Sharpeners

Independent, accurate and unbiased information about kitchen knives used for the preparation of food

and how to sharpen them and keep them sharp

Sharpeners

On this site we have used 18 categories of knife sharpeners:

Whetstones
Diamond plates
Abrasive papers on a pad or the ‘scary sharp’ method
Sharpening wheels
Honing rods and knife ‘steels’
Stropping kits
Pull-through sharpeners
‘Abrasive’ fingers
Hand held V-slot sharpeners
Rolling wheel sharpeners
Guides and guide rails
Guided rod and clamp systems
V-type sharpeners on a stand
Sharpeners used like a file
Electric sharpeners
Special grinding and honing equipment
Professional sharpening machines
Other knife sharpeners

Things to think about when choosing a knife sharpener:

o What exactly do you want the sharpener to do?
o Does it grind, hone and /or polish the cutting edge?
o Is it easy to use?
o Does it produce a sharp, very sharp or extremely sharp edge?
o Does it produce a long-lasting cutting edge?
o How does its price compare with the cost of the knives I want to sharpen?
o Is it good value for money?
o Will the sharpener damage the blade?
o What skill level is required to use the sharpener properly?
o Is it ergonomically friendly?
o Is it safe to use?
o Is the sharpening process simple or cumbersome?
o Does the sharpening process have a few steps or many?
o Is the sharpening process slow or quick?
o Is it easy to clean?
o Is it easy to store away do?
o Does the sharpener occupy much space?
o Does the sharpener do what it was intended to do?

Knife blade shapes

Knife blades and their shapes or profiles

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blade

Knife discussion

Knife and blade forum and huge archive

http://www.bladeforums.com

About kitchen knives

Useful information about kitchen knives

http://www.recipetips.com/kitchen-tips/t--1075/types-of-kitchen-knives.asp

Types of knives

Info about Western and Japanese kitchen knives

http://japanesechef.com.au