Buying guide sharpening stones: the best sharpening stones for you

Unsure which sharpening stones to start with? We will help you find the right sharpening stones for you. Based on our own experiences, and the experiences of our clients. We consider price, user-friendliness, the corresponding maintenance and of course the sharpening result.

Sharpening stones for the beginning sharpener

Are you a newbie when it comes to sharpening your own knives? It's great that you're getting started! What should you look out for? One thing that's important is grain size. The lower this number, the coarser the sharpening stone. The idea is that you start with a sharpening stone with a rough grain size (between 220 and 600 grit) and you will work your way up to a sharpening stone with a finer grain size (1000 grit or higher). But it may be a bit much to immediately purchase several individual sharpening stones.

This is why we recommend double-sided sharpening stones, which means that each side has a different grain size. So basically they are two sharpening stones in one! The Skerper Basic sharpening stones are our best sharpening stones when it comes to price-quality ratio. There's a reason they're so popular! The sharpening stones are effective and sharpen your knives very quickly. You won’t have to spend a lot of time sharpening before seeing the result. Have you sharpened your knife with the wrong angle? No problem! With these sharpening stones, a little mistake is easily corrected. Sharpen with the right sharpening angle, and before you know it, your knife will have this angle too. These are ideal sharpening stones to get started with sharpening!

Keep in mind that these sharpening stones are so effective because they are less hard than other stones that will be discussed later. This means that these stones require a bit more maintenance. Read more about the maintenance of your sharpening stone here.

Sharpening stones for the regular sharpener

Are you already mostly proficient in using a sharpening stone and are you ready to invest in good sharpening stones? Then the sharpening stones listed below will be the right fit for you. It's especially nice to use harder sharpening stones when you sharpen often. You need to be more careful with the sharpening angle and your sharpening technique, but that won't be a problem for you! An added advantage of these harder sharpening stones is that, with regular use, they wear out less quickly and you will be able to enjoy them longer. Of course, this does depend on how and how often you sharpen. Another advantage of these sharpening stones is that you can choose from different grain sizes. Because of the relatively large selection of different sharpening stones, you have a lot of options when choosing the grain size that is right for your knives and sharpening technique.

Are you ready for a responsible investment? We recommend the sharpening stones from the Skerper Professional or Naniwa Super Stone-series!

Sharpening stones for the experienced sharpener

Have you grown into a semi-professional sharpener? Are your friends and family aware of the extent of your sharpening skills and are you sharpening all of their knives? Then it's time to get real. The best sharpening experience, the least amount of wear-and-tear and of course the best sharpening results. This is what you're looking for. In addition, there are multiple grain sizes and even ultra-fine grain sizes that leave you with razor-sharp results.

It is a big investment, but in choosing the Naniwa Professional or Shapton Glass Stone series you are getting the best of the best.

Do you want to know which grain size you should start with? Learn more about choosing the right grain size.