune for owning a knife sharpener and sharpening/homing already used knives is way better than investing in a new knife or set of them. Hope you all agree!!
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. Can I Sharpen Scissors Using A Knife Sharpener?
Ans 1. Some of the knife sharpeners may offer you the facility of sharpening scissors too. But it is recommended to use sharpeners that are designed for scissors as sharpening craft scissors with a knife sharpener may lead to rough edges or unwanted burrs.
Q2. Can A Professional Knife Sharpener Cause Damage To Knives?
Ans 2. A professional knife sharpener is designed to make the sharpening process easy and comfy. But if you use it aggressively and over sharpen then you may end-up in damaging your knives for sure. Electric ones may thin the blade too much and the manual ones may lead to chip-offs if overused. The rule of the thumb is that handling is important.
Q3. How Often Should One Sharpen A Knife Sharpener?
Ans 3. It depends on how much you use the knives in routine. For the knives which are rarely used in a year, three to four times of sharpening is enough. The knives which you tend to use regularly should be sharpened as soon as they turn dull.
Carbon steel or stainless-steel knives may require sharpening after every use.
Q4. Can One Knife Sharpener Be Used For Every Knife Blade?
Ans 4. The answer is ‘No’, one knife sharpener is not suitable for sharpening all blades. Knife blades are different and the knife sharpeners also offer varied features (slots/stages etc.) hence, accordingly you should select a knife sharpener. Though some of the sharpeners can be put to multi-purpose use also.
