Many of you probably learned to sharpen knives freestyle on a carbide, ceramic or diamond stone that required setting the proper angle by guesswork. The problem with sharpening a knife freehand is that no matter how good you are, the angle can vary with each stroke.
Fortunately, knife sharpening systems these days are so advanced they can virtually eliminate human error. Among other features, the systems allow the user to preset the blade angle and lock it in so it never varies throughout the sharpening process. Of course, systems that “lock in” sharpening angles are nothing new. However, the ways today’s angle-guide models do it not only are especially creative and user friendly, the best of them offer many other highly useful functions as well.
Before reviewing four of the latest examples, a word of advice when sharpening a knife: stop and gauge your progress as you go. It will help ensure you don’t miss a dull spot and also keep you from over sharpening/abrading, thus preserving the life of your
