Generic HCK-168 Fast Knife Sharpener

Our review

The HCK-168 is a fast knife sharpener sold under a generic brand, which means there is no named manufacturer to look up and no listed specifications to compare against. That makes it best suited to someone who wants a simple, low-commitment way to bring a dull kitchen knife back to working order, rather than a cook chasing a precise edge angle or a particular abrasive grade. Before buying, check which knives you actually own: pull-through sharpeners of this kind generally suit standard Western-style kitchen knives, while very thin Japanese blades, serrated bread knives and scissors may need a different approach. It is also worth thinking about how much steel you are willing to remove each time, since aggressive sharpeners can wear a blade down faster than a whetstone or a honing rod used for maintenance. Compared with a stone, this type is quicker and needs less skill; compared with a rod, it does more actual sharpening. If you mainly want to keep an already decent edge aligned, a rod may be the better buy. If your knives are genuinely blunt and you want speed over finesse, this is the sort of tool to consider. It is available on Sokonia.