How to Buy the Best Knife Sharpener at the Best Price
When it comes to knives most people actually throw them away when they get dull instead of sharpening them. All knives, no matter what the quality, cost, or what the manufacturer says, need sharpening at regular intervals. A sharp knife is actually safer to use in the kitchen because you have to use less pressure and can easily cut the food instead of forcing the knife through. I'll show you the basic technique used to sharpen a knife as well as some inexpensive tools you can buy to make the process simple and quick.
- Difficulty:
- Easy
Instructions
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A knife becomes dull for two reasons. First, through general use and abuse, the edge of the knife becomes bent and out of alignment. Secondly, the edge itself dulls over time. The best way to picture this is if you take a new, crisp sheet of paper. It can give you a nasty paper cut if you run the edge along your skin. Take that same piece of paper and crumple it up real good. Flatten it out and look at it. The edge is the same as before, but we know the possibility of a paper cut is quite low. This is because the edge is out of alignment. The first thing to do is hone the edge to get it straight again.
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J.A. Henckels sharpening steel
To hone the edge use a knife sharpening steel. The steel will re-align the edge, it won't sharpen it, that's the next step. Holding the sharpening steel just run the knife from end to end at a 25 degree angle, do this on both sides of the knife 3 or 4 times.
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Wusthof knife sharpener
Once the edge is re-aligned we can actually get to sharpening the edge. There are two main types of sharpeners. Manual and electric. Which one is best for you is a personal choice. Manual ones are cheaper and do just as good a job as the electric ones. Electric ones are great if you have lots of knives to sharpen.
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Presto knife sharpener
Whichever type you decide to get make sure it has guides to automatically set the proper angle. In addition the best types also have multiple sharpening levels, coarse and fine.
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Being a purist I prefer the traditional method of honing the edge with a sharpening steel, then sharpening with a manual knife sharpener. I think this gives the best results and allows you to monitor your progress easily and not over sharpen the edge, thus grinding it down too much.
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When you're ready to buy a knife sharpener consider online merchants, they have a large inventory, generally lower prices and usually product reviews right on their site. You'll find links to some great merchants on this page as well as product links below to the highest rated sharpeners. Use either of these resources to get the best knife sharpener at the best possible price.
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Tips & Warnings
Always hone the knife first, then sharpen for the best results
Always be extremely careful and work slowly. Knife sharpening is inherently dangerous
