The Best Knife Sharpener: Reviews of Top Systems and Kits

Sometimes, getting a professional sharpening service just doesn’t cut it anymore. And when you start accumulating a collection of knives, you get to realize that it is more convenient to have a sharpener at home which will give you the same performance as a professional one.

There are many types of sharpeners to choose from, and the choice you make will be based on your experience level and how convenient it is for use.

If it’s your first time shopping for a knife sharpener, you’ll be shocked at how wide and versatile the product range can be. To help you narrow down the best sharpening system for you, we’ve highlighted our top choices in each category with features, pros, and cons.

After that, you can read through the easy buying guide which gives more information about how each of these sharpeners can be useful for you.

The Best Knife Sharpeners Are:

Product	Details
1. Work Sharp WSKTS-KO Sharpener	Top Pick	Adjustable bevel sharpening guide Variable speed motor Premium flexible abrasive belts	Check Current Price
2. Chef's Choice 15 Trizor XV Knife Sharpener		3-Stage EdgeSelect sharpening system Advanced flexible spring angle guides Advanced stropping stage and 100% diamond abrasives Low decibel, high-performance electric motor	Check Current Price
3. Warthog V-Sharp Classic II		Heavy-duty steel frame with non-slip base and thumb grip Adjustable Blade guide 3 Quick snap angles 325 double sides diamond rods and finishing steels Lightweight aluminum sliders	Check Current Price
4. Kyocera Advanced Ceramic Electric Diamond Knife Sharpener		600-grit diamond grinding stone Knife guide and roller assist for precision sharpening 4 AA battery-powered motor ABS plastic exterior casing	Check Current Price
5. KME Precision Knife Sharpener		360 Degree rotational clamp with 2 horizontal stops Knife sharpening system jig 4 diamond-coated sharpening stones Large Hardshell case	Check Current Price
6. Sharp Pebble Premium Whetstone Knife Sharpening Stone		1000/6000 double-sided aluminum oxide sharpening stone Silicone holder and non-slip bamboo base 20-degree sharpening guide	Check Current Price
7. Wusthof Precision Edge 4 Stage Knife Sharpener		Carbide blades sharpening bits Ceramic rods for honing and polishing 4-Stage system for standard and Asian style knives E-Z grip ergonomic handle Non-slip base	Check Current Price
8. Edge Pro Apex 4Kit Knife Sharpening System		Apex model sharpening system 5 water stones in different levels of coarseness Polish tapes and polish tape mounting blanks 8-inch Ceramic Hone Instructional manual and DVD Water spray bottle	Check Current Price
9. Chef's Choice 1520 AngleSelect Knife Sharpener		3-Stage AngleSelect system 100% diamond abrasives in stage 1 and 2 Flexible stropping/ polishing disks in stage 3	Check Current Price

1. Work Sharp WSKTS-KO Sharpener — Best Knife Sharpening System

The WSKTS-KO is a multi-functional sharpener that works for all types of knives. It is a product of a collaboration between the Work Sharp brand and knife designer, Ken Onion. It has provided knife owners with a fast, precise — and probably the best knife sharpening system.

The WSKTS-KO features a variable speed motor that lets you control the belt speed of the sharpening task at hand. The 1.5 amp motor allows for 1-hour of continuous running with an improved cooling system for heavy-duty sharpening.

The sharpener comes with premium quality abrasive belts that give you five levels of abrasiveness to choose from including a 6000 grit belt for serrated blades and other hard to reach edges.

Another feature that we like is the adjustable sharpening guide that helps you produce precise edge bevels which you can preset for repeatable results. Precision is important because it reduces the time spent on sharpening and also the amount of metal stripped off the knife to make a sharp and even edge so that your blade lasts longer.

The WSKTS-KO is an easy to use electric sharpener that works well for all edges, all knives big or small and all types of blades. Although the price is on the high end, it offers much more versatility and keeps your knives more durable than any other sharpener.

Overall Rating – 4.7/5

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2. Chef’s Choice 15 Trizor XV Knife Sharpener — Best Kitchen Knife Sharpener

The Chef’s Choice sharpener is one of the most recommended professional electric sharpeners in the market with over 2000 positive reviews on Amazon. It is user friendly with very easy instructions to follow, durable, good value for your money, and it can make a wonderful gift for someone special.

It is a pull-through sharpener with three stages of sharpening. The first stage will shape any blade into a 15-degree angle and pre-set angle adjustments which make resharpening an easy task since the bevel is maintained.

It is versatile to use on all types of knives and edges and will create factory sharp edges that retain longer and keeps the blade durable.

All these great features come at a price but it is well worth it. It features a strong motor with adjustable speed and a wider range of angle adjustments.

The Trizor XV works well for beginners as it is very user friendly and will improve the performance of ordinary kitchen knives by giving them sharp and durable edges. It takes a minute to sharpen the knife, a feature that makes it ideal for professional kitchens.

Overall Rating – 4.6/5

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3. Warthog V-Sharp Classic II — Best Manual Knife Sharpener

The Classic 2 sharpener is an easy to use sharpener and it delivers high-performance sharpening. It doesn’t require any assembly, it’s just ready to use out of the box.

The Warthog brand comes from South Africa where it has made a name for itself in the manual knife sharpeners market. They use a superior patented design that allows you to sharpen both sides of the blade at the same time.

It uses 325 grit double-sided diamond rods and finishing steels to sharpen. Though it does an excellent job of sharpening plain blades, it doesn’t work on serrated blades. Because it is double-sided, once you’re done with the initial sharpening you then rotate the rods to reveal the finishing steel side.

It also features an adjustable blade guide with 3 quick snap angles at 30 degrees for chopping knives, 25 degrees for pocket knives and hunting knives, and 20 degrees for slicing knives.

The design of this sharpener ensures that the blade is sharpened at a consistent angle at every stroke. As with everything else about this sharpener, angle adjustments are easy and the user manual will help you determine which angle to use depending on the type of knife you want to sharpen.

The Classic 2 does a wonderful job in sharpening plain edges and it has flexible adjustments to sharpen larger and thicker knives. The sharpening rods are durable, so it will take a bit of time before they need replacing.

Overall Rating – 4.7/5

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4. Kyocera Advanced Ceramic Electric Diamond Knife Sharpener — Best Ceramic Knife Sharpener

The Kyocera ceramic knife sharpener is designed to sharpen ceramic knives and steel knives. Ceramic knives have recently become popular kitchen tools and for good reason.

Apart from being aesthetically striking with sleek, modern designs in a variety of colors, ceramic knives are harder than steel and are very resistant to stain and corrosion by caustic and acidic substances.

This makes ceramic knives more durable with better edge retention than steel knives while still being lighter and easier to clean. All this also means that they require a more specialized system for sharpening.

Kyocera manufactures a line of ceramic knives and this ceramic sharpener was created as a piece of accessory equipment for their ceramic knives and steel knives.

Developed for at-home sharpening, this sharpener features a battery-operated, diamond grinding stone that will sharpen the knife to a medium or fine edge. The 600-grit stone can remove nicks of the ceramic blade up to .5mm deep and restore it to a smooth edge.

It uses a convenient knife guide slot to help you achieve the perfect angle and an assist roller system for precise controlled sharpening. The grinding dust resulting from this sharpening is all contained in a covered grinding compartment.

This electric sharpener is the perfect solution for sharpening ceramic blades. And because ceramics have long-lasting edge retention, it allows you to also work on steel blades which require more frequent sharpening.

Overall Rating – 3.5/5

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5. KME Precision Knife Sharpener — Best Pocket Knife Sharpener

The KME Precision is similar to the Apex 4 sharpening kit with one slight difference, the KME uses a clamp to secure the blade while sharpening. While it’s more user friendly than the Apex 4, the clamp limits the size of the blades that you can sharpen effectively.

KME Sharpeners was conceived to ease the task of precision sharpening all types of blades. They produce high-quality sharpeners that deliver excellence in design and performance.

This sharpening system is a manual rod-guided sharpening system that features 4 diamond-coated stones set on a spherical rod guided system with continuous angle adjustments.

The clamp rotates 360 degrees with 2 horizontal stops which allows you to sharpen both sides of the blade without unclamping it. The clamps are lined with neoprene to protect the blades from scratches and are marked with positioning reference lines to help in positioning the blade for touch-ups with repeatable angle precision.

The sharpener requires a little patience to get the hang of it and it’s recommended that you even out the diamond particles on the stones first on an old knife.

Overall Rating – 4.6/5

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6. Sharp Pebble Premium Whetstone Knife Sharpening Stone — Best Knife Sharpener for Beginners

The Premium Whetstone sharpening stone is a high quality and easy to use stone sharpener that is ideal for use on most types of blades. This kit is perfect for beginners and experts alike because although stone requires patience to work with, this one is extremely user friendly.

It comes with few components made of high-quality materials that are easy to assemble. The kit features a double-sided premium quality stone with two levels of grit, 1000/6000, for sharpening and honing dull knives.

The stone is made from aluminum oxide, a premium synthetic material for making sharpening water stones that are abrasive and provide a better sharpening performance. However, the softness of the aluminum oxide makes the stones wear down faster.

The stone is set on a silicone holder that sits on a non-slip bamboo base which holds firm as you slide your knife on the sharpening stone.

It also comes with an angle guide that helps you keep the 20 degrees sharpening angle precise. Apart from kitchen knives, this premium sharpener works on hunting, pocket knives, and even larger tools such as shears and axes.

The stone can be flattened to restore the even surface. This sharpener is a good stepping stone to the more premium Arkansas stone sharpeners and also as an introduction to stone sharpening for beginners.

Overall Rating – 4.7/5

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7. Wusthof Precision Edge 4 Stage Knife Sharpener — Best Budget Knife Sharpener

The Precision Edge is a 4 stage manual sharpener that is suitable for most of the knives in the kitchen. It is a product of the Wusthof brand, a German family company with a long-standing experience in the knife production and sharpening industry. This sharpener is one of their best buys, highly rated for being user friendly and great value for money.

The Precision Edge includes two types of sharpening systems, one for the standard types of blades and the other for the Asian types of blades. The standard sharpener uses carbide blades set at 28 degrees and ceramic rods to polish the blade.

To sharpen your Asian blades, the v-shaped slots are set to 20 degrees which also use carbide blades with ceramic rods.

Other features we like include a non-slip base that provides stability while sharpening and an ergonomic, grippy handle which provides safety and control when pulling the blade through the sharpening slots.

The sharpener works well for good quality knives and leaves a decently sharp edge. It can damage cheap quality knives because of the coarseness of the carbide blades.

Overall Rating – 4.4/5

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8. Edge Pro Apex 4Kit Knife Sharpening System — Best Sharpening Stone Kit

The Apex 4 knife sharpening kit is a patented model from Edge Pro sharpening systems, an American company operating out of Oregon. It is designed to sharpen any type of blade that is up to 3.5 inches wide.

The sharpening process of this kit will give your knives more durability because it removes far less metal when smoothening wavy edges and nicks.

The Apex 4 kit has a quick set up and it utilizes water stones of different levels of coarseness to sharpen. Water stones are more durable because they do not get clogged up as easily as oil stones and are much cheaper to replace.

Using the system takes a bit of getting used to however it comes with an instructional video to help you get the hang of it.

The kit does not clamp the blade which allows you to sharpen any length of the blade, including serrated knives. It also allows for adjustable angle settings which help to determine the correct sharpening angle and makes resharpening a quick process.

The kit is of high-quality construction and will provide excellent results. It has a learning curve to get used to but it is user friendly especially to inexperienced users.

Overall Rating – 4.7/5

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9. Chef’s Choice 1520 AngleSelect Knife Sharpener

The 1520 AngleSelect is designed to sharpen American and Asian style knives as well as plain and serrated knives. It’s one of the best sharpening systems for kitchen knives because it’s so versatile and simple to use.

And unlike the Trizor XV sharpener which converts 20-degree knives to 15 degrees, the AngleSelect accommodates both styles which give you a wider range of sharpening abilities.

Asian style knives often have a delicate 15-degree edge for slicing seafood and less fibrous vegetables which are common ingredients in Asian food. This also means that the steel is harder but brittle.

On the other hand, American and European style knives are heavier and thicker but utilize a softer steel material that is usually set at 20 degrees. The AngleSelect uses patented advanced technology to restore the original edge bevel of your knives with highly precise angle controls.

For sharpening, it uses 100% diamond abrasives to put a sharp edge on the knife. The 3-stage set up accommodates plain and serrated edges, single bevels, sports, and pocket knives as well as thick Deba style blades. The third stage uses a flexible stropping disc that delivers a polished edge and also sharpens serrated blades.

Although the sharpener can accommodate serrated blades, we don’t recommend this one because it will grind up your serrated blades to a plain edge.

Overall Rating – 4.5/5

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Knife Sharpener Buying Guide

Manual sharpeners include sharpening stones that are very efficient in creating sharp, long-lasting edges but they require patience to master which is just too much for most people who just want a sharp knife.

Carbide v-slot sharpeners are the easiest, cheapest, and most common sharpeners but they also strip away too much metal off the blade and can even damage the blade.

Electric sharpeners sharpen quickly and leave a better edge than manual sharpeners although some of them may have the same disadvantages as carbide v-slots sharpeners.

Effectivity

Getting a sharp edge is the most obvious reason for getting yourself a sharpener. Most sharpeners have two stages of sharpening.

The first stage removes any nicks or chips along the blade and restores the blade angle while the second stage hones the blade and gives it the sharp finish.

Before we move on to the next point, let’s highlight a little bit about sharpening angles for knives because it is mentioned quite frequently in the product reviews. Most knives have a bevel on both sides of the edge but there are some with a single bevel.

Most sharpeners come with angle guides that help you control your knife at the correct angle while sharpening. But how do you know which angle your knife is at?

Here is a simple guide:

• Under 10 degrees: Straight edge razors for cutting very soft materials
• 10 to 17 degrees: Mostly found on Asian style knives for slicing meats and soft veggies
• 17 to 25 degrees: Most kitchen knives fall in this category. It allows for smooth cutting and chopping while providing good edge retention.
• 22 to 30 degrees: Pocket knives and hunting knives fall in this category. Edge retention is more durable and it allows the knife to perform tough tasks without chipping
• Above 30 degrees: You’ll get the best edge retention which enables you to perform heavy chopping tasks but you also get reduced cutting performance. Mostly found on heavy-duty cutting tools such as machetes, meat cleavers, and axes.

Versatility

Most people have a selection of different types of knives, even if they’re just kitchen knives. You have plain edges and serrated edges, big and small knives, and different sizes. A good sharpener will accommodate as many of these knives as possible into one unit for convenience.

Size

Size matters because you want something that you can hold well while sharpening but also doesn’t take up much storage space. The modern knife sharpener is compact and allows for multiple sharpening tasks.

Quality

It pays, in the long run, to get a quality knife sharpener so that you don’t damage your knives. The sharpening bits should be durable to give you long service but you should also check that they don’t mar the knife.

Conclusion

Maintaining your knives is not as hard as it sounds like, it just needs a little patience to develop the sharpening skills. If you’re not the patient type, an electric sharpener such as the Work Sharp WSKTS-KO Sharpener will do the trick.

It will sharpen a really dull knife in a minute and you don’t have to worry about the angles and other details because it is all conveniently set up for you.

One thing we can recommend is that when you get your best knife sharpener, try it out on a cheap knife first to check it’s performance before you put in your good quality knives. This will also help you practice a little to get the hang of it and also to understand how your sharpener works.

Let us know which one is your favorite and how it performed in the comments below.