Last Updated on January 10, 2023
Looking to keep your knives sharp and ready to cut like butter? Here are the best pocket knife sharpeners we’ve found.
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Introduction
Many people who have owned pocket knives for almost their whole lives do not properly sharpen their knives or sharpen their knives at all. Using a pocket knife sharpener is an almost entirely overlooked aspect of owning one. And if you own a farm like me, a knife sharpener can be one of your essential farming tools.
Although we are all too familiar with the excruciatingly frustrating experience of trying to muscle through a tough cut with a dull knife, almost no one is aware of the safety risks that poses.
The duller the knife is, the less dangerous it is, right? No. Although that logic is sound enough to fool many people, it is not correct.
Considering that a pocket knife’s grip size tends to be smaller, overpowering the knife to cut through something dense is very dangerous, and is typically where knife-related injuries occur. So next time, think twice before using a dull knife.
Not only does using a dull knife pose safety concerns, but it also damages the knife itself.
Over time a knife will start bending out of shape, whether you sharpen your knife or not, but applying the extra pressure needed to cut things with a dull blade will only exacerbate the problem.
So unless you love safety risks AND bent knives, (If you do, that’s fine) I would strongly advise purchasing a high-quality pocket knife sharpener.
In previous centuries, choosing what pocket knife sharpener to buy was easy; you just didn’t.
You didn’t buy a pocket knife sharpener because they weren’t made. Any blade that you needed a sharper edge, you would just bring to your local blacksmith to sharpen for you on his massive stone sharpening wheel.
Fortunately, we have come a long way from having your blades sharpened at the local blacksmith. Now YOU can sharpen your blades in your own home.
When looking to purchase a pocket knife sharpener there are a few important things to consider: Price, Size, and effectiveness.
We have been able to narrow the choices down to the overall best pick, second-best pick, and best budget pick for you.
1. Overall Best Pocket Knife Sharpener
- ADJUSTABLE SHARPENING GUIDE - produce precise edge bevels from 15° to 30°. motor- 120Vac/1. 5 amp. Duty cycle-1 hr. Continuous
- VARIABLE SPEED MOTOR - handle every sharpening task, from grinding to honing. More power with improved cooling & the option of slow speed honing or high speed grinding. The variable speed control (1, 200 SFM to 2, 800 SFM) provides you with the optimal belt speed for the task at hand
- PREMIUM FLEXIBLE ABRASIVE BELTS - deliver a strong, long lasting razor-sharp convex edge
- FAST, PRECISE, & REPEATABLE - sharpening results with no set up or calibration time. The 6000 grit belt measures ½ x inches) for better contact with Serrations, gut hooks and other hard to reach edges
- PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN COMPANY - Work Sharp is part of Darex, a 4th-generation family owned company in Ashland, Oregon. For over 40 years we have been engineering industry-leading sharpening tools here in the USA
The overall best knife sharpener is hands down the Work Sharp Knife & Tool Sharpener Ken Onion Edition.
The Ken Onion edition of the Work Sharp Knife & Tool Sharpener uses variable speeds, angle guides, and flexible sharpening belts to create the easiest to use, most versatile blade sharpener that you can buy.
You can sharpen blades made of almost any material, serrated or not, quickly and easily with consistently perfect results.
From pocket knives to lawnmower blades, this thing is the most efficient, most effective knife sharpener you will find, while also being very portable and not costing a fortune.
This is the most expensive item on this list, but it is well worth the extra money. It comes with a one-year warranty, as well as replaceable coarse, medium, and fine abrasive belts. Abrasive belts will not damage the blade while sharpening.
This is everything you could ever ask for in a knife sharpener and more, which is why it won first place on our list. You should buy this if you want the best of the best regardless of cost.
2. Second Best Pocket Knife Sharpener
- Tapered Round Diamond Coated Rod for Sharpening Serrated and Standard Edges
- Carbide Blades (Coarse CARBIDE Slot) Quickly Set Your Edge; Ceramic Stones (Fine CERAMIC slot) Give You a Razor Sharp Edge
- Reversible and Replaceable Carbide and Ceramic Stones for Extended Sharpening
- Lanyard hole for Carrying
- Preset Sharpening Angles provide Guaranteed Resu
The second best pocket knife sharpener is Smith’s PP1 Pocket Pal Multifunction Sharpener simply because it consistently provides razor-sharp blades while being very easy to use, very portable, and very affordable.
Smith’s PP1 Pocket Pal Multifunction Sharpener features a tapered diamond-coated rod for sharpening serrated and standard edges, as well as replaceable coarse carbide blades to quickly restore dull blades and fine ceramic stones to give you an edge so sharp that it hurts to look at.
For less than ten bucks this is well worth the money and definitely deserves a second place on this list. You should buy this if you want an affordable knife sharpener that doesn’t make compromises.
3. Best Budget Pocket Knife Sharpener
- Crossed Carbide Blades Provide Quick Edge Setting
- Crossed Ceramic Rods Provide a Razor Sharp Edge
- Preset Sharpening Angles Provide Guaranteed Results
- Non-Slip Rubber Feet for Added Safety.
- Excellent for use on all types of knives, especially filet kni
Last but not least on this list is Smith’s CCKS 2-Step Knife Sharpener. This is the best budget pick because it provides sharp knife blades at an extremely affordable price.
This is a very simply designed knife sharpening tool, but for five bucks, you couldn’t ask for more. It comes with two tungsten carbide blades for quick sharpening, and two crossed ceramic rods which provide a smooth finished edge to already sharp knives.
It is lightweight, small, very portable and it has grippy rubber feet for extra safety. It isn’t the fanciest, but it gets the job done at a very low price.
You should buy this if you need sharp knives, but are on a tight budget.
Questions and Answers
How do you sharpen a pocket knife?
There are several different ways to sharpen a pocket knife. How you sharpen your knife will depend on the type of sharpener you use.
The knife sharpeners we recommend above will come with instructions on how to sharpen your knife with them. You can also check out the videos under each of the sharpeners to see them in action.
If you want to learn how to sharpen your knife manually, check out this Wikihow step-by-step guide.
How do you know when to sharpen a pocket knife?
It’s hard to know exactly when to sharpen your pocket knife because it depends on the frequency and aggressiveness of use, but here are some good guidelines:
For frequent use, you should sharpen your pocket knife every two to four weeks, for moderately frequent use you should sharpen your pocket knife every four to six weeks, and for occasional use, you should sharpen your pocket knife once every six to ten weeks.
Can you damage a knife while sharpening it?
The simple answer is yes. Yes, you can damage your knife while sharpening it, which is why it is very important to make sure you understand how to use your knife sharpener before you try.
How much money should I invest in a pocket knife sharpener?
If you want to get the sharpest blade possible and have other knives to sharpen as well you should definitely consider spending a bit more money to get the better knife sharpener.
If you just need to sharpen your pocket knife and don’t need anything super fancy, you probably don’t need to spend all the extra money to get the more expensive options.
