12 Best Knife Sharpeners (Review) In 2021

It’s high time you keep those high carbon stainless steel knives sharp as a tack, so let’s help you figure out which one of these knife sharpeners is going to be the best fit for you. We’ll take a look at features to be on the lookout for, how we chose our selection, and answer your burning questions in the process, leaving no stone unturned.

How We Choose Our Selection of Knife Sharpeners

Brand - Brands play a decent role here, at least when it comes to higher-end models with diamond edges, and actually patching through to reliable, helpful customer service specialists. Going with a trusted brand is also going to ensure your product through money-back guarantees and extended warranties, all while doing their best to deliver a product that won’t even require you to evoke that warranty.

Reviews - User reviews help point us in a direction to create a shortlist of products to purchase and test. There are hundreds of different knife sharpeners out there, but when you go through thousands of reviews to pick out the good from the bad, you learn a thing or two. User reviews essentially create a preliminary stage for us.

Effectiveness - What good is a knife sharpener that isn’t effective? For this, we looked at the edge material, and tested them against different blades, each made of various materials and featuring a multitude of edge bevel shapes. You want it to be effective without taking too much time.

Control - For electric knife sharpeners, it means not skidding across the countertop when you try to sharpen your blades. For handheld units, it means having the right angle and control capabilities (usually depending on materials) to keep it in place, and get an effective sharp edge to your knife. Learning how to control your unit can take a few attempts, but the unit itself must be controllable to be a viable purchase.

Versatility - Sharpening kitchen knives? Perhaps the scissors? If you want to use it for your axe head, the camping knife, or your EDC pocket knife, then you need a unit with more capabilities. We took the versatility of different bevels, sizes and edge precision into account, so you can get a knife sharpener that handles more than just one task.

Features To Look For In Knife Sharpeners

Type - There are four main types of knife sharpeners, which we’ll get into in a minute. Before you inspect those and make your decision based on the type, understand that these different types are aimed for different lifestyles. An electric unit is for someone who just wants to keep their knives sharp for when they prepare food, while a honing rod is aimed towards the would-be professional chef who wants full control and dominance over their blade type.

Quality - Sounds like such an objective trait, right? When you know what you’re looking for, as we’ll explain in this guide, you’ll be able to spot the difference between quality versus knock off products. It comes down to the materials used, the motor power on electric models, the longevity of the sharpening stone, and a myriad of other factors. We’ve already cut out the guesswork by singling out these stellar knife sharpeners, but knowing what to look for will also tell you what you should pay attention to as your sharpener ages and undergoes use.

Bevel Angle - If you’ve sunk some money into a good knife set, then you likely have the information about your bevel. There are different points on your knives, some of which round slightly before creating a triangular edge to your blade. This is called the bevel.

Number of Stages - You’ve noticed those sharpeners with three separate channels. They each have their own place in sharpening your knives, just like stones with different grit ratings. The number of stages is usually associated with the quality of the blade edge you’re going to get at the end of use.

Versatility - This refers to whether or not is can work on scissors, ceramic knives, and other tools that require sharpening. If you really need, you can even use a knife sharpener to get a finer edge on your wire cutters. Versatility is nice, but if you’re like most of us and strictly stick to stainless steel knives, you don’t need all the extra fixings on your knife sharpener.

Sharpening Time (Average) - This is subjective, because it all depends on what style of sharpener you go with. If you opt for an automatic sharpener, the first time you sharpen your knives only takes about a minute on average, and re-sharpening takes ten seconds. That’s less than two minutes of your time per year. Manual knife sharpening can take five to ten minutes depending on your experience.

Types Of Knife Sharpeners

Electric Knife Sharpener - An electric knife sharpener takes all the work out of it for you, and require you to spend a maximum of two minutes per year on each individual knife. The first time you use a knife on an electric sharpener, it can take up to a minute. After that, so long as you use those knives exclusively on that electric unit, it takes ten to fifteen seconds to get a sharp edge.

Sharpening Stone - A sharpening stone is used in traditional Japanese knife sharpening. The quickest reference point is a whetstone, which were used hundreds of years ago by blacksmiths to sharpen metal. You use a sharpening stone manually, and you can choose between numerous different ratings, or grits. Similar to sandpaper, different grits provide difference edge finishes. There’s no such thing as the best knife sharpening stone, because you can switch between multiple grit ratings for specific edges.

Honing Rod - A professional knife sharpener and a honing rod are technically two different things. A honing rod is designed to straighten metal (more on this later), whereas a sharpening stone or electric sharpener strips away metal. Honing rods realign the edge of your blade, and can be done more frequently than sharpening to preserve your knife edge.

How To Sharpen A Knife Properly

It all depends on what method you’re using. There’s manual, such as stones and honing rods, and automatic, such as electric units. With electric units, they’re all made differently, and you should stick to the instructions provided in your package. We say this because the majority of negative online reviews for many knife sharpeners say that the sharpeners didn’t work, but since each manufacturer designs them differently, you need to pay attention to the instructions to ensure a quality edge on your blade.

When it comes to honing rods and stones, know that they are different and provide different results. To use a honing rod, you need to hold it vertically with the bottom on your cutting board. Keep it completely straight at a 90-degree angle. Next, take your knife, and at a 15-degree angle, drag it from the bottom of the honing rod upward, ensuring that you’re not using too much pressure (we don’t want a slip-up). Repeat until satisfied with the end result.

Stones come in different grits, much like sandpaper. You’ll want an 800 grit stone to start with and strip away some of the remaining material on the dull edge. Then, you’ll want to move up to a higher grit to get a sharper edge, such as a 1,000 or a 2,000 grit stone. Anything higher than this should only be used on traditional Japanese knives.

How To Keep Knives Sharper For Longer

It starts with the top rated knife sharpener to create a sharper edge, but the way to maintain that edge is all about use and storage. If you’re using a stainless steel kitchen knife, which is very common, you shouldn’t be using steel cutting boards. We’re not really sure why this became a trend, but it’s going to help dull your knives about two times faster. Stick to wooden cutting boards, or even plastic ones if you plan to replace them frequently.

Next, you want to make sure you’re storing them properly. It makes us cringe to see people sharpen knives, then just throw them into some bulky drawer where their ladles and stirring spoons are. If you’re not storing them in a proper butcher’s block, then you should be using plastic sheaths on your knives before placing them in the same storage container.

Honing vs. Sharpening: The Differences

You see this on a lot of pocket knife sharpener models: honing is basically reshaping metal instead of stripping elements of it away. Honing works for your knives that same way a leather strap works for straight razors, by aligning the edge to undo dents or chips in the metal.

Sharpening actually removes a small portion of the edge material, which provides an entirely fresh, brand new edge on it that cuts like it’s right out of the package. You can sharpen knives for years without them deteriorating or needing to be replaced, and you can hone your blades before or after sharpening them for the best effect.

Knife Sharper FAQ

Q: What is a knife sharpener?

A: A knife sharpener (automatic or manual) is designed to strip away minute quantities of the blade’s edge or finish, providing a sharper angled bevel to essentially revamp your knife and sharpen it. Modern knife sharpeners are electric units with multiple channels to run your kitchen knives through, though wet stones and other various methods of knife sharpening are still in use today. You don’t need to get a new set of knives (unless you bought bottom barrel quality), you just need to sharpen them as best as possible.

Q: Which type of knife sharpener should I get?

A: The “best knife sharpener” can be a subjective term, because there are different methods that people enjoy using. For us, a top rated knife sharpener is one that does most of the work for you, such as our top pick. Three channels for finishing different bevels and blade sizes, simple operation that doesn’t require much time or effort: that’s what you should be going for.

However, if you want a more hands-on touch, if you really enjoy using your knives and treat them as an extension of yourself, you might be better off with a wet stone. These come in multiple grit ratings to provide a finer edge, but you do need a bit more skill to ensure you’re getting a proper sharpness across the entire blade.

Q: How often should I sharpen my kitchen knives?

A: Regardless of how you achieve your angle and sharpness, even if you have the best home knife sharpener, you shouldn’t have to sharpen your knives more than two times per year. Whether it’s for nightly use, or you’re somewhat of an entertainer and find yourself using them often, achieving the proper angle should result in a nice finish that won’t dull for a while.

Q: How do I Know if my knives are sharp enough?

A: Most blade sharpening tools on the market are going to have a similar range of angles, which we’ll talk about in a minute. You need to look at your angle first and foremost, and that can be a bit difficult to do without proper knowledge. Checking the angle isn’t always enough, especially if you use the quarter trick.

Your knife should be sharp enough to effortlessly cut through a piece of printer paper. Hold a piece of printer paper between your fingers, allowing the bottom section simply hang there in the air. Gently drag your newly sharpened knife along the edge, working your way to the center of the paper. If it glides right through it like new scissors through wrapping paper, then you’re good to go.

Q: What is the correct sharpening angle for a kitchen knife?

A: It all depends on the type of knife bevel and knife and tool sharpener that you have. The average angle that you want for a double bevel kitchen knife is about 20 degrees, though on a single bevel (Japanese knife) you’ll want between 17 and 15. Your automatic knife sharpener will most likely come with multiple channels to run the knife through, some of which are wider angles that help you shape the knife more effectively from a dull point.

Q: Can the sharpener damage my knives?

A: Whether it’s an electric sharpening system or a handheld knife sharpener, there are definitely multiple ways that you can accidentally damage your knives. If you’ve looked at the product list first, then you’ll see that some negative attributes of a few of these models are that they leave scratches and streaks on your knife. If you use a ceramic knife in most modern knife sharpeners, there is a chance of it breaking due to pressure, but that’s up to your own discretion. A knife sharpener can damage your knife, particularly if you just take the sharpener out and start using it without reading the instructions first. Most of the bottom tier customer reviews we’ve read in preparation for creating this guide simply didn’t know how to use the product, and as a result caused damage to their knives.

Q: Can the sharpener be used on ceramic blades?

A: You can, but there’s a few things that you should know: for one, there’s a lot of misconceptions about ceramic knives (which is why we included this information). For one, you’ll find a lot of resources saying that you cannot sharpen ceramic blades, which is completely false. You can sharpen ceramic blades, you just don’t need to sharpen them as often as steel.

When you do need to sharpen them, you can use your knife sharpener: you are not restricted to only using wet stones. Many knife manufacturers may include information that says, “Not to be used with ceramic knives,” but that’s usually in place to avoid liability. Ceramic knives will keep their edge for longer than steel, but under immense pressure are more prone to breaking.

Q: Can I sharpen scissors?

A: Yes, blade sharpening machines also sharpen scissors, but it’s a little tricky. Don’t approach this as if you were sharpening a knife: you’re tool sharpening, which requires a different approach. When you drag the sharp side of the scissors across your specific sharpening machine, you’re grinding down one side of the metal edge more than the other.

Right now, close the scissors as if you were cutting. Watch how the flat sides scrape across one another, creating the cutting edge. It’s similar to our next section on Japanese knives, because we want to sharpen that one side of each scissor blade, instead of creating a bevel as you would with standard American knives.

Q: How should I sharpen Japanese knives?

A: Not all knife sharpening machines are going to work for Japanese knives. You should stick between a 17 and 20 degree angle for those, and note that traditional, high-end Japanese knives are only sharpened on one side. This means that even though we’re using one side of the knife, it’s only sharpened from one angle (flat point) instead of most American knives, which are beveled and have an equal sharpening process on both sides of the blade.

To sharpen a Japanese knife properly, look to the method of strictly using water stones. This allows you to only sharpen from one side (which has been traditionally done in Japan for a number of centuries), so you get that razor’s edge cutting angle. These stones shave down the metal, whereas some sharpeners work to realign metal. You will technically shave off more metal with a Japanese water stone, but you will have to sharpen less, so it balances out.

Q: What is the best way to clean the sharpener?

A: There are a ton of different types of kitchen knife sharpeners out there, but there’s a basic rule you can apply to all of them to keep them clean: don’t use chemicals. Whatever you do, don’t use chemicals. Most knife sharpeners are made out of steel, and if you’re really feeling ritzy, you can get diamond-edged steel to retain your blades for absolute ages, but the fact of the matter is chemicals can kill your sharpening edge.

Use a very small amount of warm water to clean your knife sharpener, and then immediately dry it off with a cloth. If you can, try to avoid using cotton so fibers don’t end up getting stuck in the sharpening blades. The goal is to wet it, gently use the cloth to wipe away and grime, and ensure it’s completely dry before storing it.