How to Sharpen a Knife with a Knife Sharpener | Get a Razor Edge

Whether you own a manual pull-through or an electric model, the fundamentals stay the same. Get the angle right, use steady light pressure, and never push the blade backward through the mechanism. Here’s the exact process that gets dependable results every time, plus the common mistakes that dull blades faster than they cut.

The Right Way to Use a Manual Pull-Through Sharpener

A manual sharpener is the easiest tool for fast results. Hold it firmly on a flat, stable, non-slip surface so it doesn’t slide. Grab the knife by the handle and draw the blade through the correct slot, moving from the heel (the base near the handle) toward the tip. Alternate between the left and right sides of the slot for even sharpening, and repeat as needed, keeping the blade centered and moving in one direction only — never push backward. If your sharpener has multiple stages, start with the coarser stage and finish on the finer one.

How Do You Use an Electric Knife Sharpener?

Electric sharpeners do the same job faster, but technique matters just as much. Place the machine on a flat, level surface with enough lighting. Turn it on and pull the blade slowly from heel to tip, keeping it centered in the slot. Use light-to-moderate downward pressure — just enough to maintain contact with the abrasives. Let the machine do the work; pressing harder doesn’t sharpen faster, it just shortens blade life. After each stage, wipe the blade clean to remove metal filings before moving to the next slot.

The Common Mistakes That Ruin an Edge

Most dull knives after sharpening come from a handful of fixable errors. Avoid these and you’ll get a better edge on the first attempt:

• Twisting the blade mid-pull. Keep it flat and level to maintain a consistent angle.
• Using excessive pressure. Light, steady pressure lets abrasives cut efficiently instead of tearing the edge.
• Sharpening both sides unevenly. Alternate left and right passes in equal numbers so the edge stays centered.
• Skipping the cleaning step. Metal dust can clog the sharpener and carry grit back onto the edge.

For serrated knives, use only the stage designed for serrations — usually the final polishing slot — and never run them through the coarse stages meant for straight edges.

If you’re shopping for your first sharpener and want to skip the research, our roundup of the easiest knife sharpeners to use breaks down the models that need the least skill to get good results.

What Angle Should You Sharpen At?

The angle is the difference between a clean cut and a damaged edge. Victorinox recommends holding a clean knife at about 15 to 20 degrees against a grindstone-style sharpener, moving the blade toward the cutting edge and pulling from base to tip. Sharpen one side completely, then switch to the other for balanced results.

Electric sharpeners simplify this entirely — they use preset slot-guided angles, so you don’t have to find the angle yourself. That’s the main reason electric models are easier for beginners.

Sharpen a Knife in Five Pulls

Here’s the complete sequence that works for both manual and electric sharpeners, distilled into one repeatable routine. For a standard kitchen knife, this restores a working edge in under a minute:

1. Clean the blade and let it dry completely.
2. Pull through the coarse stage from heel to tip on the left side, then repeat on the right side — that’s one pair of pulls.
3. Do two to four pairs total on the coarse stage until you feel a slight burr along the edge.
4. Move to the fine stage and pull through two to six more pairs with lighter pressure to smooth the edge.
5. Wipe the blade clean to remove metal filings, then test on a piece of paper or a tomato.