The 8 Best Electric Knife Sharpeners of 2023

Photo: Chef’s Choice

Electric knife sharpeners make life easier by providing you with a simple but efficient way to keep your kitchen knives sharp and ready.

You also save valuable time when cooking because you don’t need a super chef’s knife-sharpening skills to keep them sharp.

Depending on the manufacturer though, electric knife sharpeners come in different forms and function differently.

This electric knife sharpener review aims to simplify the selection process by offering you a list of the top sharpeners in the market, as well as the necessary guides to help you make the best of your device.

8 Best Electric Knife Sharpeners – Review

IMAGE	PRODUCT	FEATURES
	1. Chef’s Choice 0101500 (Best Overall)	Best feature with 100% diamond abrasives Fast 10-second sharpening time Offers 3 sharpening stages Comes with a 3-year warranty
	2. Work Sharp WSKTS-W (Universal Knife & Tool Sharpener)	Flexible sharpener for knives & tools Comes with three belts Compatible with automotive 12-Volt power Also works as a grinder
	3. Presto 08800 (Best Budget)	Low-cost electric knife sharpeners Offers two sharpening stages Backed by a 1-year warranty
	4. Linkyo Electric (With Waste Bin)	Electric sharpener with simple design The package includes a waste bin Features two sharpening stages Cheapest offer on this list
	5. Presto 08810 (Professional Quality)	Offers professional 3-stage sharpening It also lets you select blade sizes Sleek and modern design Comes at an attractive price
	6. Wusthof Petec (Professional form German)	Features diamond abrasive wheels Top-quality German design Produces 14-degree blades Backed by a 3-year warranty
	7. Chefman RJ47-D-S (Simple 2-Stage Design)	2-stage sharpener with simple design Comes at an attractive price Diamond-coated sharpening wheels
	8. Smith’s 50281 (Super Precise)	Offers high-precision angle adjustments Made from diamonds and ceramics Includes serrated blade sharpener Sharpens both sides at a go

1. Chef’s Choice 0101500 – Best Overall Electric Knife Sharpener

Photo: Chef’s Choice

• Abrasive Material: Diamonds
• Angle: 15 degrees
• Weight: 4 pounds
• Sharpening Stages: 3 stages

This is the Trizor XV from Chef’s Choice and it’s a top-rated electric knife sharpener, designed to professional standards.

It offers you three sharpening stages, which includes two stages of diamond abrasives and a third stage for polishing serrated blades.

You can also use it to quickly convert your 20-degree knives to 15-degree high-performing knives. For blade conversions, you’ll need to swipe the knife many times though.

First time sharpening takes about 1 minute, while resharpening takes just 10 seconds.

Although Chef’s Choice uses diamonds for the abrasives and offers a 3-year warranty on this sharpener, it’s still a costly device when compared to other sharpeners. But then, quality comes at a price.

Pros:

• Offers best features with 100% diamond abrasives
• Converts your 20-degree knives to 15-degree edges
• Offers three sharpening stages
• Super fast resharpening takes only 10 seconds
• Backed by a 3-year manufacturer warranty

Cons:

• It’s a relatively costly knife sharpener
• It’s not portable or ideal for the road

2. Work Sharp WSKTS-W – Universal Knife & Tool Sharpener

Photo: Work Sharp

• Abrasive Material: abrasive belts
• Angle: 40, 50 & 60 degrees
• Weight: 2 pounds

While most of the sharpeners on this list are for kitchen knives, this offer from Work Sharp takes a totally different design approach.

It’s a universal sharpener that uses abrasive belts to sharpen objects and it can handle anything from kitchen knives to garden tools like lawn mower blades and lots more.

The package comes with three belts which are P80 coarse grit, P220 medium grit, and a fine (6,000) belt. The system makes it easy to change the belts, so the sharpener is more user-friendly.

Keeping in mind that lesser sharpening angles create sharper knives, one drawback to this system is its sharpening angle. Unlike the Trizor XV above, which can meet 15-degree sharpening angles, the best you can get with this sharpener is 40 degrees, which still isn’t too bad.

Pros:

• Very flexible sharpener for knives and other tools
• Works as a handheld grinder
• Will work on 12V power from cars and trucks
• Package includes coarse, medium and fine grit belts

Cons:

• It can’t sharpen less than 40 degrees
• The system is more complicated than most other knife sharpeners

3. Presto 08800 – Best Budget Electric Knife Sharpener

Photo: Presto

• Abrasive Material: Sapphirite
• Weight: 3 pounds
• Sharpening Stages: 2 stages

Presto’s 08800 is a sleek electric knife sharpener that fits beautifully into any modern kitchen. It looks good, it works well, and it’s offered at a low and attractive price, making it one of the best budget electric knife sharpeners around.

Its sharpening wheels are of Sapphirite, an ultra-hard material that professional shops use, and which produces very impressive results.

You shouldn’t expect professional quality results though because Presto doesn’t say anything about its sharpening angle, but if you follow the included instructions, then you’re sure to always get a sharp blade.

The package comes with a 1-year warranty coverage and is really great for its price, so check it out if you are on a budget.

Pros:

• Offers two sharpening stages
• It comes at a low and attractive price
• Quiet and easy to use
• The manufacturer backs it with a 1-year warranty

Cons:

• Works only for knives

4. Linkyo Electric – Electric Knife Sharpener with Waste Bin

Photo: Linkyo

• Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Sharpening Stages: 2 stages

Here’s one other complete sharpening and polishing system that’s great for those on a budget. It offers you a 2-stage sharpener at a low price that no other offer on this list can beat.

Just like the Presto 08800, it features a sleek design which gives it a modern look, but its color combination makes it look rather cheap, and it gets really loud during operation.

You will also not find the most impressive features on this sharpener, neither will it work with serrated knives.

Still, it’s backed by a 1-year warranty, comes with a 3.5-ft long power cord, includes a waste bin for collecting metal shavings, and it’s the lowest-priced offer on this list.

Pros:

• Electric sharpener with extra waste bin
• Two sharpening stages with two slots each
• Offered at a very low price
• Backed by a 1-year warranty

Cons:

• It looks cheap
• It doesn’t work on serrated knives

5. Presto 08810 – Professional Quality Electric Knife Sharpener

Photo: Presto

• Abrasive Material: Sapphirite & ceramic
• Angle: 3 selectable sizes
• Weight: 4.4 pounds
• Sharpening Stages: 3 stages

This offer is for a 3-stage electric knife sharpener at a good price. As you can imagine, most good electric knife sharpeners have two or three sharpening stages, with three being the average for professional devices.

Its first two sharpening stages feature Sapphirite wheels while the third stage features a ceramic wheel for fine honing and polishing your blades.

Another extra feature is the blade thickness selection function, which makes it easy to select the best fitting setting for any knife.

One downside is that you can only select blade thickness from three sizes, but this selection is not given in degrees.

It also won’t sharpen scissors or most other tools, and it’s too bulky to carry around. It does well with 1-sided serrated knives, however, and Presto backs it with a 1-year warranty.

Pros:

• Sleek design with a very modern look
• Offers professional quality 3-stage sharpening
• Features three blade sizes selection
• Offered at an attractive price
• Backed by a 1-year warranty from Presto

Cons:

• It’s not a portable knife sharpene

6. Wusthof Petec – Professional German Knife Sharpener

Photo: Wusthof

• Abrasive Material: Diamonds
• Angle: 14 degrees
• Weight: 5 pounds
• Sharpening Stages: 3 stages

How about some German tech? This knife sharpener is designed by Wusthof, which is one of the best German kitchen knife makers since 1814. It’s then made in the USA by Chef’s Chef, another top kitchen brand.

Although it looks neither stylish nor trendy, this sharpener features only the best, including diamond abrasives and a 14-degree sharpening edge.

One thing you must know is you’ll need a few passes if you want to convert non-Wusthof knives to 14-degree blades. But with Wusthof knives, you are already getting 14-degree high-performance blades.

Its first two stages use diamond abrasives while stage three features an advanced stropping material to polish your blade to razor-sharp.

Of course, all these features and high quality come at a cost, making this the costliest knife sharpener in this review. Still, if you want the best, then you shouldn’t mind paying for it.

Pros:

• German quality sharpener for 14-degree blade edges
• Works using diamond abrasive wheels
• Its 3-stage system produces super sharp blades
• Backed by a 3-year warranty from the manufacturer

Cons:

• It looks neither stylish nor trendy
• The price is comparatively higher than most others

7. Chefman RJ47-D-S – Simple 2-Stage Electric Knife Sharpener

Photo: Chefman

• Abrasive Material: Diamonds
• Weight: 2.7 pounds
• Sharpening Stages: 2 stages

With its high-quality diamond-coated sharpener, this Chefman electric machine will sharpen your kitchen knife as effectively and quickly as professional sharpeners.

It features a 2-stage system, with two slots for each stage and automatic blade positioning guides to make your sharpening passes safer.

This offer is definitely not the best electric knife sharpener for kitchen professionals, but it does offer plenty of value for the average home cook who wants a safe and reliable device to keep his knives sharp.

It also collects the metal shavings, comes with a 1-year warranty, and it can sharpen a variety of blade materials, including ceramic, hard steel, stainless steel knives and lots more.

Chefman also offers what it calls the Club Chefman, which includes step-by-step recipes, tutorial videos, and lots more. So, when you buy a Chefman product, you’ll automatically gain access to this Club Chefman.

Pros:

• Features diamond coated sharpening wheels
• Modern & simple 2-stage design fits into most kitchens
• The price is low and attractive
• Backed by a 1-year manufacturer warranty

Cons:

• There are no blade thickness adjustments

8. Smith’s 50281 – Super Precise Electric Knife Sharpener

Photo: Smith’s

• Abrasive Material: Diamonds & ceramics
• Angle: 10 – 30 degrees
• Weight: 6.7 pounds
• Sharpening Stages: 2 stages

If you are on the lookout for a Japanese electric knife sharpener or any other sharpener with such a high precision level, then here’s a product to take a closer look at.

It comes with a knob that easily adjusts between different sharpening angles from 10 to 30 degrees. The knob is even labeled to suggest a knife type for when you don’t know its angle.

Another interesting feature is that both stages’ angles get set at once. One stage uses ceramic wheels while the other uses diamonds and both slots sharpen both sides of the blade at a go, saving you time and making things simpler.

There’s also a third and manual sharpener on the side for sharpening serrated blades, and you can easily slide it out and slide it back in when you’ve finished.

In the end, this is a very high-quality electric sharpener which also comes at a very high price. So, it’s left for you to decide if it’s worth it.

Pros:

• Uses both diamonds and ceramics
• Features a highly precise angle adjustment system
• Sharpens both blade sides at a go
• Includes a manual sharpener for serrated blades

Cons:

• It’s a relatively costly knife sharpen

Electric vs. Manual Knife Sharpener

Photo: Chef’s Choice

Most people ask themselves this question sooner or later. Does one really need an electric knife sharpener or is a manual sharpener just not enough?

The simple answer is that it depends on what you want because each of these sharpeners has its pros and cons, which makes it either ideal or not, for different users. Following is a closer look at the two.

1. Manual Knife Sharpeners

These are the knife sharpeners that you work by hand and that do not use electricity. There are different manual sharpener designs, including the handheld types and whetstones for more traditional sharpening methods.

Manual sharpeners need human muscle force to sharpen a blade and as a result, they offer a high degree of accuracy when sharpening because you can always adapt to the characteristics of the knife that you are sharpening.

These manual sharpeners are usually smaller than the electric types too, plus they cost less on average.

On the other hand, you’ll need longer to sharpen a knife from dull to sharp than when you were using an electric sharpener to do the job.

2. Electric Knife Sharpeners

Electric knife sharpeners are primarily designed for ease of use, which includes needing very little effort from the user to work and the offering of different features that make things easier.

Unlike manual sharpeners, electric types use a motor to rotate the stone at high speeds, so all you need to do, is to pass the knife through its groove and the rotating stone will sharpen the knife, no hand pressure needed.

You’ll also find lots of features like preset sharpening angles, multi-stage sharpening, and ease of use, that enables you to get amazing results from the sharpening without having to learn traditional knife sharpening skills.

How to Buy the Best Electric Knife Sharpener

Photo: Grocery Art

Given the uniqueness of electric knife sharpeners, you’ll need to understand their unique features, what they mean, and what to do with them, so you can more easily choose the best electric knife sharpener for your needs.

Following are the most important of these features and what they mean for you.

1. Sharpening Stages

A sharpening stage is a specific setting that lets you sharpen a knife to a given sharpness. You’ll find electric knife sharpeners ranging mostly from two to three sharpening stages, although there could be more or even one stage.

For sharpeners with two stages, one will offer coarse and fast sharpening, while the second stage will offer a finer sharpening stone that hones and polishes.

This allows you to quickly sharpen an already sharp knife easily, using the finer stone. If the knife is completely dull on the other hand, you can first sharpen it coarsely in stage one, before finishing with the finer, second stage.

2. Sharpening Slots

You’ll find different slots on different knife sharpeners. While most handheld manual sharpeners offer just one slot per sharpening stage, most electric knife sharpeners offer two slots per sharpening stage.

These two slots make it easier for you to sharpen each side of the blade properly. All you need to do is to slide your knife’s blade through the slot and the sharpener does its job.

3. Angle Guide

Different types of knives are for different activities and so, their blades also vary in length and in thickness. This means that you’ll need to set different sharpening angles to sharpen different types of knives like your kitchen and sporting knives.

Some knife sharpeners offer you the opportunity to choose or set the angle thickness that you need, while others allow only one size and one angle.

If you have lots of knives, therefore, then you may want to choose a flexible sharpener, else you can just stick to those that are specifically for the kitchen.

4. Abrasive Material

This is one area that you also need to pay attention to because it determines the overall quality of your knife sharpener to a great extent. The rule is simple: the tougher the abrasive material, the longer it will last.

You’ll find manufacturers using different kinds of materials to make the abrasive wheels in their electric knife sharpeners, including ceramics, titanium, tungsten carbide, and diamond.

You should know that diamonds offer the best sharpening properties among all materials to make the best electric knife sharpeners.

5. Portability

This has a lot to do with you and your cooking style. If you are on the go, or you like to cook in different places, including the backyard, camping, etc, then your sharpener’s portability becomes an issue, else, it won’t matter.

Certain features like battery power improve portability. You can opt for a sharpener that either runs on batteries but is not too powerful or one that is powerful and both runs on batteries and can get plugged in when the need arises.

6. Ease of Use

You also need to keep an eye open for other features that can make your sharpener a very good appliance. You should consider safety features like non-slip rubber feet, nice grip handles, a residue tray for easy cleaning after use, or any other special feature from the manufacturer.

How to Use An Electric Knife Sharpener

Photo: Smith’s

Electric knife sharpeners are simple and easy to use. Although they feature intuitive designs that make you easily understand how to use them, a step-by-step tutorial is still in order for those who prefer detailed instructions.

Before you start, however, you should know your blade well and know whether it has a single or a double edge. You should also know if your blade is already sharp and just needs a touch-up or if it’s dull and needs a multi-stage sharpening procedure.

Step 1. Switch On

Your first step is to set up the knife sharpener on a countertop or flat surface and make sure that it’s stable and won’t skid when working. Then, switch it on and set any thickness options.

Step 2. Position Knife

Next, position the knife correctly. The knife’s heel has to get pressed into the grinder, so it can have contact with the grinding stone.

Step 3. Pull Back Slowly

Once there’s contact between the knife and the stone, start to pull the knife back towards you, so the blade sharpens from heel to tip.

Step 4. Repeat

You’ll need to repeat this process one more time to be enough. Then, carry out the same process twice as well on the other side. This means two passes on the left slot and two passes on the right slot of each stone.

Step 5. Finer Grit Stones

Once you’re done with the coarser stone, you should also pass the blade twice on each side of the finer grit stone to complete the job.

Step 6. Rinse & Dry

As the last step, you should always rinse your knife under running cool water and dry it with a towel. This makes it safe for use. If your sharpener collects shavings using a magnet, keep in mind that you may have to empty its bin from time to time.

Conclusion

We’ve reached the end of this electric knife sharpener review, and you’ve seen all the different offers out there, from the unique, stylish designs to the powerful and highly effective ones.

There’s a perfect electric knife sharpener for everyone. But if you just want the best overall sharpener, then the Chef’s Choice 0101500 should do. 

Else, if you are on a budget and want something more affordable, then Presto’s 08800 comes highly recommended with its low price and good-quality design.