HORL knife sharpeners give you the precise sharpness of a whetstone in a fraction of the time, thanks to 1) a magnetic angle support that sets the optimal sharpening angle and 2) a rolling mechanism that grinds sharpening and honing stones against the edge of your blade.

How do you sharpen a knife with the HORL rolling sharpener?

Attach the blade, edge side up, to the side of the angle support suitable for your blade. It will stay in place because of strong anti-slip magnets. With one hand holding down the angle support, roll the coarse sharpening stone along the other side of the blade’s edge. Do this up to 10 times for a very dull knife, and less for a moderately dull knife. Turn and repeat for the other side of the blade. Now repeat the process again, on both sides, with the finer honing stone. Visit our blog for a more detailed guide here.

Do you push or pull when sharpening a knife?

With HORL 2 sharpeners, you can roll the blade back and forth, or just in one direction, repetitively. Just make sure to repeat the same motion and repetitions on the other side of the blade’s edge for consistency.

What angle should I grind my knife?

You should grind Western-style knives at 20°, and Japanese-style knives at 15°.

How long does it take to properly sharpen a knife?

It takes up to 5 minutes to sharpen a knife on a HORL sharpener for the first time, as the knife has to ‘learn’ the 20° or 15° angle set by the magnetic support. (It’s much faster after this first time.) To check when this initial process has finished, do the marker test (detailed on our guide here). After your knife has adapted to the angle, how long you sharpen depends on the dullness of your knife—we recommend up to 10 repetitions for very dull knives on the coarse sharpening stone, followed by a similar amount on the honing stone. This process tends to take about 90 seconds, more or less.

Why is my knife still dull after sharpening?

It could be that your knife needs a coarser-grit stone, as that tends to be the case for extremely dull knives. The standard diamond stone of the HORL has an approximate grit of #420; as this is a low grit and diamonds are exceptionally hard, over one minute of using this stone should sharpen an extremely dull knife. However, if you find that is not working well, you can use the even coarser Coarse Diamond Stone Attachment (compatible with HORL 2 and HORL 2 Pro models only), which has an approximate grit of #200.

How many times should I sharpen a knife?

This depends on how often you use the knife or the condition of your blades. For home cooks, we recommend once a month. The best way to tell whether your knives need sharpening is to do the tomato test. If your knife cuts through easily and neatly, your blade is sharp. If it slices, but there’s some resistance, then it’s worth honing your blade, or sharpening it lightly followed by honing. If the tomato bends and squishes under your blade, then it’s time to sharpen for up to a minute and hone for a similar amount of time.