Best Knife Sharpener Reviews 2023

I think you will agree: Knives are one of the essential cutting tools in the kitchen area.

Knives will always be at your service, from slicing fruits and veggies for snacks to cutting, dicing, and mincing ingredients for dinner.

If you have a passion for cooking, you might even have a collection of knives displayed at the corner.

However, like all things, knives are not always at their best. Being at your mercy every day can cause them to become dull and frustratingly useless.

The ingredients’ acidic contents can corrode the edge’s steel and continuously blunts as it hits the cutting board’s surface.

It does not matter if your knives are cheap or expensive. The time will still come where you will need to bring them back to life.

And the best way to revive them is through the service of knife sharpeners.

The Best Knife Sharpener in the Market

Here are the top knife sharpener on the market today.

#1: Chef’s Choice AngleSelect1520

For quite some time, Chef’s Choice brand has been on the scene of sharpening kitchen knives. Its AngleSelect product is a solid model that offers two sharpening angles of 20 and 15 degrees and utilizes diamond abrasives.

This model is a 2-stage device. Its first slot has a 15° angle for sharper knives such as Japanese-style knives and paring knives. The second one is suitable for European-style knives with a 20° angle. Its last slot is designed to hone either type.

Because it can only sharpen one blade side at a time, it can handle Japanese and Western-style knives. Also, using AngleSelect is very easy. It has guide slots that are magnetized to keep your blade in the proper place for consistent sharpening.

#2: Priority Chef Knife Sharpener

This manual Knife Sharpener from Priority Chef comes at a low price and can sharpen both serrated and straight knives. Not only it sharpens a knife for instant sharpness, but it does so in a way that it stays sharp for a longer time.

This Priority Chef’s Knife sharpener comes with two wheels coated with coarse diamond to sharpen knives to a double edge finish. The other is for honing knives to improve the tiniest imperfections further. It gets the job done and does not take so much space in your kitchen.

#3: Chef’s Choice 4643 ProntoPro Manual Knife Sharpener

Another great knife sharpener from Chef’s Choice is the 4643ProntoPro, which has so many different uses. It is fast and impressively works on Japanese, European, and American-style knives, pocket knives, and serrated knives.

This manual knife sharpener has a 3-stage system with criss-cross technology and 100% diamond abrasive wheels for the toughest and most exact edge. Its sharpener also has bevel angle control for 20 and 15-degree edges to ensure that you have the tightest grip, therefore, the best edge.

The two out of three slots are for sharpening: one for 20° angles and the other for 15° angles. Its third slot is for honing and serrated knives for a finer finish.

#4: Winware Sharpening Steel

Winware’s Sharpening Steel Rod comes at a very low price. But do not even question its ability, for it does its job perfectly. Honing your blunt knife is where this sharpening steel excels.

This sharpening steel rod is a 12-inch stainless steel rod with plastic handles and a hanging loop. It is impressive for a maintenance tool and can sharpen your knives in an instant. However, this rod is very heavy and large, so that sharpening can be a slightly difficult task.

Its handle, however, is very comfortable to grip with a good handguard to reduce the risk of injuries. Moreover, it is very easy to clean and needs only a soft, damp cloth to wipe it off.

#5: Bavarian Edge Kitchen Knife Sharpener

This Kitchen Knife Sharpener from Bulbhead will make your knives slice effortlessly like it’s newly bought. It features two spring-action arms that work to sharpen even the dullest of blades. What’s more, is that this sharpener can work with serrated blades.

Bavarian Edge Kitchen Knife Sharpener is an independent, durable, and long-lasting sharpener. It can sharpen any blade of any brand and size in just a few seconds. Also, there is no need to clean this knife sharpener, provided that the knives sharpen clean.

The Verdict

Our top pick and the winner for the best knife sharpener is:

Chef’s Choice 4643 ProntoPro Manual Knife Sharpener

Why? Because even though it is a manual knife sharpener, it was the easiest to use of all the other models. Its wheels are also impregnated with diamond abrasive materials, superior to ceramics due to lack of friction and sharpening speed. What’s more is that it is very flexible and can handle various types of knife blades, straight or serrated.

How do knife sharpeners work?

Knife sharpeners have one job to do. Bring a dull blade to its sharpest glory. Even though there are many different knife sharpeners, all methods will follow the same process type to achieve the end goal. 

The metal blade is rubbed against an abrasive surface in which microscopic amounts of metal are removed, creating a sharper and thinner edge. Moreover, some knife sharpeners can create an exact angle. And you need to understand that not all knives have the same angle. 

For instance: Most Asian-style kitchen knives have a 15° angle while their Western counterparts have a 20° angle. 

Busting the Myth “Dull knives are safe knives” 

If you think that dull knives are safer just because they are, well, not sharp, then you are putting yourself in danger. Dull knives cannot easily cut your fingers. However, they always have “accidental” ways to do it. A dull knife tends to slip on whatever ingredient you are cutting and injure you right away. Keep in mind that a dull knife is still a knife. 

Moreover, a dull knife makes your work harder. You will need to exert more force in cutting, and using extra force on a dull knife does not guarantee that it will cut through and can cause to slip “accidentally” into your fingers and with much force, thus becoming more dangerous than sharper ones.

Lastly, dull blades need more cuts with lesser precision. So, how is this dangerous? It is just a case of averages over time: more cuts mean more chances to cut yourself. So, do not disregard your safety and sharpen your knives for them to do the job properly.

Sharpening VS. Honing

Despite being interchangeably used quite often, sharpening and honing are different. They also differ in terms of actions. Honing is the process of straightening bent or curved edges, while sharpening removes microscopic metallic particles from the edge to create a new cutting surface. But, they do have one goal: That is maintaining the edge of a knife.

When a knife’s edge seems to be dull, the first process to use is honing. Typically, Professional chefs hone the knife before use. If honing fails to give a good cutting performance, sharpening will be used.

When to sharpen a knife?

The time to sharpen a knife depends on three factors: the blade’s hardness, the frequency of usage, and the metal type of the blade. The standard rule: high-quality blades need to be sharpened once every four months.

If used heavily, an inexpensive knife might need sharpening every fortnight. High-quality blades, on the other hand, can be sharpened once a quarter under the same usage.

Types of Knife Sharpener in the Market

When it comes to knife sharpeners, there are two basic types available on the market:

1. Electrical Knife Sharpeners

The modern era presents electrical everything. And the process of sharpening knives is not an exception. Electrical knife sharpeners can do the trick in just a nick of time, and it is probably is the most effective way to sharpen a knife.

Electrical knife sharpeners have two to three phases that use the force of electricity to create a resistance for the blade to sharpen against. First, the knife is sharpened with a coarse grit, which is great on knives with very blunt edges. Then onto a finer, smoother grit that finishes the job and ends with a very sharp blade. Electrical knife sharpeners have two to three phases that use the force of electricity to create a resistance for the blade to sharpen against. First, the knife is sharpened with a coarse grit, which is great on knives with very blunt edges. Then onto a finer, smoother grit that finishes the job and ends with a very sharp blade.

Moreover, most of these knife sharpeners have a guide that lets you know if your knife is properly positioned to the parts that need sharpening.

Pros

• Ideal for commercial use
• Does the job to the highest standard
• Much, much faster way to sharpen knives.

Cons

• Not economical for people who use their knives occasionally
• Very, very expensive

2. Manual Knife Sharpeners

As its name implies, manual knife sharpeners need a little sweat. However, high review rates for the best knife sharpeners in the market point to the manual option. Why? Well, because they are effective, very easy to use and a lot cheaper than electric versions. This knife sharpener is ideal for a traditional kitchen and can handle a small family who cooks regularly but not excessively.

Manual Knife Sharpeners can be broken down into three more categories:

2.1. Sharpening Stones

We have the old-style sharpening stones. These are versions of manual sharpeners that are rectangular, 1-inch thick solid slab or block or diamond, whetstone, ceramic, or other sharpening materials. Before use, sharpening stones need to be dampened with water first. They are available in various sizes and shapes, with some designed in few shapes for complex sharpening or flat for flat edges.

When opting for sharpening stones, the best one is made of 3 materials: Silicon Carbide, Aluminum oxide, or Novaculite. These sharpening stones are flat, abrasive stones that work by grinding the blade’s steel and then honing afterward for the final sharpness. This knife sharpener is also great for pocket knife sharpeners because of its small and compact size.

Nowadays, there are various composite and artificial sharpening materials for sharpening stones. Here are some of them:

• Natural Stone: In ancient Japan and Europe, natural stones are the most common form of sharpening stones.Good quality natural stones are much more effective and satisfactory compared to other stones but these are more expensive due to the fact that there are few operative mines. It gives a lasting edge because of the various grits that lead in serration of different sizes, exhausting at a random pace. Consider using natural stones for single bevel Japanese knives.
• Ceramic Stone: This type of sharpening stone is a modern alternative to natural stone. Ceramic stones are manufactured using minerals but with less porous texture because you will need to soak it in water for a few minutes in order to saturate the pores. Ceramic stones are great for single-edged knives.
• Synthetic Stone: Gaining popularity, synthetic sharpening stones are usually made of fused aluminum grit perched in resin. Several synthetic stones demand to be soaked in water before use, however, there are those that only requires a splash. Synthetic stones work for western style steel knives but also works with traditional single sided Japanese steel.
• Diamond Stone: Not your typical diamond rock on a wedding ring, this diamond stone has durable diamond materials with metal plates that hold the microscopic diamonds. This type of sharpening stone has a flat surface and does need oiling. Moreover, it very easy to clean and only needs a wire brush in order to discard the small particle and shavings. Diamond sharpening stones are becoming popular due to their ability to prevent a recession in the sharpening surface and cuts quickly.
• Oil Stone: Oil sharpening stones are the most affordable sharpening stones out there. However, it has a slower cutting rate and the oil can be quite messy. But if you want an extremely fine finish, nothing beats oil stones. 
• Water Stone: If your priority is easy cleanup and quick cuts, then water stones are better option than oil stone. However, the aluminum oxide (its construction material) is very soft and abrasive that can cause for the stone to wear away much faster than others. So you may need to flatten it often.

Pros

• Effective at sharpening regular knives, even the smaller ones
• Easy to use
• Low cost and easily available

Cons

• Not ideal for very large knives
• Needs a manual elbow grease
• No guides or grooves which can be dangerous for first time or nervous users

2.2. Manual Pull-through Sharpener Systems

Manual pull-through sharpeners work by pulling the blade to draw the blade on the grinding wheels or the sharpening sections. Most of these units have different grits in one.

Common units have coarse and fine stages, but there are those with up to 4 stages. However, pull-through systems have a fixed angle that only has limited flexibility. This sharpening system can be used if you do not have the time to guess the right sharpening angles or master your sharpening skills with a stone.

Pros

• Simple to use
• Low maintenance
• Gives a uniform angle
• Compact
• Sharpens blade of common length

Cons

• Expensive
• Not applicable for machete knives

2.3. Sharpening Steels

Sharpening steel, otherwise known as butcher’s steel, is intended for honing knife blades. It can sharpen knives, but it is quite less effective than others.

Sharpening steels are inexpensive, very easy to use, and easy to store. This tool has one or more ruts with different levels of abrasive surface or grit within it. To sharpen your blade, you rub your blade forwards and backward against it.

Pros

• Simple
• Flexible
• Low maintenance
• Can sharpen any blade of length

Cons

• Time-consuming
• Requires practice in order to sharpen at a constant angle

Factors to Consider When Looking For the Best Knife Sharpener

When looking for the best knife sharpener to add to your kitchen tools’ arsenal, there are certain factors you need to watch out for:

1. Safety

Your number one priority is your safety. So, when looking for the best knife sharpener out there, choose the one that goes with your sharpening skills and lessens your risk of injuries.

If you do not have the skills, choose a knife sharpener with some barriers for your fingers. This can significantly decrease your risk of injuries. Manual sharpeners without guides or barriers are suited for more experienced users.

Lastly, watch out for knife sharpeners with a poor quality base. Knife sharpeners with a strong and stable base guarantee nothing will slip out of place because of wobbling.

2. Need for Speed

Do you need to sharpen your knives in a few seconds? Or you are not much in a hurry? Different knife sharpeners work at different paces. If you want something that does the job quickly, go for electric or pull-through sharpeners.

3. Ease of Use

If you are inexperienced in sharpening knives, you can take a look at sharpeners with blade guides. Such sharpeners can help even the newbies to sharpen their knives correctly. Also, you can look for sharpeners with adjustable guides for different types of knives.

4. Budget

Of course, when looking for a new kitchen tool, you need to consider how much you are willing to spend. Manual knife sharpeners are considerably cheaper than their electrical counterparts. But, if you have the money, you can go with higher qualities of electrical sharpeners that can give you the best sharpening results.

Final Thoughts

And there you have it! I certainly hope this guide has shed some light on what kind of knife sharpener you should look into.

Knife sharpeners have been used since the Stone Age, when a knife was carved out of rocks. These are essential kitchen tools if you want an easy time carrying out tasks that need the sharpness of a knife. You would not want to slice a piece of juicy steak with a knife that has a blade suitable only for butter knives, wouldn’t you?

Do you have any more questions or suggestions? I’d love to hear it! Feel free to comment it down below. Until then, stay sharp!