There are several tools available for maintaining and creating a sharp edge on your knife blades. We offer electric sharpeners, handheld sharpeners, sharpening stones, and sharpening steels. The first three are all used for putting a new edge on a knife blade, while sharpening steels are primarily used for honing a blade's sharpness. With our many different types of knife sharpeners, it can be difficult to find the right tool to fit your situation and experience level. This guide will help you make the right decision, so you can keep your knives sharp and your kitchen running efficiently and safely without wasting money.
Types of Sharpeners
Electric Sharpeners
Many electric sharpeners utilize a 2 or 3 step process for creating, sharpening, and honing the edge on a blade. The first step utilizes a coarse grit to sharpen extremely dull blades and the last step uses a fine grit for honing sharp blades. When turned on, a sharpener will spin the sharpening stones, which, when a knife is drawn through the slots, sharpens blades to the desired sharpness. Most electric sharpeners have guides that allow the user to get the perfect angle, which makes them popular because they greatly simplify the precise task of sharpening knives.
Handheld Sharpeners
Similar to electric sharpeners, handheld knife sharpeners simplify the sharpening process, though they are generally limited by having fewer slots to sharpen with. One advantage handheld sharpeners do have is their portability. Their small size and manual operating method make them perfect for cooking professionals who frequently find themselves traveling. Depending on how the handheld sharpener is designed, you either draw the knife through the slots while the sharpener is placed on a flat surface, or the sharpener is drawn down the length of the blade while the knife is carefully held spine-down on a table or countertop. Both types of handheld sharpeners easily sharpen a dull knife back to perfect cutting form.
Sharpening Stones
Sharpening stones are one of the most common ways to sharpen a knife. The three most common materials sharpening stones are made of are Novaculite, aluminum oxide, and silicon carbide and they are commonly known as Arkansas, India, and Crystolon stones respectively. Arkansas stones are natural stones, while India and Crystolon are man-made. Arkansas stones vary from fine to coarse in grit type, where India stones are better suited for fine sharpening and Crystolon are better for initial coarse sharpening. Some stones have diamond abrasives mixed in to get the optimal cutting edge.
Sharpening / Honing Steels
Contrary to the name, most sharpening steels don't actually sharpen knives. The primary job of a sharpening steel is to hone a knife blade, though certain cuts, or styles, are able to do minor sharpening; however, steels that do sharpen knives should not be used in place of the above sharpeners. The four most common cuts are regular, diamond, combination, and ceramic. The differences between cuts are rather minimal, and choosing between them mainly depends on whether you want to have the option of sharpening and how much you are willing to spend. It is also recommended that you use sharpening steels with a matching knife brand because manufacturers specifically design their steels to hone their knives.
Serrated Knife Sharpeners
Serrated knives can be difficult to sharpen with a stone due to the shape of the blade, and most common sharpeners, both manual and electric, will actually damage your serrated blades if used with them. However, there are certain knife sharpeners that are able to accommodate serrated blades, so you should always check the sharpener before purchasing. Manufacturers will state whether their sharpeners can be used with serrated blades in their manual or literature. We also provide this information in our product descriptions.
As stated above, the bevel, or grind, is the shape of the blade edge. This can widely vary on what you intend to use the knife for, or in other words, how sharp and strong you want the blade to be. Also note that this is not an exhaustive list of bevel types and that some of these can be combined with others to make new bevels.
Knife angle measurements represent the angle to which each side of the blade is sharpened. For example, a blade sharpened at a 20 degree angle actually has a total angle of 40 degrees. The most common angle for kitchen knives is 20 degrees; however, some manufactures make their knives with a 15 degree angle. In general, the greater the blade angle the stronger and more durable the blade will be, but you do lose sharpness the more you increase the angle.
Note that even though certain angles and bevels tend to naturally match up in terms of sharpness and durability, that doesn't necessarily mean that they need to be used together. For example, Western kitchen knives usually utilize a double bevel and they usually have a 20 degree angle; however, it could be useful to put an angle as low as 15 degrees on double beveled chef knife. That said, it probably wouldn't make sense, or even be possible, to put a large angle on a hollow ground blade. The most important thing to keep in mind when determining the bevel type and blade angle is how you want to use the knife, so you can find the perfect balance of sharpness and durability.