The best-rated kitchen knife sharpeners vary by sharpening method, balancing ease of use and edge perfection:
America's Test Kitchen (ATK) categorizes knife sharpeners by type, as electric and manual models excel at different jobs.
Gordon Ramsay primarily uses a traditional honing steel (or sharpening rod) to maintain knife edges before use, emphasizing safety and consistent 45° angles. While he often uses professional whetstones for deep sharpening, modern demonstrations (and fan-used products) have shown the Tumbler Rolling Sharpener to be highly effective for achieving a razor-sharp edge on his knives.
The Tormek T-2 Pro Kitchen Knife Sharpener meets the professional kitchen's stringent demands for sharpness, simplicity, and speed. Your knives are sharp, just when you need them! The Tormek T-2 Pro Kitchen Knife Sharpneer is a versatile sharpening system for professional kitchens.
For knives with chipped edges, use a whetstone with a grit less than 1000. For general sharpening, you'll want a grit of 2000. Once you've decided which grit is needed, place the whetstone in front of you, lengthways. You'll be sharpening from top to bottom with the knife's edge facing away from you.
Perhaps the best method for sharpening your chef's knife is sharpening stones. A sharpening stone is just a flat stone with an abrasive surface that you drag your knife across. Sharpening with stones is great because of the level of control it offers.
Pull-through sharpeners are not universally "bad," but they are generally discouraged for high-quality or expensive knives. They offer quick, convenient edge maintenance but are highly aggressive, removing excess metal and often leaving a fragile, jagged edge.
The "best" knife sharpener ultimately depends on your knives, skill level, and budget. For an intuitive, mess-free experience that produces a razor-sharp edge with zero skill, the Work Sharp Rolling Knife Sharpener is the best overall. If you prefer professional, guided systems, the Wicked Edge Gen 4 is unmatched.
Chef's Choice sharpeners are industry-standard tools that make restoring dull knives virtually foolproof. Whether you choose a manual or electric model, they utilize multi-stage systems with diamond abrasives to grind, hone, and polish blades to either a 15-degree or 20-degree edge.
Yes, you can use WD-40 as a lubricant on oil-based sharpening stones, but it is not the best option. Because WD-40 is very thin, it fails to effectively float away metal shavings (swarf), which can clog your stone.
Sharpening steels, stones and whetstones are great for home chefs who only occasionally sharpen their blades, and butchers who sharpen one or two knives regularly. But, if you're a commercial butcher who uses multiple knives on a regular basis, an electric knife sharpener is often best for the job.
Gordon Ramsay was diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma, the most common form of skin cancer. He underwent successful surgery to have the cancerous cells removed from his jawline and used the opportunity to share photos of his stitches and a public service announcement encouraging fans to wear sunscreen.
How to Sharpen a Kitchen Knife Like a Pro
Cutco and Wusthof represent two completely different philosophies in knife making.
A professional-grade knife sharpener provides strict angle control, minimal material removal, and highly repeatable results. Top systems range from guided benchtop jigs (e.g., Work Sharp and TSPROF) to commercial electrics (Chef's Choice and Master Grade).
Cutco knives are made using stamped steel which means they're cheaper to produce. Although there's nothing wrong with stamped knives, they don't always hold their edge as long as forged knives. That means that you'll have to sharpen stamped knives sooner than forged knives.
Cutting boards made of glass, granite, ceramic, or your dinner plate may look stylish or convenient, but they are the fastest way to destroy a knife's edge. These surfaces are harder than your knife's steel. So every time your blade contacts them, it suffers microscopic edge deformation, chipping, or even rolling.
For whetstone sharpening, you should generally sharpen your knives wet. Using water or honing oil provides crucial lubrication that carries away metal shavings, prevents the stone from clogging, and acts as a coolant to protect the steel's temper from heat.
The best kitchen knife sharpener depends on your skill level. For effortless, push-button precision, the Chef's Choice 15 Trizor XV is the top electric pick. For zero-skill ease and great results, rolling sharpeners like the Tumbler Rolling Knife Sharpener are excellent. For a razor-sharp, custom edge, a quality whetstone like the Shapton Ha No Kuromaku Ceramic 1000 is ideal.
Pull-through sharpeners are not universally "bad," but they are generally discouraged for high-quality or expensive knives. They offer quick, convenient edge maintenance but are highly aggressive, removing excess metal and often leaving a fragile, jagged edge.
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The best way to sharpen a chef's knife is with a whetstone. There are other, quicker methods to sharpening knives, especially electric sharpening machines but they are typically more expensive than other options and tend to grind away too much of the blade's surface.
Ceramic rods can sharpen and the higher grits are great for polishing a finished edge. Diamond sharpeners are very aggressive and are best for quickly setting an edge or resetting the edge to a different angle. Diamond removes steel much faster than other sharpening materials.
The most common mistakes to avoid when sharpening knives on whetstones