The best manual knife sharpener

Every good cook, whether amateur or otherwise, needs a good set of sharp kitchen knives. Unfortunately knives don’t stay sharp. Every time your blade hits something solid, it slowly knocks on the edge. A blunt blade is more dangerous than a sharp one, so it’s worth investing in the best manual knife sharpener you can get.

Types of manual sharpeners

There are several manual knife sharpeners on the market. The Sharpeners is one of the oldest and does a good job if you know how to sharpen knives. Without these skills, you could permanently damage the edge of your favorite knives and throw them in the trash.

The more modern blade sharpener usually has pull-through slots with differently fine and coarse grains so that you can sharpen the edge and then smooth it to a fine finish. The coarse grit creates a burr that the fine grit removes. Even if you choose to use a grindstone, you will need more than one to properly finish the edge of your blade.

Manual pull sharpeners look just like electric ones. Many chefs prefer manual sharpeners over electrical equivalents because they are quieter. You can use them almost anywhere as they don’t need an outlet. They take up little space on the worktop and can be neatly hung on the wall with a hook or stored in a utensil holder or drawer.

One of the main reasons why manual sharpeners are preferred is that with a manual sharpener you have full control over the process. You decide how much pressure you apply and how quickly you pull the blade through the slot.

When choosing your knife sharpener, remember that the steel that the sharpener is made of must be stronger than the steel that the blade is made of to effectively sharpen a blade. Most manual sharpeners are two-stage, but the best offers the user three stages.

Manual knife sharpeners are much cheaper than the electric sharpener. A manual sharpener is easy to use. You insert your blade into the slot near the handle and then pull the knife through each slot several times. If you start with a three-stage sharpener, start with the rough slot and then work your way to the fine slot.

The best manual knife sharpener

For my money, the currently best manual knife sharpener is a 3-stage knife sharpener from Cubikooks – the CS-T01.

This pull-through knife sharpener can sharpen almost any blade in your home, from pocket knives to utility knives, from Santuko to hunting knives. It has three levels. These include:

• Diamond Dusted Poles – for straightening the edge and removing burrs
• Tungsten blades – Sharpen the edge to a razor-sharp finish
• Ceramic rods – Carefully polish the edge after sharpening.

You can use the ceramic rods between sharpening to sharpen the blade. When you sharpen your blades, a small amount of steel is scraped off, so sharpening may damage the blades. When honing, on the other hand, microscopic bumps are simply aligned on the edge. This gives the edge a new life without removing steel. Many chefs will refine their favorite knives before and after each use.

The Cubicook CS-T01 is made of solid ABS plastic. The knife slots are protected by a stainless steel shield to avoid nicks and scratches. It is well built and easy to keep clean, a solid kitchen appliance with a good weight. Together with the large, ergonomic handle and the non-slip base, this ensures that it does not move during use.

A lifelong guarantee applies to this quality product. It is inexpensive and good value for money.