Knives are common and are extensively used products in the kitchen. But they tend to get blunt with the passage of time. When knives get blunt, it results in reduced performance and results.
So,knives need to be sharpened often to get the job done perfectly. If you are wondering about the best way to keep your knives sharp, worry not- you have come to the right place. We’ve exhaustively spent time for research to find the best knife sharpeners for you.
This guide will be your one-stop-solution for kitchen knife sharpeners. We have tried and tested pull through sharpeners, honing rods and even sharpening stones. With these knife sharpeners,you can increase the performance of your kitchen activities like dicing, chopping and slicing.
If you are interested, we have given a detailed “buying guide” at the end of this article which will help you pick a great knife sharpener all by yourselves.
Table of Contents
6 Best Knife Sharpener in India
[amazon bestseller=”knife sharpner” items=”6″ template=”table” tracking_id=”hz05-21″]Top 6 Knife Sharpener Reviews in India
1. BigBuzz Manual 3 Stage Knife Sharpener
If you are looking for household essentials at a reasonable price, the BigBuzz brand is worth trying. From soap dispensers to pizza cutters, from washing bowls to mosquito killer lamps, BigBuzz has captivating designs to explore.
Weighing just 250 grams, this sharpener is very lightweight, can be carried easily, and stored anywhere in your kitchen effortlessly.
In its first slot, it sharpens the knife with tungsten steel. In the second slot, it polishes the knife by removing any scratches formed. The third slot is made as an alternative to the second in polishing the knife.
The sharpeners in the blade section are made of stainless steel ensuring long-lasting durability. The outer body is made of sturdy ABS material that can endure brute force. It is given a non-slip rubber base so that you can place it on the table or floor for good support and the ergonomic handle gives you comfort while holding the sharpener even for long durations.
The blade section can be detached from its body very easily for thorough washing. You can place it back into its slot and by simply pressing the blade section.
Process to sharpen the knife:
- Firmly hold the appliance on a table or floor.
- Put the knife you need to sharp in the first slot where there is tungsten steel.
- Point the sharp edge away from you, pull the knife towards you a few times.
- After that, put the knife in either the second or third slot for polishing.
Things we liked:
- High durability
- Easy to use
- Easy to clean
- Anti-skid design
Things we didn’t like:
- Underwhelming performance
Verdict: With a little extra care, it is a wise choice.
2. Rena Germany- Knife Sharpener Rod
Looks can be deceptive. By the look of it, Rena Germany Knife Sharpener Rod may look like just another rod put out for sale. But only a hard and seasoned chef would understand the actual value that this traditional approach of a rod possesses.
Made out of high quality carbon stainless steel the rod has clear and fine ridges on its surface. These ridges and the fine quality of the rod are responsible to hone a knife to great sharpness.
The support handle of the rod is made out of virgin Polypropylene. Thus the rod has a flexible hold and a durable body.
Process to sharpen the knife:
- Place the rod’s steel tip on a firm table/platform. Preferably with a small table cloth place between the platform and the rod.
- Now hold down the handle by pressing the rod and hold the knife with another hand.
- Place the knife’s tip parallely to the rod in 22.5 degrees as shown in the figure.
- Pull the knife towards you and repeat the same process to the other edge on the other side.
- Repeat this a few times until the knife is honed.
Things we liked:
- Easy to use
- Durable due to high quality materials used
- Maintenance is not difficult
- One can even sharpen scissors with this
Things we didn’t like:
- If handled wrongly, it can be dangerous
Verdict: A great tool for professional chefs or people who are serious about their culinary skills. A definite buy.
3. ANSIO 3 Stage Manual System Knife Sharpener
Next up we have the ANSIO 3 stage sharpener. With a stylish and ergonomic design, it grabs your attention with the ergonomic handle.
Before we go into how awesome the handle and the rubber base is, let us talk about the 3 stage sharpening system that it possesses.
ANSIO also has 3 slots as stages. Each stage has a different function similar to the Chef’s Garage knife sharpener mentioned before.
Stage 1: The Fine stage is used to hone knives for a sharp edge.
Stage 2: The Coarse stage to sharp very dull knives
Stage 3: The Ceramic stage is helpful for ceramic based knives.
Back to the handle bar, the ergonomic design of the handle makes it easier to go about your sharpening. Apart from that, the top of the sharpener can be removed and cleaned easily. You just have to press the two buttons present on the either side of the body and pull.
Process to sharpen the knife:
- The process is similar to Chef’s garage sharpener.
- Place the knife on either of the slots and make sure that the tip of the knife is pointing away from you.
- Now pull the knife back fast and gently.
- Repeat this process until the knife is sharpened.
- For coarse, try doing it a few more times for better results.
The sharpener is not an ideal fit if you are looking to sharpen a serrated knife or scissors. While that stays, the sharpener’s slot stages do not have the proper angle to do the sharpening. Ideally, the placement of the grinding edges have to be set at a particular 22 degree angle for easier results. The device does not account for that.
Also, we felt that there is a room for improvement when it comes to the diamond honing edge grinding material.
Things we liked:
- 3 stage sharpening.
- Ergonomic Handle design
- Rubber base for good stability.
- Removable body makes it easier to clean.
Things we didn’t like:
- Cannot sharp serrated knives or scissors.
- Diamond honing edge grinding material wears out fast and not durable enough.
- No Set degrees placement for the knives.
Verdict: The rubber base, handle and the removable edges make it a buy if you are a bachelor/small family who needs something simple and ergonomic.
4. SmallCloud Kitchen Manual Knife Sharpener
SmallCloud has a wide variety of collections in several categories. From air coolers to laptop tables, from cleaning cloths to wall decors you can explore numerous products to doll up your home.
It could be a hectic thing to do using a blunt knife while cutting vegetables. It is going to take double the time and effort. SmallCloud knife sharpener turns your blunt knives into sharp as new.
Its kitchen appliances are designed to make user’s life better than ever. The manual knife sharpener is made of premium quality to make your cooking faster and better.
It has three slots serving three different purposes. In the first slot, the diamond sharpening rod repairs any damages and straightens the blade. The second slot sharpens the blade back to its original V-shape. The third slot keeps the blade polished with its fine tune.
The sharpener is built in a way you can use it comfortably. The body of the sharpener is made of highly durable ABS plastic. Its non-slip rubber base gives a sturdy grip to the sharpener while in use. You won’t find any discomfort while handling the sharpener due to its ergonomically designed handle.
The blade section is easily detachable. You take it out from time to time and clean it with regular wash.
Process to sharpen the knife:
- Place the sharpener on a table for your comfort.
- Hold the handle and place the blunt knife into the first slot with the sharp end pointing away from you and start pulling it towards you for repairing damages on the blade, if any.
- Repeat it a few times until the blade is straight and repaired.
- Place the knife in the second slot for sharpening the blade. Start pulling the blade just like you did earlier. The rubber base strongly holds on to the surface below.
- Now, by putting it in the third slot polish your blade after it’s sharp just like you did in the two previous slots.
Things we liked:
- Solid ABS body
- Non-slip rubber base
- Ergonomic handle
- Detachable blade section
Things we didn’t like:
- Quality needs to be better
Verdict: Its compact size makes it an easy appliance that you can store away effortlessly. With a little caution while using, it can be worth purchasing.
5. Zoqweid Manual Knife Sharpener
Zoqweid supplies premium quality products in various categories. You can find captivating models from fitness equipment to kitchen appliances. Its manual knife sharpener is one such kitchen appliance designed by chefs for chefs as a user-friendly tool.
A blunt knife asks for extra force while using and sometimes even hurt its users. With Zoqweid sharpener you turn your old knives into brand new ones and use them for an extended period.
It has a 3-stage operation, each stage serving a unique purpose. In the first stage, tungsten carbide is used to bring back bent blades into their original shape. In the second stage, the diamond rods grind and sharpen the blade. Finally, the third stage polishes the blade and removes burrs with ceramic stones.
To make it highly durable, the sharpener body is made of sturdy ABS plastic which can endure rapid force. The non-slip mat at the bottom holds on the surface firmly giving rigid support while using the sharpener. The ergonomic handle gives you comfort while using even for a longer duration.
Cleaning this sharpener is very hassle-free. You can easily wipe-dry the blade with a cloth. The blade section is also detachable for thorough washing.
Process to sharpen the knife:
- Firmly hold the sharpener with the handle and place it on a hard surface.
- Place the end of the knife into the first slot.
- With a slightly downward head and very low pressure, pull back the knife.
- This is the only direction advisable. Do not move forward & backward.
- Repeat this motion 5 times in each slot for better finishing.
Things we liked:
- Can sharp wide-variety of knives
- Lightweight
- Easy to use
- Easy to carry
- Easy to clean
Things we didn’t like:
- Not suitable for serrated knives & scissors
Verdict: Weighing just 100 grams, it is a very lightweight household appliance. Its unique operation style might be a little confusing to the users but with a little caution, it can be a great addition to your kitchen.
6. Flyngo Manual Knife Sharpener
Flyngo can become your go-to brand for its numerous varieties across several products. To make your cooking more fun and fast, Flyngo is introducing a manual knife sharpener t0 make your blunt knife sharper than ever.
You can stop straining yourself with a blunt knife that itself becomes a huge task let alone cooking your dish. Considering your peace of mind and your safety, the Flyngo manual knife sharpener was designed to be a user-friendly appliance that you can use effortlessly.
It works on your blade in three stages. The first stage is where your blade is repaired by the diamond rods in the first slot from any damages it has gone through and brought back to its normal shape. In the second slot, the knife blade is sharped with great precision by sturdy tungsten steel. And in the third stage, ceramic stone removes burrs from the blade polishes it in the final slot.
The sharpener can undergo relentless rapid usage as its body is made of highly durable ABS plastic. No matter how long you use it, its ergonomically designed handle wouldn’t let your hands strain.
Detach the blade section from the body with a simple pull and wash it clean with water. It is advised to clean the sharpener after every use to remove any debris from the blade. A simple dry wipe would suffice.
Process to sharpen the knife:
- Hold the sharpener to the floor firmly with the handle. The non-slip base would give you enough support for consistent stability.
- Place the blunt knife in the first slot with a slight downward head.
- Pull the knife towards you with the sharp end pointing away.
- Repeat this process 4-5 times in each slot.
- Remember to place the backend of the knife in the slot every time.
Things we liked:
- Ergonomic handle
- Sturdy body frame
- Non-slip base
- Detachable blade section
Things we didn’t like:
- Proper instructions must be given to the users
Verdict: Its economical price is its biggest advantage. Although without instructions it could a risky appliance, with proper caution, it is a useful tool.
Buying Guide: How to pick the perfect knife sharpener?
Sharpening a knife has to be done with utmost care or else it would lead to cuts and severe injuries. Be sure of which the quality of the product that you pick.
Knife sharpeners may look like simple objects and can be bought at any store. But there are certain factors that decide how great of a product it is. Below mentioned are a few factors that determine the quality of a good knife sharpener.
Factors that determine the quality of a knife sharpener
1. Quality of the handle and base material:
While most handles are made out of plastic, be sure to look for stronger bases and handles. Cheap quality plastic tends to brittle out and break faster. Moreover it cannot withstand any scratches too. Plastic based Fiber, on the other side is more durable and can provide great support to the sharpener.
2. Output: Sharp and Smooth edge:
If you tend to over sharpen a knife, it will result in damaging or breaking of the blade. A few sharpeners have the tendency to put maximum pressure on the blade when they are passed through. Over sharpening will for sure reduce the lifespan of a knife.
Make sure that you are buying a sharpener that would evenly sharpen your knife and does not tend to oversharp it.
3. The grinding edge material:
The grinding edge material usually comes in 3 types.
- Diamond Rod: With a grit rating of over 1000, this is the most common grinding material. It gives more smoother finish than a sharp finish.
- Ceramic: Mostly used to sharpen metal blades, the ceramic rod can also be used to hone a newly sharpened knife.
- Tungsten Steel: This is used to sharpen the most blunt knives and also ceramic blades.
Before picking a sharpener, understand your knife set. What are the blades that you have. Now according to that, pick a combination of either of the above mentioned grinding blades. Most of the manual sharpeners have all of the grinders fixed in them.
4. Stage system
Depending on how blunt your knife is or what material your knife is made out of, the stage of sharpening varies.
Stage 1 is usually to sharpen a really really blunt knife to sharpness. Stage 2 is to remove the knicks formed on the blade, add smooth finish. Stage 3 is usually for immediate sharpening and usage of knife.
5. Angle of sharpening
You cannot simply and directly place the knife’s blade,push or pull and expect the knife to be sharp. The blade has to be placed at a certain angle to be sharpened.
Electric knife sharpeners have their motors with slots for a few ranges of angles. Manual sharpeners, on the other hands, have their slots with pre fixed angles which are deemed to be ideal for sharpening.
Sharpening rods and grinding stones on the other hand do not have any angles as such. You need to place the blade at (usually 20-22 degrees for german knives and 15 degrees for japanese knives) forming a V shape with the rob/stone.
6. Safety
Knife sharpeners can be dangerous affairs. The safety of the sharpener is determined by the base, material used and also by the type of handle used.
Give a first priority to the base. Look for sharpener which have a base attached to them. Something that is hard and rubbery to withstand any movements while sharpening.
Then look for a good handle. Handle that is ergonomic and gives you a good grip while you are sharpening the knife’s blade.
Types of Knife Sharpeners available in the market:
Knife sharpeners have evolved with man himself. When back in the prehistoric times, man used a stone to sharpen his hunting knife. Now he uses advanced motor based equipment to do so.
While both of them look poles apart, all of them are still available and in use. Let us look at the various types of knife sharpeners available today.
1. Pull Through Knife Sharpeners:
This refers to the type of sharpeners where in you would be placing the blade in a given slot and then pulling the blade backwards to sharpen. This type of sharpener comes in two types.
- Electric Pull Through: Depends on a rotating grinding stone mounted on a motor with slots to pull the blade and sharp. They are a bit expensive and are ideal for workshop related knives.
- Manual Pull Through: There is no motor in this type and you would be manually placing the blade and pulling it to sharp. Most of the sharpeners mentioned in the article are manual pull through. They are not that expensive as an electric sharpener but are ideal for kitchen knives.
2. Stone sharpeners
A popular among the older generations, sharpening were the usual go for butchers and professional chefs even today. It basically is a stone upon which the blade of the knife is placed at a certain angle and then grinded to make it sharp. They are again of two types.
- Oilstones are made out of Aluminum Oxide, or Silicon Carbide with some oil coating. They are usually cheap and the traditional go to.
- Waterstones are usually found in India and are famous for quick sharpening. They too come in either natural or synthetic form.
3. Honing/ Sharpening Rods:
Mostly popular due to their extensive use on television, a Honing rod is the simplest form of sharpening a knife. It is nothing but a strong metallic/ceramic rod mounted onto a handle (usually made out of fiber or plastic )
The Rena Germany rod mentioned in this list is the very same. Honing rods are usually used by professional chefs and even culinary hobbyists. But they are also a great fit for a modular kitchen knife set.
4. Knife Sharpening Kits
A recent public phenomenon, Knife Sharpening kits, similar to honing rods are professional tools. A typical knife sharpening kit consists of oilstones, waterstones, a honing rod among other minute tools used to professionally sharpen a blade to perfection. There are electric Knife sharpening kits too.
Frequently asked questions before buying a knife sharpener
Ans: Often than not, people have a misconception about Knife Sharpeners being a waste of money. But whichever knife or knife set that you are buying may not stay sharp forever. If you are a regular user of a knife, it may get blunt in a few months usage. Instead of going to the store to buy a new one, a knife sharpener would help you out in a jiffy.
A good knife reduces your cooking and other working efforts down by a great percentage.
Also, the ideal combination would be to buy a quality knife set and one good quality knife sharpener. This will not only add life to your knives set but also would save you a lot of money.
Ans: Counter top knife sharpeners are pull through sharpeners which are table/platform fixed. They are fixed on a spot and do not move about their position making it simple for you to pull.
These kind of sharpeners lack angled edges and are not suggestable to sharp out blunt knives. Also,if you have a premium quality or expensive knife, please refrain from using a countertop knife sharpener. It may end up damaging the blade than repair it. However, they are ideal if you are to remove some knicks of your knife quickly before cutting something.
Similar to all pull through sharpeners, these too come in both, electrical and manual models. Manual models are desktop based pull through on a grinding rod. Electric models have a spinning grinding stone in them where you pull back your knife to sharpen.
Ans: Yes. There is a high chance that a knife sharpener can damage your knife. Low quality sharpeners tend to chisel out the metal of the blade and cause damage to the blade by making it brittle and damaged.
But that is totally dependent on three factors.
1. What quality and kind of sharpener are you using?
2. How brittle or what is the quality of the blade of your knife and
3. Are you grinding a wrong blade on a wrong edge
4. Are you over grinding the blade?
It is highly suggested that do a thorough research before you pick any knife sharpener and carefully sharpen your blade. Dont over use a sharpener.
Ans: Regularly hone your knife very little before using it. But you can sharp it every once every 4-5 months or when you feel that the cut of the knife is blunt.
Oversharpening of a knife will lead to the knife being brittle and there are high chances of the blade breaking into pieces. Be a responsible user, do not throw the knife here and there. Keep it in a dedicated stand or a knife set.
Ans: Not every sharpener can sharpen a ceramic knife. There are dedicated diamond rod based knife sharpeners (Like the Chef’s miracle sharpener mentioned above) which can sharpen a ceramic knife in a great way.
Ans: No. One kind of sharpener won’t sharpen every knife. But, if the knife sharpener comes with different slots/stages with different sharpening materials, then yes. Almost all of the sharpeners mentioned above are for multiple knife usages (Except the Honing Rod by Rena)
Ans: This totally depends on how blunt your knife is. It ideally shouldn’t take more than 7-8 pulls from a pull through sharpener to hone the blade. But then again, it the knife is too blunt, it will take much more time.
The time frame for this should be starting from about 1 or 2 minutes to about 4-5 minutes to finely sharp a knife. Do not apply too much pressure on the blade nor the sharpener to get better results. This will only result in damaging or breaking the blade.
Bottom Line:
While those were the list of our top picks for knife sharpeners, our research points to the 2 stage sharpener by Chef’s garage. It’s elegant look, ergonomic design, stable base and the high quality materials used in it make it our best pick.
Which one did you like? Let us know in the comments below. If you have any other question regarding knife sharpeners which are not mentioned here, do write to us in the comment section. Our expert research team for sure will get back to you with a proper response.
