What is the best cheap knife sharpener?

With a good knife sharpener, your knives will sharpen for almost as long as possible. Here we present our favorite knife sharpeners in 2023.
On new knives, the edge is always very sharp. Depending on the type of steel and how you use the knife edge. It is essential. With a knife sharpener, the edge regains its full sharpness and you can continue to use your favorite knife while maintaining the user experience.

It is important to sharpen the knives from time to time. A dull knife is not only boring to use, but it can also be dangerous. A dull knife slips easily and you also use more force to compensate for the dullness. It’s a dangerous combination.

What is the best cheap knife sharpener? There are some aspects to consider when choosing:

Angle: Not all knives can be sharpened at the same angle. European kitchen knives usually do well with a sharpening angle of 20 – 25°. Japanese kitchen knives, on the other hand, lie at 12 – 15°. Hunting knives can lie around 25°. On some knife sharpeners, you can set the angle almost any way you want. Some knife sharpeners have a few well-chosen angles, others have a single angle.

Coarseness: Different coarseness is needed for different grinding tasks. With a very worn knife, you need to start with a coarse grind. Grinding is finished with fine-grained polishing. The simplest knife sharpeners have a single grit. For the more advanced grinders, you can choose between 2 – 5 or even more different levels.

Weight: The most advanced grinders have a motor and weigh quite a bit. They are built to be used in the workshop or at least not to be taken out. However, you can easily take small grinding sets with you wherever you want. The pocket brows are the easiest to take out into the field.

Price: There are knife sharpeners from a few tens up to five hundred dollars. Your budget can determine which knife sharpener suits you best.

Work Sharp Ken Onion slip

Work Sharp has enlisted the help of legendary knife maker Ken Onion to develop this advanced knife sharpener. Behind Work, Sharp stands Darex, the world’s most popular industrial sharpeners.

This knife sharpener has been designed to be able to sharpen all types of knives with the highest possible precision – from pocket knives to hunting knives and kitchen knives.

The knife sharpener has an electric belt with adjustable speed. It is the same type of technology that professional knife sharpeners use. The grinding angle can be set from 15 to 30 degrees with adjustment down to one-degree precision.

We appreciate the Work Sharp Ken Onion for its versatility. This is a professional tool that, despite its versatility, does not cost too much.

Spyderco Tri-Angle Sharpmaker Knife

The Spyderco Tri-angle Sharpmaker is a sharpening kit that contains two types of ceramic rods. Two white and fine-grained grinding sticks and two gray grinding sticks with medium-coarse graining.

When you mount this knife sharpener it looks a little funny with the ceramic rods pointing up and out. But it is a brilliant invention. Keeping the right angle when sharpening the knife without having some help with the angle is almost impossible. With the Spyderco Tri-Angle, you can find the right angle without worry. You just pull the knife straight down along the bars – first on one side and then the other. It always turns out right!

Although the Spyderco Tri-Angle is easy to use, it comes with both an instruction manual and video instructions.

Smith’s Sharpeners Two-Step Fickslip

Smith’s Sharpeners Two-Step pocket sharpener is a very affordable knife sharpener from a legendary manufacturer. The Arkansas company Smith’s has its roots in Arkansas in the USA, where it opened the manufacture of whetstones in 1886. Since then, Smith’s has succeeded in becoming the largest in the world in knife sharpeners and scissors sharpeners.

Smith’s Sharpeners Two-Step pocket sharpener has sharpening on two sides. On one side, the grind is made of carbide, which is used for coarser grinding. When you’re done with that step, just turn the knife sharpener over and fine-tune it with the ceramic part. After three to four strokes, the knife has regained its full sharpness. The small format and the low weight of 58 grams mean that you can take this pocket sharpener with you wherever you want.

Lansky Quad Sharp pocket sharpener

Lansky quad Sharp pocket sharpener is a smart pocket sharpener that you take with you when you go out. Its big advantage is that it can grind from four different angles:
17°
20°
25°
30°
These are the same angles as the famous Lansky Controlled-Angle System sharpener. Quad Sharp is probably the smallest knife sharpener on the market that is still so versatile.

You start by sharpening the knife in one of the four sharpeners. You then finish with fine polishing in the ceramic stone on the upper side. The construction itself is made of metal and feels very robust.

Lansky Ceramic Deluxe knife sharpener

To grind well, you need to have the right angle. This is something that Lansky took note of when they developed their Ceramic Delux knife sharpener. It is a set that suits both beginners and professionals.

The four angles are:

17°: For filet knives, razor blades, and the like.
20°: Used for many high-quality knife blades. Common angle for European kitchen knives.
25°: Right angle for most all-around knives to get a durable and sharp edge. Fits e.g. good for hunting knives.
30°: An angle used for rougher jobs, for example for knives that cut cardboard or rope.
The kit includes a clip to which you attach the knife. There are five whetstones. You use one of them to sharpen saw teeth. The other four have different grits – from 120 to 1000. The sanding kit also includes sanding oil.

The Lansky Ceramic Deluxe has become a favorite among many knife enthusiasts all over the world and it is also a favorite here with us!