Knife sharpening is a basic life skill every adult must learn how to do. Yet not a lot of us are practicing it. We think it's just as simple as running the knife up and down the sharpener, and it's good to go, but there's a lot more to it than we thought.
To get the best out of your knife, you must know how its edge is angled to get the proper sharpening tilt. So we'll sample some of the most sought-after kitchen knife sets and tell you the optimum sharpening blade angle for these kitchen knives so you can enjoy a razor-sharp blade as you chop and slice things up in your kitchen.
Marketplace Ranking: Number 6 bestseller (as of publishing)
Material: Solingen Stainless Steel
Origin: Germany
It stays sharp for a long time. The Solingen blades of Henckels are proven to hold edges even on frequent and intense use.
Their kitchen knife product lines also improve: Henckels has a Professional S line used by more serious cooks. It is a next-level collection of their best kitchen knife set that will endure in the toughest kitchen conditions and require little to no sharpening.
Henckels' Statement knife block could be more precise. Its slots may not fit the knives well. On the other hand, you can always buy a magnetic bar as a substitute. It will look better in your kitchen.
The best angle for sharpening kitchen knives from Henckels should be within 20 to 22 degrees if they have larger blades (i.e., chef's knife, santoku, and bread knife). For smaller blades, you may opt for 15 - 10 degrees to enjoy optimal sharpness.
This premium knife brand has more to offer than what can be explained here. If you want to see if this blade has the right edge for your needs, you can visit it on Amazon.
Marketplace Ranking: Number 2 bestseller (as of publishing)
Material: Stainless Steel
Origin: Germany
It's self-sharpening. McCook's knife block has a kitchen knife sharpener on each slot. So every time you pull a knife out and put it back, the blade gets a sharpening stroke. This push and pull motion hone the edge and maintain its sharpness.
The blades have below-par sharpness. The McCook's set has knives you'd want to sharpen using these magnificent whetstones. Perhaps it's built this way because they want the self-sharpening block to work on the blade's edges while in use.
Most knives of European origin have a thicker blade. Hence, they'll have to be sharpened with a broader angle. For McCook's knife set, we recommend 17 to 20 degrees as this is the best angle for the chef knife and other longer blades in the set. For shorter ones, 10 to 15 degrees are recommended.
If you're looking for quality German-made knives on a budget. McCook is an excellent choice if you enjoy knife-sharpening. Get this set on Amazon.
Marketplace Ranking: Number 1 bestseller (as of publishing)
Material: Coated Stainless Steel
Origins: N/A
Beautiful design with quantity at the right price point. The transparent acrylic stand looks beautiful sitting on a kitchen countertop. In addition, it's got almost everything your kitchen needs. Plus, the Home Hero set is light on the wallet.
You can easily scratch the knife's coating. If you're opting for the black-coated knife blade set, take extra care. The coating can be scratched off when you sharpen it. If your sharpening skills need practice, pick the silver variety to avoid a scratched blade cheek.
Home Hero's knife set is perfect for those new to using sharpening stones. This brand is American or European, so we recommend a 17 to 20 on larger blades and the usual 10 to 15 angle on the smaller ones. You can either use the included knife sharpener or your whetstone.
If you want something that looks good in your kitchen and has everything you need at the price you can afford, Home Hero is the right choice. See what else this knife set offers on Amazon.
Marketplace Ranking: Number 4 bestseller (as of publishing)
Material: Non-Stick Coated Stainless Steel
Origins: N/A
Color-coded and sheathed. You won't have to get confused by knives with the same-colored handle designs. The coated knives tell you which is which by assigning colors to them. Also, the knives are paired with strong, moisture-resistant sheaths to protect you and your blades.
Knife block excluded. The trade-off for having the sheaths is the knife block. This makes organizing these knives a challenge. We recommend you put them all in a dedicated kitchen drawer.
These American-made knives are thin. Regular blade angles won't sharpen them well. So we suggest a 15 to 17 degrees sharpening angle for larger knives and at least 10 degrees for shorter ones.
Amazon Basics is the dominant brand for saving you money. So if you're someone who likes a decent knife set you can practice sharpening with at a good price, go with Amazon Basics.
Primarily, we feature knife sets and give their grind angles for you to practice your sharpening skills. But in the end, you'll still be using these knives for food preparation. Therefore, they have to be worth it. And Home Hero has the right quality at the right quantity and price.
More kitchen knife sets like the ones above await you when you check out our blogs. In addition, we've got reviews and buying guides that give detailed information about what you need. Explore more blogs here at Knifescout.
