{"id":13261,"date":"2026-07-01T19:50:05","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T19:50:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/range\/the-best-knife-sharpeners\/"},"modified":"2026-07-01T19:50:05","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T19:50:05","slug":"the-best-knife-sharpeners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/range\/the-best-knife-sharpeners\/","title":{"rendered":"The Best Knife Sharpeners"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A dull knife is like a rusty car or a worn out pair of sneakers. It\u2019s almost useless and can be quite dangerous. Your knife will get dull eventually. Rather than replace it, it\u2019s far cheaper to sharpen it. The question is how.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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You can sharpen a knife on a rock. I once watched two skinners in Africa do this before turning a large bull Kudu into an abridged version of its former self. But if you\u2019re like me, you probably don\u2019t have a hand that deft, or the years of experience sharpening a piece of steel. Instead of rocks you need tools to sharpen your knives, and those tools can be expensive, finicky, and difficult to use correctly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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There are very good knife sharpening tools out there, though, and we evaluated several to bring you a list of the best knife sharpeners for the hunter, angler, and outdoorsperson. Some did very well, while others did kinda well, but there really wasn\u2019t a bad one in the bunch. These are a few of the best knife sharpeners to keep your hunting, fishing, and kitchen knives working in the field and at home.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Jump to: The Products We Tested and Reviewed<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

How I Tested the Best Knife Sharpeners<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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There are knife sharpening nerds out there who might take exception to my test. I\u2019m a hunter\u2014not a mechanical engineer\u2014so I tried to keep this test as basic and real-world as possible. I didn\u2019t use things like a BESS Tester (Brubacher Edge Sharpness Scale) to measure sharpness. Instead I cut up the newspaper, shaved the hair on my arm, and sliced a tomato to gauge how sharp I could get a knife edge on each sharpener. I know how sharp a knife needs to be to break down an animal or cut ribbons off a stick to build a fire. That\u2019s how far I took the knives during this test.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I evaluated and scored each sharpener based on four criteria I\u2019ve outlined below: Sharpness, Ease of Use, Affordability, and Versatility. I also defined each sharpener’s \u201cUse Case,\u201d or what I felt it was best suited for. It\u2019s important to note that comparing different kinds of sharpeners to each other veers into apples and oranges territory. Knife sharpeners can be subjective, meaning you might be better at using one kind while your buddy might be better at another. They\u2019re also designed for different applications or to be used in different kinds of places.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Knife sharpening can come down to personal preference, and we\u2019ll get into that with each sharpener. My main objective here was to give you a good overview of some of the best knife sharpeners while outlining the things they\u2019re good and bad at.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

What to Look for in a Good Knife Sharpener<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n

Sharpness<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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This is how sharp I could get a knife with each sharpener. I didn\u2019t use hard metrics for this. I just sharpened them until I felt I\u2019d reached the top-end potential of the sharpener and tested that sharpness by shaving hair, cutting paper, and slicing into a tomato. Knife sharpeners that produced better results got a higher score.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Ease of Use<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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The big question I wanted to answer here was how easy is it to get a consistent edge with each sharpener. Some had more learning curves than others. Some had more moving parts to keep track of. The simpler and easier to use a knife sharpener, the better it scored.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Value<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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You can spend hundreds of dollars on knife sharpeners, but it might be more than you need to spend. I weighed the affordability of each knife sharpener against how well it performed and what it offers the user, then scored accordingly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Versatility<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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How many tools a knife sharpener can sharpen, its portability, or how many different functions it has all contribute to this category. Knife sharpeners that allow you to sharpen things like axes and fish hooks got a bit of a bump here because they replace other sharpeners you\u2019d need to buy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The Best Knife Sharpeners For Hunters and Anglers<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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\n \u00a0\n <\/th>\n\n <\/picture>\n

Lansky Controlled Angle Sharpening System<\/p>\n<\/th>\n

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Worksharp Ken Onion Elite Mk 2<\/p>\n<\/th>\n

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Spyderco Tri Angle Sharp Maker<\/p>\n<\/th>\n

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Work Sharp Guided Field Sharpener<\/p>\n<\/th>\n

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Buck Tool Sharpening Station<\/p>\n<\/th>\n

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Lansky Broadhead Sharpener<\/p>\n<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n

\n Price\n <\/th>\n\n $64.99*<\/sup>\n <\/td>\n\n $249*<\/sup>\n <\/td>\n\n $127*<\/sup>\n <\/td>\n\n $44.95*<\/sup>\n <\/td>\n\n $295*<\/sup>\n <\/td>\n\n $11.95*<\/sup>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n Grits\n <\/th>\n\n 70, 120, 280, 600, and 1000\n <\/td>\n\n Various belts from coarse grinding belts to honing strops\n <\/td>\n\n Medium and fine\n <\/td>\n\n 220, 600, and fine ceramic\n <\/td>\n\n 220 and fine honing strop\n <\/td>\n\n N\/A\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n Guided Angle\n <\/th>\n\n 30, 25, 20, and 17 degrees\n <\/td>\n\n 15-30 degrees, plus freehanding and flat grinding\n <\/td>\n\n 30 and 40 degrees\n <\/td>\n\n 20 and 25 degrees, or freehand\n <\/td>\n\n Various\n <\/td>\n\n 22.5 degrees\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n Weight\n <\/th>\n\n 1 lb 3 oz\n <\/td>\n\n 3.3 lbs\n <\/td>\n\n 13.7 oz\n <\/td>\n\n 4.6 oz\n <\/td>\n\n 27.56 lbs\n <\/td>\n\n 1.7 oz\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n Use Case\n <\/th>\n\n Portable and stationary do-it-all knife sharpener\n <\/td>\n\n Electric benchtop sharpener for tools and knives\n <\/td>\n\n Benchtop honing, knife and tool sharpening\n <\/td>\n\n Portable knife sharpener for field use\n <\/td>\n\n Stationary benchtop sharpener for knives and tools\n <\/td>\n\n Portable knife and broadhead sharpener\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n \u00a0\n <\/th>\n\n \n \n \n \n \n
\n \u00a0\n <\/th>\n\n Field Notes\n <\/td>\n\n Field Notes\n <\/td>\n\n Field Notes\n <\/td>\n\n Field Notes\n <\/td>\n\n Field Notes\n <\/td>\n\n Field Notes\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

*<\/sup>Estimated Price<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Best Overall<\/span><\/h3>\n
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\n\"Lansky<\/picture>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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Lansky Controlled Angle Sharpening System<\/h2>\n

Price: $64.99<\/p>\n

“This system gives anybody the ability to sharpen a knife without electricity, skill, or a flat surface.”<\/p>\n

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