Which Knife Sharpener Is Right For You

Do you know how to sharpen knives? Whether you own pocket knives or have a bunch of kitchen knives the fact of the matter is that eventually your knives will go dull and they will  need to be resharpened. Keeping your knives sharp in my opinion is the number one responsibility of the knife owner.

There are many ways to sharpen a knife both manually and mechanically. This article will touch on 3 ways to sharpen your knives.

1. If you know how to sharpen knives that is a good thing and if you don't that's fine, because the easiest way on the market to get your knives sharp is with an electric knife sharpener that has the proper cutting edge angles preset for you. These machines incorporate micro diamond cutting pads to shapen your blade. These are very affordable and easy to use. The Chef's Choice series is the one that comes to mind.

2. Another way you can learn how to sharpen knives is by using a guided sharpening system that allows you to put your knife in a clamp and use hand operated sharpening stones that are preset at the correct blade angle for you. In this way you can sharpen your knives and be assured that you will not damage them. This is another very simple and very effective way to sharpen your knives. The Lansky sharpening systems is a popular brand of guided sharpening system.

3. The final way and my personal favorite way to learn how to sharpen a knife is by use of benchstones or whetstones. These stones come in both natural(Arkansas, Belgian, Washita) and synthetic(Crystolon, India, Ceramic) varieties and a myriad of different grits which will dictate the way in which the stone will cut the steel. Not to fear though because the best part of learning how to sharpen with stones is that you can do it freehand, or you can by blade guides that will set the angle for your knives against the surface of the stone so you get it perfect every time just like the electric sharpener or the guided sharpening system.

One rule when buying the tools to use for sharpening is that you should buy the best you can afford. Even if you have to put it all on a business credit card and pay it off over a couple of months you will be pleased you spent the extra money.

See and you thought that sharpening on stones would be the hardest way didn't you?

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