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As far as household staples go, the most overlooked in setting up a kitchen is easily a knife sharpener. Knives are something most of us use in meal prep every single day, and with every cut the blade becomes duller. The process is so subtle we may not even notice until we finally use a new knife again, or worse, slip and cut our hand while chopping!
As we use a kitchen knife, the cutting edge is slowly dulling and developing a bend in the apex of the knife, called a burr. With extended use, the damage is compounding. Soon, many find themselves purchasing a new knife, which is so wasteful when a knife sharpener is such a simple and inexpensive investment.
Whether you’re a pro chef with extremely expensive knives, or a mum chopping veggies with hand-me-downs, the sharpness of your knife is what will both keep you safe and also make cooking a smoother and speedier experience.
An estimated 99% of your knives’ useful life is dependent on edge performance, and something as simple as a knife sharpener will protect your investment and give you decades of extra use. With a knife sharpener, you will genuinely not need to replace your knives again until you’re looking to upgrade the steel.
Modern knife sharpeners can apply a better edge to knives than what’s applied in the factory, even for someone who’s never sharpened a knife before. That said, skill plays a big part in getting the most out of your knife sharpener, and while a whetstone will give the best edge, most people find them quite difficult to use.
There are a variety of different options these days to cater to all skill types. That said, keep in mind that in general, knife sharpeners that require more skill are getting a cleaner, sharper, and better result. We’ve rounded up the best knife sharpeners of all different types and put together this list ranked from easiest to use, to sharpeners that produce the best results.
1. Davis & Waddell D1517 Electric Knife Sharpener
An electric knife sharpener that does all the work for you
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The Davis & Waddell D1517 is the best electric knife sharpener for home we can find in Australia. It offers two-stage coarse and fine grinding for European knives, scissors and screwdrivers, and requires zero effort or experience from the user.
Powered by a 60W motor, this electric sharpener will do all the labour so you don’t have to exert your own effort at all. The benefit here is that drawing the blade slowly will allow the machine to file away the edge at a perfect 20 degree angle, with little to no chance of user error. That can mean being a little overzealous with sharpening, so it also has two in-built drawers that allow you to easily remove shavings as they build up.
To avoid ruining your blades, the sharpener also provides protection against overheating by simply turning off when it’s becoming hot. However, this safeguard only activates when overheating, so you should ideally only use this machine for under a minute or two at a time - which is more than enough time for knife sharpening anyway.
You may prefer to use a cooler non-electronic method for critically damaged or older blades, but this machine is a fast and easy way to keep good knives in good nick. For new knives, a few passes through this machine every month will ensure you never have a dull blade again.
2. AnySharp Pro World's Best Knife Sharpener
The simplest kitchen knife sharpener, ever
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AnySharp Pro has called this “The World’s Best Knife Sharpener” and for its simplicity, we have to agree that this tiny device is so user-friendly it should be the go-to staple of modern Aussie kitchens. With very little effort or experience, a few light passes will sharpen any normal knife from the shop into a mean keen little slicer.
Extremely simple and intuitive to use, the device has one single slot set to 20 degrees, with a guide that keeps the blade centred during sharpening. Drawing the blade gently through the tungsten carbide sharpening edges just 3 or 4 times will do all the angling and sharpening for you to restore blades like new.
A suction lever “power grip” is centred at the back, making this unit symmetrical and easy to use left-handed. The power grip suction is seriously tough and fixes fast to any flat surface, providing a stable and safe surface to pull the knife through. This is great for shaky hands or those that have never tried a sharpener before.
This design is not only simple but extremely small, at only 6x6cm, it takes up no space to store neatly, or can even be power gripped to your fridge or kitchen tiles when not in use!
3. Sharpal 191H Knife & Scissors Sharpener
A small and versatile sharpener for household knives and scissors
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With excellent versatility, compact size, and reasonable price, this is our favourite all rounder that is easy to use, making the Sharpal 191H Knife & Scissors Sharpener the best knife sharpening for steel European blades.
The design of this sharpener is extremely simple, but does not lose out on versatility by providing three slots that can handle a variety of different jobs. Tungsten carbide blades for quick edge setting, ceramic blades for fine honing, and a special tungsten carbide blade for grinding down scissors.
The multipurpose utility of this sharpener is really what makes it such an attractive gadget, as your average Australian kitchen will be chopping up veggies, cutting paper, and using serrated knives often enough to want a single product to cover every use case.
The knife sharpener uses a suction cup to keep it still on your countertop to the tune of a whopping 25kg. 25kg of force is nearly impossible to wrench this tiny gadget off the counter, and is sure to keep it perfectly still while you run your knives and scissors through.
The lever is simple to unclip when you're done, and the small size of 7x7cm takes up no space at all in your kitchen drawers.
4. Marbeni 3 Stage 4-in-1 Knife Sharpener
A premium knife sharpening tool to keep with camping, barbeque, or hunting supplies
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Although suitable for kitchen and ceramic blades, we think the Marbeni 3 Stage 4-in-1 Knife Sharpener is the best hunting knife sharpener in Australia. Well-labelled, compact, and easy to use, this is one to keep in your camping kit for cooking and grill outs, as well as sharpening up hunting blades.
Unlike other sharpeners that may have the same materials at different grades in each spot, the Marbeni has diamond surface, tungsten steel, and a ceramic stone sharpener for different needs of different blades. In addition, there is an extra slot specifically designed for sharpening scissors
For your regular kitchen and carving knives, you will likely use all three slots to create the ultimate edge. First, prepare your knife in the diamond surface slot, which will remove nicks and damage to the edge, to give you an uninterrupted surface to sharpen.
Then, move on to the tungsten steel slot, which will sharpen down that edge to a standard 20 degree angle. Finally, the ceramic stone slot will hone and polish the edge for that ultra sharp finish.
Unless you have serious specialty knives, this sharpener should be fine for any regular European blades and has the added bonus of taking ceramic knives, too. And you'll find clear numerical markers indicating the order of each stage. This is great user-friendliness, and avoids you having to keep instructions around to remember how to use it effectively.
5. AiScrofa 3-Stage Knife Sharpener
A comfortable and user friendly value pick with some extra features
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With a comfortable grip and reversible grinder head for left handers, the AiScrofa 3-Stage Knife Sharpener is a great all-rounder at a bargain price.
The shape of the sharpener is nicely designed to fit comfortably in your hand as you press it into your hard surface, with a non-slip base to support you to keep the sharpener firmly in place. Drawing the blade lightly through the three slots is an easy and intuitive process, and is ergonomically one of the most comfortable chef knife sharpeners to use left or right handed.
The three stage sharpening system provides a slot for coarsely sharpening ceramic blades and damaged metal blades, a slot for fine honing the V shape on metal blades, and a third slot for finishing polishing and eliminating burrs.
Our favourite feature in this sharpener is that the grinding head can be removed from the handle of the unit, either to make it much easier to clean at the tap, or simply to turn it around for left handed use.
This is a budget pick that checks all the boxes without damaging your blades, making this a great versatile sharpener for kitchen use.
Best For Henckels Knives
6. Wusthof 2 Stage Handheld Knife Sharpener
A luxe 2 stage sharpener that sharpens quickly and smoothly
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Wusthof 2 Stage Handheld Knife Sharpener is a two stage sharpener that both looks and feels beautiful to use, with quality materials in a heavy and satisfying body.
The sharpener feels quite good to use, in part because the sturdy weight pushes the super grip base into your countertop, preventing slippage and giving you a safe angle to work with.
On the left, the coarse tungsten carbide steel slot is designed to be used occasionally, to restore your oldest and bluntest knives to their original factory glory. Then on the right, a few gentle strokes through the fine ceramic slot will touch up and hone your sharpening job to the most precise point, polishing and finishing your blade.
However, one noticeable drawback is that the two stages are labelled in German: 'grob' for 'coarse' and 'fein' for 'fine'. To avoid confusion for users who are not familiar with the German language, it would be helpful to include English translations in future models.
Perhaps the greatest advantage of the Wusthof sharpener is its lifetime warranty against manufacturing faults and defects. Although it falls within the mid-to-high price range for manual sharpeners on our list, the cost is only a few dollars more than other options. For such a nice-looking and user-friendly sharpener, it's a price worth paying.
Best For Japanese Knives
7. Chef'sChoice Model 4643 AngleSelect Professional
A great sharpener for Asian and European specialty knives
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This pull-through sharpener appears at first glance to be the same as others, but there’s more going on inside to bring sharper professional results. As this sharpener offers both 20 and 15 degree angles, the Chef’s Choice 4643 AngleSelect Profession is the best knife sharpener for Japanese knives.
Specialised diamond abrasive wheels are used in all three sharpening slots, crisscrossed to sharpen simultaneously on either side of the blade and hone the edge. The third slot provides a micro serrated polished edge to fine tune the edge to perfect sharpness and remove burrs.
The slots are clearly labeled as 15º, 20º, and Polishing & Serrating, but those labels will not help beginners or those who have forgotten the difference. The soft touch ergonomic handle is lovely to hold and use for right handers, but unfortunately, this sharpener has not included any reversible elements, making use awkward or dangerous for left handers.
However, for those that know their knives well, this is a high quality pull-through sharpener that has much better materials and design in the guts than it first appears. The precision angle control in the design makes it a really great sharpener for those who have invested in multiple styles of quality kitchen knives.
Best For Global Knives
8. Minosharp 3 Stage Ceramic Water Sharpener
A ceramic water sharpener specially designed for Global knives
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A ceramic water sharpener that has been specially designed for use with Global knives, the Minosharp Plus 3 is the ultimate back-and-forth sharpener for quality Japanese knives.
The range is developed specifically for Global knives that have a 12.5 degree blade edge. This is a little narrower than the usual 15 - 20 degrees of other knives, so it’s not the best for cheap or thicker blades. If the material is too brittle, sharpening this narrow can damage the integrity of the metal.
The three stage sharpening process is marked somewhat lightly on the side to show which direction to take stages in. The three slots contain a pair of coarse, medium, and super fine ceramic wheels which can be purchased and replaced separately.
Global knives are made in a Asian style of professional blade made from ice tempered and hardened steel. As with most Asian style blades, it’s important to keep the blade cool as you sharpen, and to sharpen regularly to keep the narrow edge keen.
Best For Beginners
9. Sharp Pebble Premium Whetstone Grit 400/1000
A high quality and affordable entry point to the world of whetstone sharpening
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The Sharp Pebble is the best chef knife sharpening stone for beginners and onwards, thanks to its high quality make and very reasonable price. Sharp Pebbles are quite famous for being every cook’s first ever whetstone, and this compact starter set is an excellent and affordable first step to learning how to manually sharpen your own knives to perfection.
The kit comes with one 400 / 1000 grit combination waterstone, a non-slip rubber base that stays firmly to your counter, a flattening stone to even out your whetstone as it wears over time, and a knife sharpening guide to clearly explain how to use the stone and get the best out of your knives.
The waterstone is fantastically well-made, with highly durable silicon carbide that will last through hundreds of sharpenings. No sharpening oil required. The two sided 400 / 1000 grit combination is ideal for most situations and the easiest to work with for inexperienced users.
Use 400 grit on your most damaged knives to set a new edge that could transform a butter knife, then turn over the block to the 1000 grit side, to hone that edge into a slicing marvel. The 400 and 1000 grit sides are clearly marked and coloured distinctively, but maintain a very sophisticated look without garish colours. You’ll find once your knives are sharp, you’ll likely only use the 1000 side to keep that edge immaculate.
Best For Wusthof Knives
10. Britor Knife Whetstone Sharpening Stone Set
A premium whetstone sharpening set for every possible need
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The Britor Knife Whetstone Sharpening Stone Set is an extraordinarily thorough set for hobbyists and professionals with experience sharpening blades. Considering the inclusions, this set is an unbeatable price for knife enthusiasts.
The set includes one 400 / 1000 grit water stone and one 3000 / 8000 grit water stone that are both clearly marked and colour coded for immediate recognition in a busy kitchen. It’s hard to imagine a use for 8000 grit outside a straight razor for shaving, and sure enough, the kit does come with a leather razor strop for removing burrs from straight razors.
The non-slip bamboo base is simple and sturdy, and two silicone bases for the whetstones have been provided to ensure stability as you sharpen. A black carbon angle guide is also included to support the knife to stay at the correct angle while sharpening.
For those with Wusthof knives, this is a fantastic help trying to nail that perfect 14 degree angle that can’t be found on pull-through sharpeners.
This kit also includes a flattening stone to re-level the stones as they wear, a leather honing strop to remove fine burrs from blades and tools, and a honing guide to help adjust trickier tools to hold, like chisels. There’s even a decent bar of polishing compound to get a beautiful glassy edge on your finest blade.
Our main complaint with this extremely thorough kit is that there is no proper storage included! It’s a shame to bundle all these elements without anything more than the cardboard box it came in, especially since the kit would make for a fantastic gift for someone getting into sharpening as a hobby.
Finally, we’ve seen some glowing reviews for Britor that praised their excellent customer service and genuine passion for their products. Some customers who weren’t sure how to use parts of this set, or had manufacturer’s blemishes in the stones, found Britor extremely helpful and accommodating in resolving the problem.
How to choose a knife sharpener
Once you’ve noticed your knives aren’t what they used to be, it can be overwhelming trying to figure out how to choose a sharpener that suits your knives. Knife sharpeners are inexpensive but the wrong one used the wrong way can shorten the life of your knives rather than extend it. The main two considerations are simply your own sharpening skills, and what type of blades you’re looking to sharpen.
Your ability
There’s a reason this list is sorted from easiest to use to best results, and that is simply because a sharpening whetstone is by far the best sharpener, but a fiddly skill to learn and can be dangerous to get wrong. If you have someone who knows how to teach you, get a lesson from them so they can spot you the first couple of times, or less ideally look on Youtube for tutorials.
After that, the regular back-and-forth or pull-through manual sharpeners will do a fine job, even better than factory set edges, so don’t worry if you don’t have the inclination to learn. Here, the main skill is just keeping the blade even perpendicular to your countertop, and the sharpener itself will help with this somewhat.
If you have shaky hands or any other reason a manual sharpener won’t be stable, there are also electric sharpeners out there that will do everything for you, although they are easy to overdo.
European vs Asian knives
The first thing to check is where your knives are from. If your answer to this is “umm… from the supermarket?” then the answer is European. European/German knives tend to have a factory set edge of 20 degrees, and this is great for a sturdy and long lasting blade that will chop through tougher foods like meat and fibrous vegetables. Even with regular supermarket knives, sharpening to 20 degrees will ultimately result in better knives than what you bought. Filing down these knives too thin will only result in faster bluntening, as the Western steel is softer to prevent chipping.
Japanese professional knives tend to be extremely slim and sharp with an edge of only 15 degrees, making them a beautiful tool for cooking seafood and less fibrous vegetables, but also allowing them to become worn and damaged sooner. A knife sharpener designed for European knives will not give these knives the best edge possible, as their thin physique can only provide sufficient pressure to a razor sharp blade.
Serrated knives, ceramic knives, and scissors
If you are looking to sharpen knives other than straight flat steel blades, you should check carefully that your knife sharpener takes these kinds of blades. Scissors and serrated blades are most a problem due to their shape, and the knife sharpener will always advertise if it can accommodate these blades.
Ceramic blades that “never go dull” do take a very long time to dull because ceramic has a hardness of 9.5 (unlike steel, at 6.5). They can be sharpened, but the only material hard enough to sharpen it is diamond, with a hardness of 10. Once you find the right sharpener, it’s also a lot of time and effort!
