Knife sharpeners may be simple or complex, manual or electric. Most make use of some kind of sharpening stone.

Sharpening stones may be whetstone, carborundum or corundum. Whetstones are also known as water stones or oil stones. There are differences in terms of the minerals from which they whet.water and oil stones are derived, as well as the country of origin.They are the natural stones.

Carborundum and corundum are artificial or man-made stones. Carborundum is composed of silicon carbide. Corundum is composed of aluminum oxide. The advantage of the artificial stones is that they sharpen kitchen knives and other utensils faster than the natural stones.

Natural stones are still produced in some quarries. They are more expensive, but are sometimes preferred because they remove less metal. They can be used for polishing after a blade has been sharpened.

If no stone is present, the knife sharpeners make use of a textured steel shaft. The blade is drawn across the shaft manually.

Stones and sharpening steels were used for many years. The process was something of an art. Both the blades and the sharpening utensils had to be held just right or the edge would be dulled rather than sharpened.

Today, many devices include guides that make sharpening an easier process. Both electric and non-electric models are available. They allow you to sharpen kitchen knives of different shapes and sizes accurately without a lot of practice.

Sharpening blades with serrated edges, such as those designed to cut bread, can be difficult without a specially designed sharpener with spring-loaded guides to keep the blades at the correct angle. Inexpensive electric sharpeners will not work on serrated edges.

Budget manual tools that allow you to sharpen kitchen knives are available for around $20. They can be used on any blades that are not serrated.

Electric knife sharpeners without the necessary spring-loaded guides for serrated edges are available for as little as $40. Those with the spring-loaded guides start at around $50.

There are other features that add to the price. Multiple guides, replaceable guides and training manuals are examples of features that do not really make one product better than another, but do affect price.When you just need something to sharpen kitchen knives, any sharpener will do. Chefs and other experts have opinions about which brands are better, but the average homeowner would find any of them useful once he or she have learned how to use the device.It does take a little time to learn to use electric knife sharpeners. From that perspective, manuals are easier.

Modern knife sharpeners are relatively low in price,easy to use and can sharpen various kinds of knives such as:Kitchen knives,Sporting knives,Crafting knives,Fishing knives.So you can save both time and money by sharpening all of your knives yourself.