What to Consider When Buying a Knife Sharpener?

Today’s market has so many types of knife sharpeners, that it's easy to get confused when trying to buy what's best for you. We have gathered a few factors for you to consider before you decide on your purchase.

• Go for multiple stages: Choose a product that has multiple stages of sharpening. A coarse abrasive is used for damaged knives, while fine abrasive is used if you just want to polish them. Therefore, it is preferable if the sharpener has both capacities, and can be utilized accordingly.

• Check the grit number: Look for the grit number—it gives you an idea as to the knife sharpener's abrasiveness. A higher grit number means that it has a top rough surface. A lower grit number may present problems later while working. A sharpener with 1000-grit would be ideal.

• Check the kind of blades you have: Buy a knife sharpener based on the types of knives that you have. Different style knives have different sharpeners. If you want to sharpen scissors or sports knives, whose blades are different from kitchen knives, there are separate sharpeners for such blades.

• Check availability of space: Check the amount of space that you can allot for your knife sharpener. If you have a small amount of space, then manual sharpeners are what you need, since they can be stored away in a drawer. On the other hand, electric sharpeners are long and would take up much of your cabinet area.