Best Knife Sharpeners for Chef’s Knives, Tested and Reviewed
We evaluated these models by sliding a dull knife over a sharpener a dozen times and then tested each one's ability to dice onions and cut tomatoes
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I’ve used hundreds of knives—in culinary school, in professional kitchens, and now at home as the resident chef—and I can tell you that the real magic isn’t always in the knife so much as in the sharpening. We found clear favorites in our evaluation of chef’s knives, but I’d rather cut with a crummy knife that has been recently sharpened than a stellar knife with a dull blade.
In particular, if you’re investing in a high-quality chef’s knife, you should maintain it properly with a good knife sharpener.
Best Knife Sharpeners (and the Worst)
Every sharpener I tried did a decent job of returning an edge to the tested knives, but some sharpeners clearly produced a finer edge than others. However, a handful were tedious to use, and at times some even felt dangerous.
