Pull-through vs. stone: Pull-through knife sharpeners are user-friendly and great for beginners. Most pull-through sharpeners include at least two pre-set slots, one for sharpening and one for honing. Just pull your knife through the slot a few times for an instantly sharper edge. The slots are great for newbies because they ensure that you're sharpening your knife at the proper angle, but the abrasives in pull-through knife sharpeners are generally set at specific angles that cannot be adjusted, so it's important you're getting the right angle for your blade.

A sharpening stone, like a water stone or whetstone, is a more advanced sharpening option that works by first soaking the stone in water and using it as an abrasive to sharpen your knife. The water acts as a lubricant for sliding your knife across the stone's surface and creates a method that offers the most control over the sharpening process, since you can control the angle that you hold your knife as you slide it over the stone, instead of pull-throughs' pre-set angles. Some users find that sharpening stones also make their knives sharper than a pull-through, although it requires more precision, skill and time. Electric vs. manual: Electric knife sharpeners work by running a knife through a slot with tiny spinning sharpening stones, whereas manual knife sharpeners are handheld and require users to slide the knife along the blade manually. Electric options tend to be easier to use since the machine does the work for you, but more expensive. Manual sharpeners require more effort, since it's important to make the appropriate strokes for your knife, but tend to be more affordable. Consider your skill level and the amount of effort you want to put into each round of sharpening. FYI: It's possible to sharpen German knives, which tend to have an edge that is closer to 20 degrees, with a 15 degree sharpener. They will just require more frequent sharpening as they can't maintain that thinner edge for as long as a Japanese knife.For sharpening, if a knife steel is your preferred knife sharpening technique, then choose from our options with anti-slip handles with a guard for safe and secure use. Our Sabatier IV knife steel sharpener is made with hardened ribbed steel which is equivalent to 300/400 grit for perfect blade edge sharpening. verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{