Topic: The Best Knife Sharpeners of 2023, Tested and Reviewed (Read 35 times)
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Topic: The Best Knife Sharpeners of 2023, Tested and Reviewed (Read 35 times)
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Key Features
Pros
Cons
This is a spin off of Work Sharp’s Original electric belt knife sharpener, but with some big upgrades that make it the most versatile sharpener on the market. With the blade grinder attachment, you can even dabble in knife making. Adjust from 10 degrees per side all the way to 35 on the semi-guided attachment. I still use my Wicked Edge, but this is my main tool now. Easy mirror polished, beyond razor-sharp edges on every type of knife, and it will also do scissors, machetes, axes, and even my straight razor. Like the other Work Sharp knife sharpener, this will give you a convex edge, and it will get it done fast. Repair broken tips, deep chips, and rolls in just a few minutes.
No, it’s not cheap, but you can’t argue with the results. I bought a Pro Pack 1 for my sharpening business, and it was worth every penny. Perfectly mirror polished, hair whittling edges every time. I have sharpened nearly 2000 high-end EDC knives with mine, and it’s still going strong. Pick any angle from 15-25 degrees per side, clamp it in, follow the directions, and you’re going to get a level of sharpness that you’ve probably never experienced. The Wicked Edge gives the perfect v-edge, every time. If you plan to sharpen a lot of knives, or you want the mirror edge with the least effort, this is the way to go.
I cut my teeth on a Smith’s Medium Arkansas Stone. And for the price, you can’t beat them. There are some “pull-through” sharpeners out there for a little less than the cost of a knife-sharpening stone, but they really don’t do a good job, and they chew up your blade. The small 4 inch stone can be had for around $10, but the 6-inch stone is preferable for a little more money. This blade sharpener method will take some practice, and you might not get the results you want right off the bat, but when you master it, there is a deep satisfaction that co*es from it. Learning to keep your angle consistent will be the biggest hurdle, but there are many good tutorials online, and Smith’s does make small guides to help you out in the beginning. Depending on your technique, you can either get a v-edge, or a slight convex from a stone. A very slight “rocking” motion at the end of each pass can produce a convex if you prefer.
Kitchen knives usually aren’t taking big hits, and really need more maintenance than anything. The Sharpmaker is perfect for maintenance. It co*es with ceramic rods of differing grits, depending on how much material you need to remove. It’s also a semi-guided system and lets you choose from some preset angles. You hold the knife nice and straight and make alternating passes down each ceramic rod with a sweeping motion to get it sharp from the heel all the way to the tip. Again, it will take some practice, but this sharpener gives excellent results, and can bring you edge to a near mirror polish with practice. If your edge has some real damage, it may take some time to sharpen it out. The Sharpmaker doesn’t have a coarse enough rod to remove damage quickly. It’s worth noting that this system will work with blades of any size. You can put a nice v-edge on anything from a Case Mini-Trapper to a meat carving knife.
Key Features
Pros
Cons
The Keenbest Sharpening Stone is an inexpensive, easy-to-use set that co*es with two whetstones, one with 400/1000 grit and the other with 3000/8000 grit. The heavy duty base is made of bamboo, with rubber on the bottom to keep it in place when sharpening — a convenience and a safety feature. The whetstones are two different colors, a light green and a light orange, allowing the user to quickly identify the proper stone. It also co*es with a “resurfacer,” otherwise known as a flattening stone that is used to flatten the whetstones as they get worn away with use. Keenbest includes a leather strop and an angle guide — everything you need to sharpen and maintain your blades is included. Keenbest includes a helpful list of tips for using this system. There are more expensive stones on the market, but these stones are highly effective, and with a little patience and work, are great for getting that sharp cutting edge you’re looking for. -Greg Campbell
I use this strop daily for my leather working tools and for touching up my pocket knife between sharpenings. I keep a medium stropping co*pound on one side and a fine co*pound on the other. With this strop and the included stropping co*pound you can take an edge that’s sharp and bring it back to very sharp in just a few swipes. If you keep your tools sharp and never let them get dull, you won’t have to use a stone unless you do some damage. That’s why a strop is a must have-tool for maintaining your blades. -S.E.
Open my kitchen knife drawer and you’ll find this ceramic hone. I bought it after a friend of mine, who is a custom knife maker, reco*mended it. I use it to touch up my chef’s knife before every use and instead of sharpening weekly, I’m down to sharpening my kitchen knives monthly. Just like a strop, the key is maintenance. Keep your knives sharp, and you won’t have to sharpen them. When it co*es to honing rods the most co*mon mistake is using them the wrong way. If you are holding the hone in one hand as you quickly swipe the blade in the other, you’re doing it wrong.
The right way to use it is to put the tip of the hone on your cutting board, then while maintaining a consistent angle make even passes on each side of the blade. S.E.
When your hunting knife gets dull while you’re boning out an elk, you need a sharpener that will quickly get you back to work. That’s where the Wicked Edge Pivot excels. It’s not a fancy sharpener and it’s not going to produce mirror edges, but when your knife is dull, it will make it sharp. At 2.4 ounces this palm-sized sharpener isn’t too big to keep in your pack. Since my hunting knife of choice is now a fixed blade, the Pivot has a permanent place in my kill kit. One of the keys to using this sharpener is to not press down on th