There is a massive number of knives on the market. Kitchen knives, penknives, Japanese knives, hunting knives, survival knives, the list goes on and on. It and it’s impossible to nominate one knife sharpener, sharpening system or sharpening tool for all of them.

A tool that works brilliantly for one type of knife, or user, may well not work well for another.

And it depends on your skill and how much time you want to put into learning how to sharpen a knife properly. A good stone, or steel, can work wonders in the hands of one person who knows what they’re doing and be a disaster in the hands of another.

Not only does your skill determine what tool you should buy, but your budget does too. There are some fantastic knife sharpening systems on the market, and if you’d like to pay $500 or more you can get a tool that will get your knife scary sharp. But not many people are willing to spend that much money on a tool like that, and even high-priced high-quality tools require a certain level of practice and skill.

Best Knife Sharpener Reviews

Sog SH-02 Sharpener

Sog knife sharpeners are dinky little benchtop sharpeners. They are inexpensive, easy to store and easy to use. But are Sog knife sharpeners any good?

Specifically the Sog knife sharpener is called the “SOG SH-02 Countertop Sharpener“. It’s made by a company known for making some of the best quality knives in the world.

Sog knives are used by organisations such as law enforcement and armed forces, so there’s no doubt about the quality of their products. But does this quality extend to their knife sharpener?

The Sog knife sharpener is very easy to use. Unlike some benchtop knife sharpeners which move around when you try and use them the Sog SH-02 knife sharpener has an effective suction cup base which allows it to attach to a solid surface.

This means that the sharpener will stay put without the necessity for you to hold it in place, provided you’ve attached it to a sufficiently solid surface. It may help to add a little water just to help the suction. Attaching the knife sharpener to surfaces simple by use of the quick release lever on the front of the appliance.

The sharpening surfaces are simple but effective, utilising, as is the case with many knife sharpeners, 2 surfaces set in a “V”. The sharpening surfaces are carbide, which is an effective abrasive material for knife sharpening.

Using the Sog SH-02 Countertop Sharpener

Use of the SOG SH-02 Countertop Sharpener is simple. Simply attach it to the bench and draw the knife through the sharpening surfaces towards yourself. Don’t push.

That’s it. According to Sog do that 4 or 5 times and you’re done.

Lets look at some of the opinions of users, which are of course always the best guide.

One major consideration that is pointed out by users is that the Sog knife sharpener removes quite a bit of metal from your blade when used. In fact this is quite visible in video demonstrations of the Sog SH-02. You can see metal falling from the blades with each pull of the knife.

This doesn’t mean it’s a bad sharpener, in fact it’s clearly evidence that the sharpener is doing it’s job removing metal, because without removing metal it won’t sharpen.

But it is important to remember that if you’re using the sharpener regularly you are slowly wearing down your knife blade.

Of course as we’ve pointed out, it’s not necessary to sharpen your knife all the time, 2 or 3 times a year is probably quite sufficient, provided you have a honing steel to keep that edge straight. So if you’re planning on buying the Sog knife sharpener we suggest you also invest in a steel to avoid the necessity of using the sharpener too often.

General opinions are that the sharpener will give you a good edge, but not as good as the edge you will get by taking a little more time and putting in a little more effort to sharpen with a wet stone. That though is common to many cheaper commercial sharpeners including electric knife sharpeners.

However many people are unwilling to spend the time to learn how to use a good wet stone, and for them the Sog sharpener will do the job sufficiently well to keep them happy.

Ease of use is also important. The sharpener is small, easy to store, easy to pull out and attach to the bench and easy to use. More complex sharpening systems often require more effort, and for that reason can be left in the cupboard.

And at under $20 you can’t complain about the price, though you will need to buy another one when the blades wear out, you can’t buy replacement blades.

Overall an effective, cheap and simple knife sharpener that will get the job done for people who are not prepared to invest the time and effort into using a stone. Used too often the Sog knife sharpener will gradually wear down your blade, but then everyone has to replace their knives from time to time.

One comment worth repeating, when beginning to use the sharpener just check that the suction cup has done it’s job properly and the sharpener is attached to the bench well. Otherwise you might run the risk of injury.

Recommended for anyone looking for a cheap and effective knife sharpener.

Norton Knife Sharpeners

Norton knife sharpeners are primarily high quality knife sharpening stones

Norton knife sharpeners are made by a company which advertises itself as manufacturing “the world’s most comprehensive line of sharpening stones”.

So as you’d expect most Norton knife sharpening tools consist of stones. Notwithstanding Norton also offer some manual knife sharpeners for those looking for a cheap, simple and easy way to sharpen a knife.

Let’s begin with the Norton sharpening stones. The sharpening stones industry has a long history, dating right back to 1823 when a farmer in a small village in New Hampshire discovered that he was able to sharpen scythes and axes with stones found in on his property. These Mica Schist stones formed the foundation of products for the first supplier of natural sharpening stones in America, the Pike company.

The Pike company began distributing sharpening stones in North America and eventually throughout the world, and quarried a number of different types of stone including Arkansas stone in various places. These Arkansas stones are still considered one of the finest, if not the finest sharpening stones available.

In 1932 the Norton company purchased the Pike company, and now manufactures both natural and synthetic sharpening stones throughout the world, for both sharpening knives and a range of other tools.

Their natural stones are quarried from Ozark Novaculite (silicon quartz) deposits and finished off to extremely exacting standards, and whilst there are no specific industry standards for classifying natural stones Norton is able to produce Arkansas stones of a common standard and superior quality. One of the major advantages of natural knife sharpening stones is that they do not remove as much metal from the knife as man-made stones and so your knives will last.

They also polish beautifully giving you a lovely smooth edge.

As well as the natural stones Norton offers synthetic knife sharpening oil stones. These stones should be used with an oil lubricant.

So let’s look at some of the knife sharpening stones, and then some of their cheaper manual knife sharpening tools.

Norton knife sharpening stones come in a wide variety of options, from single stones, kits that include 3 or 4 stones right up to complete knife sharpening kits. In fact the range of options available from Norton can make your head spin.

And of course much depends on your budget, you can spend up to $500 on Norton knife sharpening stones if you wish. And whilst they are high-quality there is no doubt that they are not cheap.

Experts will know exactly what they want. For beginners who are new to using knife sharpening stones but who would like to learn how to sharpen a knife properly with a stone a good place to start would be the Norton Waterstone Starter Kit

This features a 220 and 1000 grit combination stone for basic repair work on an edge or for establishing a good bevel as well as a 4000 and 8000 grit combination for refining and polishing the edge. They can be used for sharpening knives as well as other tools so are quite versatile, which can be handy if you’re both looking to sharpen knives as well as other tools.

They come with a hinged box with rubber feet which should grip a smooth surface so that the stone should be held securely while sharpening.

They also come with a silicon carbide flattening stone. This is used to maintain your sharpening stone if the surface becomes uneven.

Of particular benefit to beginners is an instructional DVD to get you started on the basics of sharpening with a stone, taking you step-by-step through how to hand sharpen.

The stones are waterstones, meaning that they are lubricated with water rather than oil.

As usual, to judge the quality of the product, we turn to Amazon to the user reviews. And of 69 reviews at the time of writing the Norton Waterstone Starter Kit received 4.2 out of 5 stars. We consider anything over 4 to be good.

Several users commented about the value of the DVD teaching beginners how to hand sharpen, and that the learning process was not as steep as they expected.

If you’re considering purchasing this Norton knife sharpening kit it is well worth reading the reviews before doing so to get some sense of how people have found the product as a beginner.

Other options include the B000XK4MYW which is a set of 3 oil stones, in 100 grit, 150 grit and 320 grit, as well as a can of stone oil for lubrication.

This kit however does not include the beginners instruction DVD, which is very useful if you’re just starting out with a sharpening stone. This kit also receives a 4 point 2 out of 5 stars, including the review from a professional chef who was very impressed.

Lansky Knife Sharpeners

One of the big names in knife sharpening is Lansky. Lansky make a number of knife sharpeners, and their best knife sharpener is a complete knife sharpening kit called the Lansky Deluxe 5-Stone Sharpening System as well as a second knife sharpening kit called the Lansky Professional Sharpening System

Lansky also offer a number of other knife sharpeners including the Lansky PS-MED01 BladeMedic which is a very inexpensive, small and effective knife sharpener which can be put in your pocket when out and about, for instance when camping or hunting. If you need a knife sharpener and can’t carry the full kit this is a good alternative.

And as well as those mentioned above Lansky also offer a range of different variations of their sharpening kits, we won’t cover all of them here.

What is the difference between the “Professional” sharpening kit and the “Deluxe” sharpening kits? It’s in the coarseness of the grits offered in the stones included in the kit as well as the number of stones offered.

The Deluxe kit offers a 5 different grades of stone, however the Professional kit offers 4 stones, with one of the stones, the coarsest, at 120 grit, whilst the coarsest stone in the Deluxe kit is 70 grit, which is a coarser stone to begin with. And the finest honing stone in the Deluxe system is a ceramic stone for extra fine honing.

As we’ve previously mentioned we consider manual sharpening, in other words manually sharpening a knife using a sharpening stone, to be the most effective way as well as the most cost-effective way of sharpening your knives.

However manual sharpening has one particular problem which is that it is not easy for a beginner to learn. When sharpening a knife manually with a sharpening stone it’s important to maintain the correct angle on the knife.

Commonly knives are sharpened at 20 degrees, though there are exceptions, and when sharpening manually the user must hold the knife at the exact angle, and this is not easy. Get it wrong and you may not quite get the result you want.

One of the advantages of the Lansky sharpening kits is that they take this problem out of the equation. The kit offers a way of sharpening your knife at a specific angle without the need to hold it there yourself. Not only that but there are variations in the angle that you can use to sharpen your knife.

The finer the angle of sharpening the sharper you will get your knife, but the edge will be less robust and more prone to blunting. Japanese knives, for example, and are sharpened at a narrower angle than regular kitchen knives.

And other tools can be sharpened at different angles. For example a razor blade or a scalpel is sharpened at a narrower angle, and knives like hunting knives can often be sharpened at a wider angle of around 25 degrees. And some other cutting knives, for example knives cutting heavy duty material such as carpets can be sharpened at even wider angles to maintain the durability of the edge.

The Lansky knife sharpening system allows you to select an angle, choosing between 17 degrees, 20 degrees, 25 degrees and 30 degrees. This allows you to have a range of options when sharpening different knives whilst still providing you with the ability to hold the knife at the chosen angle. It is highly unlikely that a manual user who is using a simple sharpening stone would be able to to pick the difference between a 20 degree angle and 25 degree angle.

In effect the Lansky knife sharpening kits offer a way to sharpen your knives manually but without the risk of losing the angle. The sharpening system uses different grit stones, as you would do if you were sharpening manually, and also provides the equipment to set up the sharpener as well as oil to lubricate the stone.

However, because it’s done manually, it is not fast, and it may take quite some time to set up the sharpener and to sharpen your knife. It’s not something you’re likely to do while you’re making dinner and you’ve decided your kitchen knife needs some work.

This is a drawback to the Lansky sharpening system. Whilst it can be very effective, if done right, it isn’t quick. Then again that’s the case with some other methods of sharpening knives as well.

Some people may find that using the Lansky knife sharpening kits gets a little tedious. They may prefer an electric knife sharpener which is simple and quick to use, but these also have some disadvantages.

And it does take a little practice to get used to sharpening a knife with the Lansky knife sharpeners.

Lansky knife sharpeners have been around for a long time. They are effective and, when you’ve learnt the basics of using them they are an inexpensive way to sharpen your knives. But they aren’t fast, and still require some basic manual work.

A knife, or at least a good quality knife, is a superb piece of craftsmanship. As well as that it’s not cheap, certainly if you’ve bought a good one.

And keeping your knife cutting well is extremely important. Many people, however, assume that sharpening a knife is a simple matter.

However keeping your knives correctly is not necessarily all that easy, even if you’ve got the most efficient knife sharpener in the world. That’s why there’s professional services. Employ a professional and you’ll get a knife that’ll cut through a tomato just by looking at it.

Despite that it’s perfectly possible for the average person to maintain their knives to a high degree of sharpness without mortgaging the house to buy knife sharpening equipment that costs the earth (and some of it does) and undertaking a professional course to learn how to do it.

There are some very good knife sharpeners available on the market, and whilst it may take some serious practice to get a professional edge on your knife most people will learn how to use a simple knife sharpener over time. The best one is the one that works best for that individual, be it a cheap or expensive one.

Everyone has their own preferences. People willing to put in a little effort to learning the basics of knife sharpening may well be happy to use a stone, and over time will develop the expertise required to use it properly.

Other people will find that a stone will never sharpen their knife to the degree they would like because these sharpening tools require more expertise. The most efficient knife sharpener in the world will not necessarily produce a good result in the hands of someone without the expertise to use it properly.

A big part of hand sharpening a knife, for example using a stone, is keeping the knife at the correct angle. The bevel, in other words the angle ground to create the edge of the knife, will have a specific angle at which it needs to be sharpened. Hand sharpening requires this angle to be maintained by eye or by experience, and many people find this very difficult.

A range of sharpening tools will offer guides as a part of the tool which are designed to help the user maintain the angle of the bevel. Some of these tools are relatively inexpensive but are a better choice to someone who does not wish to go through the process of learning how to hand sharpen a knife.

Knife sharpening is sometimes just about honing

And often the knife user, after finding that their knife is becoming dull, decides to sharpen the knife when honing is all that is necessary.

Every knife will, after a certain amount of use, begin to dull. The cutting edge of a knife is extremely fine, and over time will start to fold over. This is microscopic and cannot be seen with the naked eye, but is the beginning of your knife beginning to become dull.

Honing, commonly done with a simple steel, is the art of restoring the edge before it has become necessary to completely resharpen the knife.

Watch a butcher in action

Have you ever watched a butcher work? A good butcher will always have a honing steel to hand. Every few minutes, if he’s working hard, he’ll pick up that honing steel and give his knife a few strokes on the steel.

That’s honing, he is restoring the edge before it bluntens too much, and avoiding the necessity to hone, or sharpen, much more later on.

A good chef will do the same thing.

Many people mistake a steel for a sharpening implement, when it is there merely for honing.

Make no mistake however, honing is very important, and if you hone your knife regularly you will extend the life of the edge considerably.

Sharpening is also all about the angle of the bevel

One of the most important aspects of sharpening is getting the angle of the bevel right. Every blade is sharpened at a particular angle, and different knives are sharpened at different angles.

When we speak of the “angle” we mean the angle between the two sides of the edge of the knife, or more technically, the angle between the centreline of the edge and one side of the edge, or what is called the bevel.

So if the angle of both sides together is, say, forty degrees, then the sharpening angle would be twenty degrees.

This isn’t true for all knives. It is certainly true for knives which are bevelled on both sides, but not all are bevelled on both sides. Sometimes, for example some traditional Asian knives, are completely flat on one side of the edge and only bevelled on the other side.

Kitchen knives commonly, however, are bevelled on both sides and you can tell simply by taking a look at your knife.

The general principle is that the lesser the angle the sharper the knife, however the more often it will need honing or sharpening. There is always a compromise made on the edge of any knife between sharpness, in other words a lesser angle, and durability of the edge, with a greater angle.

Some blades are sharpened at under 10 degrees. An edge sharpened at under 10 degrees is not very robust, and for this reason very fine edges like this are only found on blades which are used on very soft materials, for example a razor blades.

Some of the best knives, and the most expensive, for example some high quality Japanese knives, are sharpened at 15 degrees or less, and are wonderful knives to work with. Most kitchen knives however are sharpened at a greater angle, commonly around 20 degrees.

20 degrees is a reasonable compromise between sharpness and durability, though of course you still have to handle the edge extremely carefully. Don’t put your kitchen knife in a drawer full of other kitchen tools as contact with other tools in the draw will blunt the edge.

Why do you need to know the angle of the bevel?

If you’re sharpening your knife by hand you need to know the angle of the bevel because you need to know what angle to hold the knife at. If it’s a knife with a 20 degree bevel then holding it at 30 degrees will be ineffective. Similarly holding it at 15 degrees will also be ineffective.

In fact learning to hold your knife at the correct angle is one of the most difficult aspects of hand sharpening, and one of the reason so many people who attempt doing the job by hand get a less than satisfying result. Hand sharpening requires practice, primarily learning to hold your knife at the right angle.

And that’s why many common commercial tools will have some method of fixing the angle of the knife for you.

So if you’re new to knife sharpening, not prepared to put in the time and effort to learn how to sharpen by hand, and not willing to spend huge amounts of money on a seriously expensive professional knife sharpening system (which will cost upwards of $500) then look at some of the inexpensive but effective knife sharpeners available at Amazon, they may well be the perfect solution to sharpening your knife, and a simple and inexpensive tool may well be the best one for you.