I asked bladesmiths how to sharpen kitchen knives — they both said these are the best sharpeners to use

“It’s like mowing the lawn.”

Best Knife Sharpening Tools

• Best Overall Method: Keenbest Actual Grit Premium Material Sharpening Stone Set, $10
• Pro-Approved Versatility: Tormek T-1 Kitchen Knife Sharpener, $385
• Keep Knives Sharp for Longer: Messermeister 12-Inch Ceramic Sharpening Rod, $40
• Pull Through at Smaller Angles: Zwilling 4-Stage Pull-Through Knife Sharpener, $25, originally $35
• Serrated Knife-Safe: Chef’sChoice 15XV EdgeSelect Professional Electric Knife Sharpener, $170

No knife stays sharp forever. At some point, after squishing tomatoes and straining your wrist to slice steak, you must learn how to sharpen kitchen knives to keep them gliding through foods like butter. Of course, I recognize that learning the skill can be intimidating, so I reached out to professional knife makers for guidance on finding the right knife sharpener and using it correctly.

“It’s like mowing the lawn,” said Geoff Feder, knife maker and owner of Feder Knives, who explained sharpening as the removal of steel to reestablish a sharp cutting edge. “If you do it regularly, it’s less work.” According to Quintin Middleton, bladesmith and owner of Middleton Made Knives, “It’s best to sharpen your knives every six months to a year, depending on the blade’s condition.” Both knife experts shared the tools and tips for keeping your precious kitchen knives operating safely for the long haul.

Best Manual Knife Sharpeners

Manual knife sharpeners include whetstones, pull-through sharpeners, and rolling sharpeners. Of the three, “learning to sharpen with whetstones is the goal,” said Feder. “A whetstone allows the user to carefully remove the steel off the cutting edge at the speed and pressure of the user [who] can sharpen aggressively or gently with finesse. A 600/1,000 combo-grit whetstone is perfectly fine, and if you want to add a 1,000/6,000 combo stone, that’s more than enough for the home user.”

Other knife sharpeners can offer a shorter learning curve with features like angle guidance and rapid sharpening, as long as they’re compatible with your particular kitchen knives. Are your knives single- or double-beveled? What angle are they best sharpened at? Refer to the manufacturer’s recommendations, and seek out a pull-through or rolling sharpener that can accommodate your knives.

• Keenbest Actual Grit Premium Material Sharpening Stone Set, $10
• Intelitopia Complete Knife Sharpening Stone Set, $30, originally $36
• Zwilling 4-Stage Pull-Through Knife Sharpener, $25, originally $35
• Shun Cutlery 3-Piece Whetstone Sharpening System, $155
• Cangshan 7-Piece Kitchen Knife Care and Sharpening Kit, $85, originally $100
• The Original Tumbler Rolling Knife Sharpener, $129
• Longzon 5-in-1 Knife Sharpener with Cut-Resistant Glove, $10, originally $17

Keenbest Actual Grit Premium Material Sharpening Stone Set

$10 at Amazon

Middleton agrees with Feder: “A whetstone is the best for both beginners and professionals.” He recommended the Keenbest sharpening stone, saying, “It’s budget-friendly, and the stone forces you to appreciate your tools and the technique to maintain your knives.” Start by sharpening your knife on the coarser 400-grit side, then switching to the finer 1,000-grit side.

Zwilling 4-Stage Pull-Through Knife Sharpener

$35 $25 at Amazon

The Zwilling pull-through sharpener thoroughly impressed us in our knife sharpener tests. Useful for sharpening single- and double-bevel knives to 10 or 15 degrees, the device has four slots that you simply pull your knives through according to its “Asian” or “Standard” guide. Keep this $25 sharpener around for keen edges on a dime.

Best Electric Knife Sharpeners

Regarding electric knife sharpeners, Middleton said, “The best type of knife sharpeners is the one you can easily change the angle on. Japanese knives have a different angle than European knives, for example, and you want to make sure it can serve any type of blade.” For professional-grade sharpening with the flexibility to sharpen any knife, both Feder and Middleton recommended Tormek knife sharpeners, including the Tormek T-1 and the T-2 Pro. In the interest of storage space and budgets, I also included some models we ranked highly in our electric knife sharpener tests, including the Chef’sChoice 15XV EdgeSelect for Japanese-style knives and the highly adjustable Work Sharp Ken Onion.

• Tormek T-1 Kitchen Knife Sharpener, $385
• Work Sharp Ken Onion Knife Sharpener Tool, $170
• Chef’sChoice 15XV EdgeSelect Professional Electric Knife Sharpener, $170
• Presto EverSharp Electric Knife Sharpener, $48, originally $55
• Tormek T-2 Pro Kitchen Knife Sharpener, $899

Tormek T-1 Kitchen Knife Sharpener

$385 at Amazon

“Any of the Tormek products are great,” said Feder. “There’s lots of adjustment, as every knife has a specific angle for the cutting edge.” Designed for home cooks after the T-2 Pro, the T-1 features an adjustable angle guide for grinding at 8 to 22 degrees and has a second belt built in for honing. If you’re a serious home cook with an eclectic knife collection, the investment on this knife sharpener will be worth every dollar.

Work Sharp Ken Onion Knife Sharpener Tool

$170 at Amazon

Less expensive than the Tormek T-1, this hand-supported knife sharpener is our favorite heavy-duty pick. It offers a built-in angle guide for grinding knives at 15 to 30 degrees that can sharpen blades beyond the kitchen type, like garden shears and axes. The interchangeable belts include a cloth honing belt to help you keep your blades sharp for longer.

Best Honing Steels

As Feder explained, sharpening is the creation of “an apex with a micro burr that does the cutting.” Occasionally, that burr becomes misaligned or rolls over, causing your freshly sharpened blade to seem duller than before you sharpened it. That’s when a honing rod (or honing steel) comes into play. Running your knife’s edge along the honing rod at the sharpening angle realigns the burr and straightens the blade, giving you better access to that super keen edge you worked hard for. Even Feder said, “I’m always surprised how a couple little careful swipes on these will lengthen the sharpness time on knives.” Ceramic, steel, and diamond honing rods are the most common types, and I rounded up some reliable options of each to keep your blades at optimal performance between sharpenings.

• Messermeister 12-Inch Ceramic Sharpening Rod, $40
• Kota Japan 12-Inch Diamond Carbon Steel Professional Knife Sharpener Rod, $19
• Mac Knife 8.5-Inch Ceramic Honing Rod, $60
• Made In Cookware 17-Inch Tungsten Steel Honing Steel, $59
• Winco 12-Inch Sharpening Steel, $19, originally $21

Messermeister 12-Inch Ceramic Sharpening Rod

$40 at Amazon

“I always suggest to my customers to get a ceramic honing rod that you can use to do a little touch-up before you need to sharpen,” said Feder. Ceramics are often hard enough to be impromptu knife sharpeners. When you run a knife’s edge along this honing rod, it not only will realign the burr — its fine 1,200-grit surface will also gently resharpen the edge.

Made In Cookware 17-Inch Tungsten Steel Honing Steel

$59 at Amazon

This tungsten steel honing rod doesn’t have a sharpening grit, but it’s just as effective as ceramic rods at realigning kitchen knife burrs. Also, its durable construction won’t shatter when dropped or crack when tossed in a kitchen drawer. The 11.62-inch rod length is suitable for any standard kitchen knife, and the finger guard features helpful 20- and 15-degree angle guides.

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