There are so many different knife sharpeners out there. In this video, we review everything from the viral Horl rolling sharpener to a classic whetstone, to help you decide which sharpener is best for you.
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00:00 – The Right Knife Sharpener For You
00:24 – When To Sharpen
01:39 – Honing Rods
04:39 – Manual Sharpeners
06:57 – Rolling Sharpeners
07:56 – Electric Sharpeners
10:45 – Whetstone Sharpening
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Disappointed that ATK did not bother to do a proper review of the Horl, in particular the Horl3 Pro which offers more angles and features. For one, I understand the quality/build is supposed to be far superior to the knockoff Tumbler that they have in this video. Additionally, Horl very clearly advertises that if you run into the issue of the blade being too tall, just place the device on an elevated surface such as a cutting board to be able to sharpen the rest of the knife. I am interested in purchasing one but they're super expensive and would love to have the team at ATK get their critical eyes on it first.
I have the Chef's Choice electric sharpener and do read the instructions, but the instructions are very specific on how to sharpen knives with different edge angles. I have several knives I routinely use but don't have a clue as to what the edge angles are! How do I determine the angle?
Ish what a weird segment talking about the rolling sharpener. First of all you could use it properly by holding the cylinder and rolling it on the table, it has bearing in the ends. You are note supposed to roll your hand over it. Also in the beginning of the video you have on the table the HORL which is the original version of the product. The tumbler you showed is a poor copycat, I do feel that it sucks indeed. I have a horl and I ditched whet stone for that and it's much easier to use and I would recommend it. The positioning of the roller sometimes need to be adjusted to accommodate the weird heel of knives like the one you're using.
Love using Guinea pigs as a unit of measurement !😂
Well you did ask, I'm using a Warthog sharpener that's (apparently) made in South Africa. I'm a home enthusiast cook and I do quite a bit of knife work during my fun and games. The Warthog is an odd-looking contraption with two pencil sized grinding stones that can be set for anything between 15 to 30 degrees. The stones are held on sprung loaded frames that apply a constant pressure to the edge, maintaining a correct alignment and the device sharpens both sides of the blade at the same time. I keep it on my top shelf and when I've used a knife, I get it down to draw the knife through the sharpener between four or five times. All of my knives appear to be razor sharp although I haven't tried the 15-degree setting on my sushi cutter because it's brand new. Take a look at the Warthog because they are fairly inexpensive, built very well and hey, how many times do you buy a product from South Africa.
3 of the my favourites in one ❤
Roller sharpeners are too ridiculously priced. You can buy a professional worksharp for about the same price.
have the people freaking out over the pull-through sharpeners actually ruined a knife? it's worked for mine for 10 years, hasn't ruined any. it doesn't make them factory sharp, but i'm not a pro chef, i dont mind. it seriously improves them for weeks-months. i guess i've never rolled or chipped a knife, then used the sharpener. if my knife was seriously damaged, i'd get professional help.
I've always had small whetstone for honing. The accusharp was a fail. Late I bought a larger whetstone kit for true blade sharpening.
But what's the technique to use any of these sharpeners? Do I apply a lot of pressure, or very little pressure? How many times should I run the knife over the 'coarse' or 'fine' blades? This video doesn't help me one bit to keep my knives sharpened but you sure did mention a lot of brand names.
Did no one tell the presenters that the heel of the hone handle give you the 2 standard angles for honing???
I hope you do a video that explanes in detail how to sharpen on a whetstone because that is the best way to sharpen a knife.
Wonderful tips, but how do you tell the diff. between the need to SHARPEN vs need to hone?
We also keep the manual under our electric sharpener and look at it every time!
I use knives that never need sharpening. It's cutting edge technology.
Can you sharpen bread knives. If so how?
Invested a bit of time to learn how to use a whet stone. One of the best investments I've made for the kitchen.
Missed opportunity @13:29
Whetstones are for those who want to hone their craft!
I've had good experiences with a Wicked Edge clone. Wicked Edge is unfortunately very expensive, but the clone is better than the Lansky system, which only works well on small knives.
As a professional chef none of those knife sharpeners are any good!
Hi ladies. You’re not using the Horl rolling sharpener correctly. You need to follow the cutting edge when near the tip. Also, yes the knife blade is more exposed but if you can’t pay attention to that fact then you shouldn’t be sharpening your knives.
I "played" with different sharpeners but found this one the be the easiest and best. Since every blad has a different purpose they may have different angles. Using a honer just ruins everything. IF ya get a chance just try this simple one.
Lansky C-SHARP Ceramic Orange 4.25" V-Groove Knife Sharpener.
You are using the rolling style sharpener incorrectly. Never used one, but videos abound and I presume they come with instructions. Personally, the Chef's Choice manual is my favorite for more than to years. I've given a half dozen away as gifts.
I am an Eagle Scout and aced all the required tests and merit badges, including the Totin' Chip, a specialty badge that involves the safe use and sharpening of blades (knives, axes, etc.). I am also a retired chef, with additional training in knife sharpening in culinary school..
I have about half a dozen knife sharpeners in my house at present.
THe best, bar none, is the Wicked Eye manual knife sharpener. I have one. But it takes lots of practice to use, is tricky, can go wrong, and is very expensive, as in some models cost over $1,200. I do not recommend them, in reality.
From a practical point of view, the best sharpener I have used is a Chef's Choice Model 15. electric sharpener. It is pretty easy to use, and retouches a blade quickly. The worst part is hte instructions are confusing to follow. This model put a finer 15-degree edge on knives, which is becoming the new standard (Older knives were generally sharpened to 20 degrees. This is not as sharp, but does not need re-sharpening as often).
My Chef's Choice Model 15 is what I actually use.
I also have an Edge Pro Apex.
If I were to buy a manual sharpener today, I would probably get a Lansky.
The advantage of the Lansky and the Wicked Edge is that the knife is locked into the angle you want to sharpen at, which is vey important, as each stroke is then identical..
Before spending a penny, look at these tests as well:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9Lu71ewVSw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEDyYJJ6f9M
Lan Lam have you tried using the edge of a cardboard box to hone and polish ? Let us know what you think of it. PS old cardboard is free
I've tried them all. Learn to sharpen your knives using a set of quality whetstones. Add a ceramic hone. You will never have to deal with dull knives again. Save yourself time and money and frustration. You will never look back.
I take it to a professional. Not just knives but scissors, garden tools, etc. I was lucky to find a guy that is knife nerd. He actually builds knives for Hollywood and rebuilt a handle for one my knives. The knife was made from really good steel and he said to keep it.
If you're based in the Boston area (where ATK is) then I recommend China Fair in Newton for sharpening. They charge $1/blade, as of June 2025 and I've been very happy with them over the years.
Does anyone have an opinion regarding exceptions for santoku knives or any knife without smooth sides?
Oilstones or ceramic is a great sharpening option for beginners. Oilstones have harder binders than waterstones reducing the need to flatten concavey areas. These options resist dishing.
I look forward to buying a Cherry Oil Stone. Pretty much the only Japanese oilstone aside from ceramic stones.
I’m surprised and actually a little disappointed that you didn’t include a sharpening steel as an option for sharpening. You made the distinction of what a honing device does but not that a sharpening steel is how you can get a very sharp knife that professional chefs use..
Shapton Glass, baby. 320, 1000, 3000 and 6000. Followed by a strop with 1 micron diamond spray,
How would you know when is time to replace the honing rod if ever?
Seems like neither the manual gadget nor the electric one take the knife angle into account. I guess they just reshape the knife into whatever angle they thing is the average best.
I have found that guinea pig is not a very good center of the plate favorite…
You Tube is populated with a lot of folk who get lost in the weeds. Knives and knife sharpening is a prime example. Well I found my happy place. Cheap knife, moderately priced sharpening system. I have a carbon steel vegetable cleaver that I bought online for less than ten dollars. A year ago I bought a SHARPAL 121N Dual-Grit Diamond Sharpening Stone File Garden Tool Knife Sharpener with the sturdy handle for 20 dollars. I would NEVER use this on gardening tools, axes, or lawn mower blades. I'd use a cheap metal file of which was passed down to me by my father. This tool is basically a very modern update of the old metal file. I use it to hone my cleaver which is pretty much the only knife I use in my cooking and I cook a lot. The beauty of this tool is you can use it to hone as well as sharpen. A few passes on both sides and you have a very sharp knife which gets the results with paper or tomatoes that were gotten in the video. Carbon steel is soft and doesn't hold an edge but with this tool you can get it back to maximum sharpness in less than a minute's time. It hangs in my kitchen and is as handy to use as it gets.
If you buy the knockoff rolling sharper and you don’t know how to use it of course it won’t work and it will be dangerous to use.
Oil on the whetstone?
I've been sharpening my knives many different ways including a few of the ways/tools you mentioned but in the vein of always learning something new…a have that electric knife sharpener…and a guinea pig is that big!?!?! 🙂
What a troublesome topic to cover. When it comes to knife sharpening and knife sharpeners, pretty much everyone either thinks they're a dunce or an expert. There aren't many who put themselves anywhere in between those. Since there are no tools for dummies that experts consider any good, and no tools for experts that dummies can use, you're guaranteed to be considered wrong no matter what you say, regardless of the effectiveness of your chosen tools or methods. Good luck.