The Best Knife Sharpeners for 2020

Compact and simple to use, the Lansky C-Sharp is a great pocket companion that ensures you can touch up your EDC knife wherever you go. The cutouts feature 600 grit ceramic sharpening materials mounted on a durable metal casing, and they accommodate the most common knife edge angles: 17, 20, 25, and 30 degrees. It also has a larger 800 grit benchstone at the top of the tool for chisel-style edges and knife serrations. The metal body features a cutout for attaching a lanyard or a keyring, making this a versatile sharpener you can easily carry in your pocket or bug-out bag.

Work Sharp collaborated with noted knife designer Ken Onion to create a sophisticated and flexible sharpening system made for hunting knives, pocket knives, serrated knives, and even kitchen knives. The Ken Onion Edition Knife & Tool Sharpener includes flexible abrasive belts in five different levels of coarseness. These are driven by a variable speed motor that let you control how aggressive you want to hone your edge. Lastly, the adjustable angle guide allows you to sharpen your edge anywhere between 15 to 30 degrees, allowing you to sharpen everything from hard-use knives to delicate slicers.

A total of five different sharpening surfaces on the Benchmade Guided Field Sharpener provides options for how you want to sharpen your edges out on the field. Two removable and replaceable diamond plates—one coarse and one fine—are placed between 20-degree guides that help ensure a consistent sharpening angle. On the side, a ceramic rod rotates to provide you with three different grit patterns, including one for sharpening fish hooks. Finally, a leather strop attached to one side lets you easily touch up your blades at a moment’s notice.

If you’re looking to maintain your knives the traditional way, this whetstone is great for honing both your skills and your blade. The King PB-04 Japanese Combination Whetstone uses two different grits to help you hone your edge to perfection. The 800 grit side gives you as sharp an edge as you can manage, while the 6000 grit side polishes the edge for smooth and long-lasting razor-sharpness. Take note that this is an old school stone that requires you to submerge the stone in water for a period of time before use. It comes with a plastic holder that doubles as a stand while you work on your blades.

Work Sharp’s EDC Pivot Plus let’s you take two-stage sharpening on the go with its two different sharpening surfaces. For initial sharpening, a convex carbide surface lets you get rid of burrs and major blemishes fast, and Work Sharp’s Pivot Response allows the surface to follow the curve of the knife, ensuring a consistent angle and edge across the entire blade. You can then fine-tune your edge to razor sharpness on the the ceramic surface provided. A tapered diamond rod lets you sharpen serrations and folds neatly into the bottom of the body, keeping this mini multi-stage sharpener compact for EDC.

The Spyderco Gauntlet Premium is a simpler and more affordable alternative to their original product, the Sharpmaker. The distinctive shape is due to an integrated palmrest and handguard and that makes it easier to brace the Gauntlet on your bench, while providing protection from wayward or overly enthusiastic downstrokes during use. It holds the standard fine ceramic alumina rods in a V-shape at 20-degree angles, and this Premium version includes Cubic Boron Nitride rods for aggressive re-shaping and re-profiling of knife edges.

Smaller than their popular Field Sharpener, Work Sharp’s Pocket Knife Sharpener gives you the essentials for maintaining your knives while out on the field. Two different angle guides—one at 20 degrees for the medium diamond abrasive surface and the other at 25 degrees for the fine ceramic hone—provide you with enough sharpening options while out and about. The 320 grit diamond plate sharpens and even repairs lightly damaged blades while the ceramic rod helps you finish the edge to razor sharpness. It is designed to require no assembly or setup, making it easy for you to keep your pocket knives sharp and ready.

For more experienced or traditional sharpeners, a simple abrasive stone block is all that’s needed for knife maintenance. The Fallkniven CC4 Ceramic Whetstone Sharpener features dark gray side made of synthetic sapphire (1 micron grain size) for de-burring and shaping, and a white side made of super fine ceramic stone (0.1 micron grain size) for polishing your edge. Unlike traditional sharpening stones, this synthetic whetstone requires no water or lubrication during use. It also includes a leather pouch that functions as a strop when combined with proper honing compounds.