As far as routine chores go, we put sharpening knives on par with flossing. We all know we should be doing it more frequently than we probably are. Proper maintenance of your blades makes for safer, more efficient cutting in the kitchen or the field. That’s where a good knife sharpener comes in.
Knife sharpeners keep your carving knives and other cutlery in prime condition relatively quickly and easily. Chefs typically use a whetstone for sharpening but there are plenty more options out there: Manual and electric knife sharpeners shave your blade down for an aligned, sharp edge to cut and slice. Some include a strop to further polish the knife’s edge.
To find the best knife sharpeners for cooks and for everyday carry, we tested models from several of the most respected brands, including Chef’s Choice, Work Sharp, and Presto. These are the ones we think are worth your hard-earned buck.
The Best Knife Sharpeners
What to Consider
How We Tested
We identified popular models for kitchen and other small knives; compared the cost, build, and features of each; and called in the most promising options to test their performance ourselves.
First, we dulled the knives by scraping them against 80-grit sandpaper for two minutes. At this point, they barely manage to make more than a knick on a piece of paper, let alone slice into it.
We then used the sharpeners per the manufacturer instructions to return sharp edges to the blades. Repeating the paper test and slicing ripe tomatoes gave us a good impression of how effective each sharpener is. We didn’t saw into the fruit, but rather let the knives rest on the tomato as we slowly applied force to the handle until the blades cut through.
In our testing, seven sharpeners impressed us enough to earn recommendations. For some of these sharpeners, we also were able to use an edge tester to check the Brubacher Edge Sharpness Scale (BESS) rating after sharpening.
The Brubacher Edge Sharpness Scale is a standardized test for measuring a knife’s sharpness. In our case, we used it to measure the effectiveness of each knife sharpener—the sharper the knife, the better the sharpener. The test uses a scale to measure the amount of force required to cut through a taught plastic wire. Lower scores are sharp, higher scores are dull. For perspective, a new high-end cutlery edge should fall between 250 and 350 BESS. We note the rating in the key specs of models we were able to test.
Our Best Knife Sharpener Recommendations
Best Overall
Work Sharp Precision Adjust Elite Knife Sharpener
Pros
- Seven abrasive grits
- Adjustable sharpening angle
Cons
- More time consuming to operate
Key Specs
| Sharpening Angle | 15 to 30 degrees |
|---|---|
| Abrasive | 220, 320, 400, 600, and 800 diamond; fine ceramic; and leather strop |
| BESS | 200 |
The Work Sharp Precision Adjust kit eliminates the learning curve needed for a sharp edge by locking down the blade and keeping the sharpening plates at a constant and correct angle. Just like using a whetstone, you climb the ladder from coarse to fine sharpening mediums, resulting in a razor-sharp knife.
The sharpener itself is more intricate than other sharpeners we tested and requires a bit of assembly, but the end result is a sharper, more precise knife. The seven different types of abrasive grits fine tune each knife to your exact preferences, and the sharpening angle can be adjusted between 15 and 30 degrees.
The kit comes with its own carrying case as well as additional sharpening stones, so you can keep your sharpener working in peak condition for longer without the need for replacement parts. Our only minor issue involved keeping the sharpener stable with our hefty 8-inch Amazon Basics chef’s knives clamped in place. It’s ideal for blade lengths eight inches and shorter.
If you just want to keep your blades relatively sharp and perform maintenance on occasion, this kit may be overkill. However, both beginners and knife aficionados who want a sharp edge that’s easily achieved will benefit from the Precision Adjust knife sharpener.
Best Electric
Chef’s Choice Trizor 15XV Knife Sharpener
Pros
- Produces a very sharp edge
- Three-stage design includes a strop
Cons
- Probably overkill for most
Key Specs
| Sharpening Angle | 15 degrees |
|---|---|
| Abrasives | Diamond |
| BESS | Untested |
We tend to agree with the sharpening purists of the world who tout the benefits of using whetstones—but we found ourselves questioning our allegiance after we used the Trizor. This electric sharpener is undeniably convenient and proved very effective. In just nine passes per side, our chef’s knife smoothly tore a long slit into the piece of paper.
The knife needed more force to break the tomato’s skin, but once it did, it sliced through the fruit cleanly. By comparison, the knife required 10 times as many strokes on one of the sharpening stones we tested before it was usable. Credit the Trizor’s diamond abrasives, which shave the metal easily, and its acute sharpening angle.
Chef’s Choice also thoughtfully includes a third stage designed for stropping, which removes any microscopic bumps or pits on the edge of the blade—this is pretty rare to see on an electric knife sharpener.
The EverSharp was the most affordable electric sharpener we tested, and we were pleasantly surprised with its quiet motor and proficiency. We’d be remiss not to mention that it outperformed Presto’s more advanced 08810 sharpener—the logical next step up.
Ease of use is the real party piece here, with its auto-stall function that slows and stops the rotating grinding stones to prevent you from using too much pressure. It’s a smart feature for not accidentally ruining your knives, but it’s touchy—we tripped it more than once before getting the right pressure and it briefly had us thinking that the sharpener was dead on arrival.
The machine and its synthetic ceramic abrasives, which Presto calls Sapphirite, did a fine job of honing our knife once we had adjusted to its peculiarities.
Sharpening stones or whetstones are believed to have been used as far back as 79 AD—over 1,900 years ago for those keeping track. History aside, most professionals use whetstones to keep their knives at send-you-to-the-hospital levels of sharpness.
Whetstones require more advanced techniques to reap their benefits properly; much of this involves keeping the knife at a constant and correct angle throughout the sharpening process. Luckily, this set includes an angle guide for consistent, easy-to-maintain sharpening. The plastic base provided stability and elevated the stone off the table, which added to its ease of use.
The stone has a 1,000-grit and a 6,000-grit side—perfect for restoring the edge on dull knives, but you’ll want a coarser grit for any serious repairs and restoration. It’s great for 6-inch chef knives, paring knives, and small blades but you’ll need a wider stone if you want to sharpen larger blades in a single pass.
All of this might be overwhelming as a newcomer—it was for tester Matt Crisara—but he insists “you buy one and jump right in. If I can do it, so can you.”
Most Affordable
Smith’s 2-Step Knife Sharpener
Pros
- Great for camping or fishing
- Easy to carry or store
Cons
- Doesn’t work well for expensive chef knives
Key Specs
| Sharpening Angle | Not specified |
|---|---|
| Abrasives | Tungsten carrbide and ceramic |
| BESS | 305 |
As one of the cheapest options tested, we were surprised by Smith’s CCKS that yielded a very respectable BESS rating of 305. It’s designed for sharpening fishing, hunting, and even pocket knives, but we found that it also works well in the home.
The “coarse” step uses tungsten carbide to do most of the dirty work, while the “fine” step uses crossed ceramic rods to refine the edge. In less than a minute, we were able to cut a new edge on abused kitchen knives. The CCKS made them sharp enough that we could slice through paper (although not perfectly clean) and sliced a tomato using moderate pressure, without sawing.
While we wouldn’t use the Smith’s sharpener on expensive chef’s knives, it’s certainly a handy sharpener to quickly tune up an assortment of run-of-the-mill knives. It’s a great item to add to your kit if you often find your gutting blades dulling while you’re out fishing or hunting. However, it’s important to note that you really only need to draw the knife through each side three to four times. Any work past that point started dulling the blade.
Best Manual
Sharpal 191H Knife & Scissors Sharpener
Pros
- Small design is easy to store
- Sharpens scissors
Cons
- Not the best for very dull knives
Key Specs
| Sharpening Angle | Not specified |
|---|---|
| Abrasives | Carbide, ceramic, and tungsten carbide |
| BESS | 450 |
To the naked eye, the Sharpal 191H just looks like any other double-sided draw-through sharpener—and it kind of is—however, its clever design uses a suction cup to keep it stuck to the countertop. Clamping down the lever behind the sharpening slots activated the suction cup base, and once that was engaged, the 191H didn’t budge on countertops. This design allows for one-handed operation.
As for sharpening ability, it took north of 70 passes between the two stages to restore a good cutting edge to our dull test knife. We noticed it left a few small chips in the blade, but we found this was likely an issue with the Amazon Basics knives we used as a control for the test. Still, this was faster than other manual models we tried, and if you’re mostly using it for twice-monthly touch-ups, you’ll need considerably less elbow grease.
We appreciated the addition of the leftmost abrasive that’s built for sharpening scissors. It quickly cleaned up the edges on a pair we’ve had for several years that hadn’t been sharpened before.
Useful and inexpensive, the 191H is a good choice for regular light-duty blade maintenance. It’s small enough to fit inside your silverware drawer or sit discreetly on your countertop, meaning you’ll spend less time setting it up than a bulkier electric machine that you have to fish out from the cabinet above the refrigerator.
Most Versatile
Work Sharp Benchstone Knife Sharpener
Key Specs
| Sharpening angle: | 20- and 25-degree guides included |
|---|---|
| Abrasives: | 320- and 600-grit diamond and ceramic |
| BESS | Untested |
For one sharpening system to tackle every dull blade in your house, pick the Benchstone. The tool has three sides, each with a different abrasive that’s designed for dry sharpening.
It was nice to avoid soaking or dousing anything with water, like traditional whetstones require. Instead, we simply rotated it to our desired sharpening surface and got to work. We also appreciated the Pivot Response feature, which allows the stone to tilt with our strokes. If you’re just learning how to sharpen by stone (or it’s been awhile since you last used one), the removable angle guides are helpful and beginner-friendly.
Although it was less of a concern with our very dull test knife, beware of removing more metal than necessary on the coarse diamond abrasives—and consider regularly honing your undamaged blades on the ceramic face to extend the length of time between more rigorous sharpening.
It’s worth noting that the abrasives are smaller than some stones, which might make it more difficult to sharpen anything larger than a 10-inch kitchen knife.
Danny Perez is a Commerce Editor for Popular Mechanics with a focus on men’s style, gear, and home goods. Recently, he was coordinator of partnership content at another product journalism outlet. Prior to that, he was a buyer for an independent men’s shop in Houston, Texas, where he learned all about what makes great products great. He enjoys thrifting for 90s Broadway tees and vintage pajama sets. His spare time is occupied by watching movies and running to impress strangers on Strava.
Adrienne Donica tested hiking, camping, and other adventure gear as Popular Mechanics‘ outdoors editor, before going on to edit gear reviews for Popular Mechanics, Runner’s World, and Bicycling as Expert Reviews editor. Find her on the trail, working on her latest cocktail project, or eating mint chocolate chip ice cream.
Matt Crisara is a native Austinite who has an unbridled passion for cars and motorsports, both foreign and domestic. He was previously a contributing writer for Motor1 following internships at Circuit Of The Americas F1 Track and Speed City, an Austin radio broadcaster focused on the world of motor racing. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Arizona School of Journalism, where he raced mountain bikes with the University Club Team. When he isn’t working, he enjoys sim-racing, FPV drones, and the great outdoors.
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