(Last Updated On: July 9, 2018)

Best Sharpening Stone For Knives – Buying Guide 2018

With so many different methods of sharpening blades out there, it is hard to choose which is the best sharpening stone for knives. Some people prefer sharpener steel and others prefer devices you run a knife through, but most prefer knife sharpening stones.

A sharpening stone is the easiest way to return your knives and other cutlery to a useful state once they begin to dull. Not only knives but also scissors, razors, chisels, and plane blades can be sharpened with a stone. Sharpening stones are made of very hard stone or a manufactured material, such as ceramic or diamond stone. Usually in the form of a block that you hold in your hand or set on a flat surface, although they can also be found in the form of bench stones, wheels, or rods, these blocks are also called whetstones or waterstones.

Most stones are assigned a grit size; the finer the grit, the finer the grinding ability. Some sharpening stones are fine on one side and coarse on the other. The coarser grits begin the sharpening process, while a finer grit sharpening stone is necessary to refine the blade.

When using a sharpening stone, there are three keys to success. First, ensure that you are leaving a controlled edge angle on the knife blade by using an angle guide. Second, make sure that you establish an entirely new edge by sharpening until you raise a burr on the steel. Third, make sure that the new edge is smooth by honing or polishing the blade.

Before using a sharpening stone to sharpen your knife, moisten it with water or oil. This moisture will absorb the metal and stone dust that will be created during the sharpening process. It also makes the stone more effective at sharpening the knife. Diamond stones sometimes have an interrupted surface covered with dozens of recessed dots that collects the removed metal swarf and keeps it out of the way as you sharpen your blade.

To use a sharpening stone, try to hold the knife as if you are trying to slice a very thin layer off the surface of the stone. One of the most important parts of using a knife sharpener is to maintain a consistent angle as you sharpen the blade of your knife. Many people accidentally lift the edge of the blade against the stone, creating too much of an angle between the blade and the stone. Over time, this will diminish the quality of the edge you are able to achieve. To correct this problem, you may want to use an angle guide when sharpening your knives to ensure a consistent angle.

While sharpening your knife, Place the blade across the stone, and tilt at the desired angle. For most kitchen cutlery, this is somewhere between 15 and 35 degrees. The optimum angle should be stated in any paperwork you have for your cutlery, but use 20 degrees if you are not certain. With your wrists held rigid, draw the blade against the stone. This grinding action will remove a thin layer of the blade. Periodically move the stone so that you are working on a different section of the blade. Ensure that the blade is sharpened to a point by rubbing the stone on each side of the blade until the tip of the blade reaches the desired sharpness.

When sharpening a knife using a sharpening stone, keep sharpening until enough steel has been removed to form a burr on the edge of the blade. This burr will be removed during the honing and polishing process, but it is the easiest way to ensure that you have removed enough metal, exposing a completely new knife edge. Once the knife is polished, it will be ready for use again.

They are rather simple in design and are easy to use. Simply running the knife along the stone at a shallow angle several times will finely sharpen your blade.

On this page you will be able to find a selection of knife sharpening stones from a wide number of the best culinary accessories companies, including Chef’s Choice, Kotobuki, Shun, Zwilling J.A. Henckels and many more. But that are the differences between all of them? Is Japanese better than American or German?

Using the links below you can read all about the different types of knife sharpening stones and figure out which one is the best choice for your uses and needs.

Our Top 8 List of Best Sharpening Stone For Knives

Best Diamond Knife Sharpening Stone

#1. Chef’s Choice Edgecraft Diamond Sharpening Stone

The Edgecraft Stone is one of the best sharpening stones in the market. It is equipped with 100% diamond crystals which are the best abrasive components for sharpening and also for honing a knife. This sharpening system does not need any oil or lubricating liquid to do its job. It can sharpen lots of types of knife blades including tungsten carbide knives, ceramic knives, steel and stainless steel blades.

Excellent for a wide variety of knives and tools!

The product has following dimensions 6 x 2x 4 inches, and net weight of 1 pound. Finally, the Edgecraft stone is well rated by many customers.

Best Beginner Sharpening Stone

#2. Wusthof 8″ Fine Whetstone Knife Sharpener

The Wusthof FineWhetsone sharpener is a knife sharpening stone with 2 sides for sharpening and for polishing knife blades. It can be used, upon your preference, with oil or water. It is composed by ceramic materials which provide a very good resistance again usage. The usage is a bit special comparing to the other sharpening stones. You need to submerge it in water for about 10 minutes before starting to sharpen your knife. During the sharpening process, you need to apply water from time to time as the stone will release minuscule particles which, in combination with the water you apply, will sharpen your blade. Once you have sharpened the 2 sides of your knife, turn the Wusthof stone over and repeat the process in order to polish your knife.

The stone has 6 x 2 x 1 inches as dimensions, with net weight of 0.2 ounces

Best Japanese Sharpening Stone

#3.Norton 24336 Japanese-Style Combination Waterstone 4000/8000 Grit

The Norton Wtaerstone 4000/8000 Grit is one of the world’s most popular knife sharpening stones. It is 2-side stone that performs both sharpening and polishing. It is a synthetic water stone designed to be softer than oil stones. Its 4000 grit in one face is used for maintaining and refining a cutting edge while its 8000 grit on the other face is used for polishing cutting edges. The norton wtaerstone is one of the best japanese sharpening stone.

Grading abrasive material with consistent particle size is used to design this knife sharpening stone. The water is used as lubricant to develop a thin paste of abrasive which in combination with water liquid, removes metal with less pressure than an oilstone requires.

This stone is so called “Japanese-style” because mainly it is conform to Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS) like most of the watersones. The tool’s dimensions are 8.5 x 3.2 x 1.2 inches with 1.8 pounds as weight.

Best Sharpening Stone For Chisels

#4. SE Grit 120 & 240 6-Inch Sharpening Stone

This stone represents the coarsest level of stone to hone a straight edge razor. Click here to buy SE Grit 120 & 240 6-Inch Sharpening Stone.

Best Pocket Sharpening Stone

#5. G.I. Sharpening Stone

G.I. Sharpening Stone Comes With Key Ring Enclosed In Hard Plastic Case Perfect For Sharpening Kitchen Cutlery Great For Getting Those Hunting Knives Back To Par. G.I. Sharpening stone is also very portable.

Best All Purpose Sharpening Stone

#6. Zwilling J.A. Henckels Twin Stone Pro Sharpening Stone

TWIN Stone Pro is a double faced stone ideal for sharpening Zwilling J.A. Henckels stainless steel and carbon knives.

Best Knife Sharpening Water Stone

#7. Global MS5/O&M – Ceramic Whetstone, Medium Grit

This sharpening stone works by removing the first level of molecules from the blade of your knife, exposing a new edge. It is made from dense ceramic, which is harder than other stones and will show less wear. You won’t see any dips or valleys develop in this stone, as they do in softer stones. It provides ample area on which to draw an edge down and across.

Best Professional Sharpening Stone

#8.Combination Sharpening Stone

Keeping knives sharp is as simple as drawing the knife against this sharpening stone. Ideal for both professional and home use.

Japanese water stones are the most famous. These are usually made from sedimentary rock and for the most part are fairly fragile. They are intended to only use be used with water as oil will destroy them. Waterstones wear out more quickly than other types but they are very easy to flatten when required. The ever common oil stone Oil stones are much like the Japanese waterstones but are more durable. With these you can use either oil or water. Most famous type of these stones are the Arkansas oilstones harvested from the Washita mountains.

These stones have a longer life span than the other whetstones but are much more difficult to flatten once they become worn. Introduction to diamond plate These rocks are among the newest types on the market. They are generally made from monocrystalline diamonds imbedded on a metallic plate. Not only can these plates be used to effectively sharpen steel bladed tools but they can also be used as an alternate and some say better way, to flatten water stones. A word about sizes Knife sharpening stones come in a variety of sizes and shapes.

Four Things To Consider When Using Knife Sharpening Stones

If you are serious about cooking, or even if you are a professional chef, then chances are you have used Knife sharpening stones, in the past or maybe even very regularly. Knife sharpening stones can take the form of a sharpening stone, a steel rod, sometimes even diamond coated to make it more effective, or an electric sharpener, which can do several knives at once and give great results in a matter of seconds. However, there are also professional knife sharpening services, which a number of professional chefs favor. So how do they line up against sharpening yourself? Read on to find out.

Is it necessary?

Many sharpening services claim that sharpening by yourself is good, but you can only get the best quality sharpening by using a professional service. Many of these services use knife sharpening stones, but can sometimes detemper the knife and reduce the quality of the blade if not done absolutely correctly.

Positives and negatives

A knife sharpening service with a good reputation and a long history is practically guaranteed to return your knives in a much better condition, with a properly honed blade making your cutting easier. However, even the best service can take a week on average to do the job and return your knives, with postage fees on top of that.

Local sharpeners

Many chefs use local independent knife sharpeners, which is often a noble act to give business to someone who needs it. While many of these use proffessional knife sharpening stones, amatures may return your knives damaged or in worse shape than when they arrived.

Comparisons

Household knife sharpening stones, many of them electric or with diamond edges such as Accusharp knife sharpeners, can be very expensive, but can guarantee you a quality on par with a knife sharpening service. Overall, you may save money depending on how often you need to sharpen your knives.

A rule of thumb is to buy a stone at least as long as the blades you are sharpening. Smaller hand held stones make keeping a uniform angle more difficult. If you’re just beginning to learn the knife sharpening art you might consider finding a stone of each type I just listed. There is no such thing as the one perfect stone for every project. Depending on the job at hand you will need a different type for different tasks. Hope with our guide you will be able to find the best sharpening stone for knives.