Choosing the right knife sharpener for your kitchen cutlery encompasses several factors. Should you select a manual or automatic sharpener? Should your sharpener be guided or unguided? Let’s review a few of the different knife sharpeners available at J.L. Hufford and see how they compare to one another.
 |
| Chef's Choice Diamond Sharpening Stone |
Manual sharpeners like this Chef’s Choice Diamond Sharpening Stone are perfect for knife purists. This stone is made of ultra-fine 100% diamond abrasives to speed up the sharpening process without overheating or damaging your blade. The stone is also versatile enough to tackle any household knife with ease. While using whetstones is an age-old practice, it does require a steady hand and angle to make sure you’re sharpening your blade evenly.
 |
| Wusthof 2-Stage Handheld Knife Sharpener |
If you’re not familiar or comfortable with whetstones, perhaps a handheld knife sharpener would do the trick. The Wusthof 2-Stage Handheld Knife Sharpener is an unguided sharpener that features a carbide steel system for sharpening and a ceramic notch for honing the blade. It features a strong, rubber grip with a weighted edge for complete control while it’s on your countertop, and just a few passes will sharpen your blade in a flash. As mentioned, this style of sharpener is unguided. While the notches are there to provide sharpening for both sides of the blade at once, a steady hand is once again required for a consistent sharpening angle.
 |
| Chef's Choice Pronto Pro Manual Knife Sharpener |
If you need more structure to your sharpening, a guided sharpener is for you. The Chef’s Choice ProntoPro Diamond Hone Manual Knife Sharpener is perfect for any knife blade set at a 15 or 20 degree angle. The ProntoPro also features precise bevel angle control and notches set for both European/American style knives and Asian knives as well.
 |
| Chef's Choice Diamond Hone EdgeSelect |
If you need a sharpener that takes care of all the work for you so you can get back to cooking, an electric sharpener takes the cake. The Chef’s Choice Diamond Hone EdgeSelect is an excellent electric sharpener that uses a state-of-the-art precision guide system to sharpen knives through three stages to ensure the finest cut and polish for any 20 degree class knife. As long as a blade isn’t damaged, the EdgeSelect can reset your blade’s edge to factory sharpness in a matter of seconds.
The style of knife sharpener you choose for keeping your kitchen cutlery in top form has a lot to do with preference and knife skill, but we’ve been able to identify some main differences in the various styles. A whetstone is more traditional and simple, but requires better control over the blade to avoid uneven sharpening. An unguided sharpener cuts down the sharpening time by addressing both sides of the blade at once and is certainly a very economical option, but it still requires a steady hand to produce an even, polished blade. A guided sharpener provides you with options for different degrees of knife by region and requires less manual control over the angle of sharpening. Lastly, an fully electric sharpener will restore your blades to their factory-set angle in a matter of seconds, but it is the priciest of all sharpener options.
Which style suits your needs? Stop by J.L. Hufford today and browse our selection of
knife sharpeners with free shipping on most orders!
