They don\u2019t come more basic than the KitchenIQ, but they also don\u2019t come cheaper. If you just want something to maintain basic blades on the regular, this gets the job done surprisingly well considering its price.<\/p>\n
What we love:<\/strong> Pull-through sharpeners can get a bad rep in the kitchen knife community for lacking precision, but, for less than $10 at the time of writing, we think the KitchenIQ Edge Grip sharpener does enough to warrant a recommendation. With simple construction\u2014a coarse sharpening slot with a carbide \u201cV\u201d and a ceramic honing slot\u2014this little sharpener did bring a sharper edge to some of the duller knives we tested. This is basically a more aggressive version of a honing steel\u2014it won\u2019t completely reset a knife\u2019s edge the way a whetstone or electric sharpener will, but it will refine and sharpen the edge that currently exists on your knife. And because the KitchenIQ is so small and convenient, you could run your knives through the honing slot after every use or two.<\/p>\n What we\u2019d leave:<\/strong> There\u2019s no getting around it: This won\u2019t perform as well as an electric sharpener or a whetstone. It\u2019s more maintenance than revitalizing a knife. Also, the sharpening \u201cV\u201d is in a fixed position, meaning you\u2019re stuck with 20\u00ba blade angles. But for something this cheap, it delivers what we expect it to.<\/p>\n We used the dullest knives available on tough vegetables like butternut squash and delicate foods like tomatoes. After noting the results, we sharpened each knife according to the manual\u2019s instructions and performed the same cutting tests again. We also evaluated each sharpener for ease of use and overall design.<\/p>\n The key elements for any knife sharpener are simple: Does it sharpen knives well and is it easy to use. We looked for sharpeners that were made from high-quality materials (like diamond-coated abrasives and ceramic) and didn\u2019t leave us feeling like our knives were in danger as we ran them through. We also looked for features like adjustable angles to make sure the edge is set correctly, safety features to avoid unnecessary nicks and cuts, and overall design and build quality.<\/p>\n In our whetstones we looked for stones that sharpened knives efficiently with few passes.<\/p>\n Ultimately, the most important factor in picking a good sharpener was how well it actually sharpened knives. In our testing we were surprised at how many knife sharpeners we tested that just did not cut it (pun intended).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Horl<\/p>\n 3 Rolling Knife Sharpener<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n We weren\u2019t huge fans of the previous Horl 2 sharpener (you can read why below), but with the updates made to the Horl 3, we\u2019ve changed our tune. The Horl system is easy even for someone with no sharpening experience. It uses a magnetic block that holds your knife at either a 15\u00ba or 20\u00ba angle, combined with a rolling tumbler that has a diamond disc on one side and a ceramic disc on the other. Once your knife is locked into place on the magnet, simply roll the tumbler along the edge to sharpen it with the diamond side and hone the edge with the ceramic side. The Horl 3 features a stronger magnet to better hold your knives in place along with a more abrasive diamond disc. This greatly improved how quickly it sharpened an edge\u2014something that took ages with the Horl 2. The tumbler also felt more secure when rolling, giving us fewer safety concerns. We liked that the Horl 3 offered good control over the whole sharpening process and how gently it removed metal\u2014electric sharpeners and pull-through sharpeners can peel away steel quickly, wearing down the knife. What we don\u2019t love is the price\u2014the Horl 3 costs more than most knives we\u2019d recommend, even if we did like the sharpness of the results. This is a good option for someone who doesn\u2019t want the full whetstone experience but also wants to extend the life of their blade. Just know you\u2019re going to have to pay for it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nHow we tested knife sharpeners<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
What to look for in a knife sharpener<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
Other knife sharpeners we liked<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
![\"Horl](\"https:\/\/assets.bonappetit.com\/photos\/69978e284618e36211b0a35a\/3:4\/w_748%2Cc_limit\/Horl%25203%2520Rolling%2520Knife%2520Sharpener.png\"\/)
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