How-To & Diy
Sharpen Your Knives (at Home!) With These 11 Best Knife Sharpeners
For like-new-again blades.
If you're mashing onions or tomatoes, or hacking at a piece of steak, you're in definite need of a knife sharpener.
According to Fleishers Craft Butchery’s head butcher Jason Yang, shop butcher manager Kyle McCarthy, and butcher manager Sam Masler, you’ll want to use either a traditional whetstone or, for convenience, a sharpener that allows you to pull the knife through opposing abrasive surfaces without grinding or warping the blade. “This is fast and easy because it mimics the cutting motion, and you don't have to worry about setting an angle to regain the edge of the knife,” the team explains. The more common electric sharpeners will make your knives sharper, but they're harsh on knives and might not last as long as these two methods.
We know, it's confusing. But that's why we've got a handy guide to sharpening knives and expert-backed picks below.
1. F. Dick Rapid Steel Action Set, $82.50
This is the Fleishers team’s pick for beginners and seasoned knife users alike. “This is a great first knife sharpener," they said. "It’s easy to use and store, and will get your knife sharp with very little effort. They add that its spring-loaded feature adjusts to fit any knife’s angle, which prevents the blade from being damaged while getting sharpened.
2. Work Sharp Knife & Tool Sharpener, $99.95
The team points to this versatile device from Work Sharp, which employs a motorized abrasive band to sharpen virtually every variety of knife, as another excellent alternative to a whetstone, stating that it “brings professional knife sharpening into the home.” And as a bonus, it’ll also sharpen your scissors and garden shears.
3. Brod & Taylor Classic Knife Sharpener, $59
Using the same spring-loaded features as the Fleishers team’s pick from F. Dick, this sharpener seamlessly adjusts to the angle of your knife, from 12 to 20 degrees.
4. LOFTER Upgrade Bracket Edge Kitchen Sharpener, $14.99
This adjustable sharpener returns an edge to dulled knives within seconds, thanks in no small part to the safety handle that keeps users’ fingers well out of harm’s way.
5. Shapton Ceramic Whetstones, $48.79
Working with a whetstone takes practice, but the team at Fleishers attests that it “yields excellent results in sharpness and can increase the longevity of your knives.” The stones from Shapton are the team’s everyday, go-to sharpeners. They recommend starting with a 1000 or 2000 grit stone then polishing the knife’s edge with a finer, 4000 grit stone.
6. Finew Knife Sharpening Stone Kit, $49.97
Boasting four different grits between two sharpening stones, plus a flattening stone to maintain the sharpeners and a bamboo board to keep everything from slipping, this whetstone set has more than earned its online praise. Reviewers call it a great place to start for beginners and excellent value for its price tag.
7. King KW65 1000/6000 Grit Combination Whetstone, $28
Another, more budget-friendly option when it comes to whetstones is this dual-sided stone from King. Where the 1000 grit side reestablishes a razor-sharp edge, the 6000 grit side polishes the blade “magnificently,” as one reviewer put it. Another wrote that, after five minutes of sharpening, this stone brought a knife that “couldn’t cut butter if it were hot” back to working order.
8. Bob Kramer Knife Sharpening Set, $380
This stylish set of sharpening stones from one of the world’s topmost bladesmiths will take your knives from dull to paper-cut sharp to finely polished in three easy steps. It doesn’t hurt that they’re pretty enough to display (use the cabinet space for something else).
9. Masuta Natural Sharpening Honing Stone, $92.10
Unlike ceramic options, this whetstone is made from natural rock sourced from an underwater mine in Japan. But it isn’t all about aesthetics—Masuta matches its form with high-performing function. Reviewers appreciate how hard and long-lasting this stone proved to be, with some noting that it’s particularly effective at polishing and finishing knives.
10. Zwilling 250/1000 Combination Japanese Water Stone, $79.99
The ultra-coarse 250 grit stone in this two-stone set will refine even the dullest, most out-of-shape of blades. One reviewer wrote that these stones made their knives "feel like new again."
11. Dalstrong Premium Whetstone Kit, $89.99
Consider this set of whetstones as the ideal “finishing touches” kit: Not only do the stones finely sharpen and polish, but its rust-removing sponge rubs away the kind of corrosion and scuffs that inevitably come with time and use.
Written by: Sara Coughlin
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13 Comments
Glad you like it. It is a big help having a guide to get used to the angles when sharpening. Even so some days you do a better job than others. A touch of Zen involved in everything.
Currently I have a 400/1000 Shaaf 3x8 diamond stone in a sturdy bench clamp. Perfect for knives and straight chisels. My old oil and water stones got so cupped even with all the figure 8 action they eventually are only good for gouges.
Diamond is best for any straight blade.
#1: it's ALWAYS FLAT.
#2: No lube necessary. Water is all you need.
#3: Cuts faster than anything else.
#4: A good one takes a Long time to degrade. They do eventually.
R
That not ONE diamond stone option is listed here tells me this is either an paid for bs post or for some reason the chefs advising the author are clueless. I had a fave Indian food spot on River St. in Santa Cruz circa 2011, I specifically bought the same folding diamond stone sharpener the chef was using there. You could keep it in your apron, or nail bags in my case, and tune the edge on your tools any time. He used it instead of steel more or less. Steels are great for keeping the burr in the right direction but they do nothing for sharpening the edge.
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