Kitchen knives are one of the most essential pieces of tools in almost all types of kitchens.

It really does not matter which type of knife you are using because every knife gets dull and it’s really important that you sharpen your knives as a part of maintenance. 

And here comes the use of knife sharpeners, and there are many different types of knife sharpeners used for sharpening knives. 

A Whetstone and an electric knife sharpener are some of the most common sharpeners used for sharpening kitchen knives and even other types of knives. 

There are many questions about knife sharpeners and which type of knife sharpeners you should use. However, one of the most commonly asked questions is, are knife sharpeners bad for knives, and why do knives get dull so soon? 

And that is why I have prepared this complete guide and answered almost all the questions related to it. 

Most kitchen knives require sharpening at least once a month and for which you will be using knife sharpening. But the question is which knife sharpener is best for your knife.

Why Are Knife Sharpeners Bad For Knives

The answer to this question mostly depends on how you are sharpening your knife. There are a lot of factors such as the grade of the whetstone and the angle at which you are sharpening your knife. 

When you are sharpening your knives, make sure that you are using the right grade of whetstone, as there are many levels of knife sharpeners, and the grade of whetstone you choose mostly depends on how dull your knife is. 

If your knives are not much dull and you just want to sharpen your blade as a part for maintenance then you can always go with a fine grit whetstone.  

• Coarse Grit: The stones have a grit of less than 1000.
• Medium Grit: The stones have a grit range in-between 1000 to 3000.
• Fine Grit: This generally ranges between 4000 to 8000.

When you are using a fine-grit whetstone it does not remove much metal from the knife and there is less of the blade getting chipped off easily. 

However, if your blades are completely dull you have to go with a coarse grit whetstone having a grit of less than 1000. When you are using the coarse grit whetstone make sure that you are sharpening the blades at the right angle. 

In most cases, the knives are sharpened at an angle of around 18 to 20 degrees, and in this case, less metal will be removed from the knife.

When you are sharpening your blades also make sure that you are not applying much pressure as this can remove much metal from the blade. 

Usually, electric knife sharpeners remove too much metal from the blade and it shortens the life of the knife by years. The electric knife sharpeners use ceramic wheels and it tends to chip a chunk out the knife blade. 

So, when your blades are not much dull it’s usually not recommended to use an eclectic knife sharpener as the pull-through knife sharpener can permanently damage the edge of the blade.

What Are The Best Knife Sharpeners

Using a Whetstone is one of the most precise ways to sharpen and knife, No matter which type of knife you are using.

Whetstone is one of the most traditional ways used for sharpening a knife and you can use it to sharpen even the dullest knife by using the different grits of knife sharpeners. 

Whetstone is more accurate than other types of knife sharpeners as it gives you full control over the angle of the blade and the pressure that you are applying while sharpening the blade. 

You won’t find a knife sharpener that works with all types of knives leaving the whetstone. 

Electric knife sharpeners require less effort on your end, however, stones are generally preferred as they are gentler on the knife blade, and also they are inexpensive and easy to use. 

The sharp pebble premium whetstone is one of the most efficient knife sharpening stones for both home and professional use. It has a dual sharpening and it allows to sharpen on both sides as it features fine grit and coarse grit level. 

Here, are some of the most commonly used whetstones and I am providing the Amazon link. 

Amazon Links: 

• #400 & #1200 Diamond sharpening stone
• #200, #400, #800, #1000, #1200 5Pcs Diamond sharpening stone
• Diamond Machining technology sharpening stone
• #80 #200 #400 #500 #600 #800 #1000 #1500 #2000 Diamond sharpening stone

What Should You Not Do When Sharpening a Knife?

While sharpening the knife don’t run your knife through an Irregular knife system. Running your knife through the wrong surface can chew up the edge of the blade and It can scratch the face of the blade. Also, you won’t get your knife sharp.

While sharpening the blade keep your angle consistent. This may be hard when learning, but it’s really important to hold the blade at the same angle on every stroke.

After sharpening the knife finish it with a finer grit stone, as the finer grit will polish the edge of the knife to be razor sharp.

Once you are completed with the polishing, you can always finish the process by honing the knife with a leather strop and it will help you achieve the finest edge possible.

Conclusion

Most of the time the knives get chipped off very easily and Is only because of using the wrong knife sharpeners. The most important part of knife maintenance is to use the right knife sharpener.

When sharpening your blade make sure that you don’t use the wrong grit whetstone as it can decrease the life span of the knife blade.

If you are a beginner and don’t know how to sharpen a knife blade it’s always recommended to go to a professional knife sharpener where you can sharpen your blades.

We hope that our article would have helped you know more about knife sharpeners. Let us know In the comment section which knife sharper you are using.

But, If you are having any questions or queries regarding the topic, please let us know in the comment section below.

FAQ: Why Are Knife Sharpeners Bad For Knives

There are a lot of questions asked by a lot of people as they are confused about knife sharpeners, and that Is there are a lot of questions asked by people.

We have tried to answer a few of them and provided appropriate answers to them. You can read this section to clear your doubts.