The Best Knife Sharpener

Buying Guide

Cooking at home has a slew of advantages for your waistline and your wallet. Making your own meals is far cheaper than ponying up for restaurant eats on a regular basis. Plus, you might shed some pounds if you’re in control of how much oil and fat you cook with.

However, you’ll need the right tools to mimic the delicious flavors you’d find in your favorite restaurant dishes. Quality knives are part of the foundation for a fully functional kitchen, but they can’t execute perfect slices if you don’t take proper care of them. A knife sharpener is a must-have for home cooks, but there’s some background information you’ll want to know before you pick one.

When you sharpen a knife, you remove minuscule amounts of metal from the knife to create a fresh, sharp blade. Sharpening your knife gives it a crisp edge, but it also wears your knife away since you’re removing material every time you sharpen it.

Keeping your knife’s blade straight is also crucial, and honing your knife in between sharpenings helps the knife last longer and cut more accurately. (Honing is an action that realigns the blade of an already sharp knife.)

There are many different kinds of knife sharpeners, but the most popular types are electric, manual and sharpening steels (also called honing rods). Electric sharpeners typically use a two or three-step process for creating, sharpening and honing your blade. Most electric sharpeners use guides to help you find the perfect angle. This is great for beginners, but more advanced cooks might prefer the manual control that comes with handheld sharpeners.

If you’re using a manual knife sharpener, you’ll place the sharpener on a flat surface and draw your knife through a sharpening slot. Handheld sharpeners are less expensive than electric options, and they’re portable for chefs on the go.

Honing rods keep your blade properly aligned for better balance and precision while you slice and dice. They’re also referred to as sharpening steels, but that title is a bit of a misnomer since they don’t actually sharpen your knife. They’re still an essential component of your knife care system. A selection of knife sharpeners use a high-grade ceramic to re-align your knife’s edge.

• Before you buy, you’ll want to assess how serious you are about home cooking. If you’ve invested in pricey knives and see yourself whipping up new creations every day, a high-end electric sharpener is worth a look. If you just want to keep your knives sharp for a few casual meals per week, a budget-friendly buy might be more your speed.
• How much counter space do you have available for your knife sharpener? There are models that measure a full foot long and weigh a hefty five pounds, as well as others that are just over nine inches long and only weighs eight ounces.
• Do you want a sharpener that shapes, sharpens and hones in one unit, or would you prefer a separate honing rod? Some sharpeners only shape and sharpen, while others perform all three functions. You’ll want to purchase a separate honing rod if you purchase a two-step sharpener.   
• How much mobility do you need in your knife sharpener? Electric options sharpen your knives in a snap, but they’re not road-friendly. If you have multiple homes or see yourself cooking on the road, a smaller manual sharpener will easily fit into most bags.