You can see how the edge-to-stone angle is maintained and allows sharpening by rolling the sharpener backwards and forwards. Epicurious may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers.

The secret to quick and effective sharpening is maintaining the correct angle of both the sharpener and the blade. This introduces challenges of maintaining the edge angle all through the sweep of the edge on any sharpening system. The HORL 2 comes with two sharpening discs: a diamond-coated sharpening disc (J400 grit) and a ceramic sharpening disc (J1000 grit). First the HORL 2 box and first look over the knife holder / angle guide, then views all round the storage block, and finally the rolling sharpening stone itself. That’s why I was quickly lured in when I saw a short video of someone using the Horl 2 rolling knife sharpener.

Just a few strokes on each side of the blade is sufficient to maintain a perfectly sharp cutting edge. The industrial diamonds in the disc are suitable for steels of any hardness used for knives and ensure efficient, precise results. This was because I was nervous about my knife sharpening skills and was concerned about damaging them. When you sharpen your knife with a 'normal' sharpening stone, you move the knife over a sharpening stone.

Their surface, which is rough to begin, is refined during the first grinding procedure and it retains this condition from then on. When he took the Horl for a quick spin, test kitchen director Chris Morocco gave it a B+/A- in comparison to what an experienced cook could get from a stone. The Horl Finishing leather is used for the final polish of blades sharpened using a Horl2 sharpener.

After the first grinding process, the initially rough surface will become finer and the HORL® Diamond Standard reaches its ideal grinding surface. Compared to our other HORL ® 2 models, it effectively achieves the desired sharpness three times as fast. However, what this did get me thinking about is that many of us BBQ’ers spend a significant sum on our knives, and yet I know personally I haven’t invested in a decent sharpener to keep the knives at their best.

As well as these two fine stones, you also have a thick leather strop for cleaning and deburring the edge. I had considered paying someone to do them (or asking my local butcher nicely) but now there is no need. Something that might be a ‘pro’ for one user can be a ‘con’ for another, so the comments are categorised based on my requirements. The block has two cut-outs, one is an angled pocket to sit the rolling sharpener in, and the other is a slot that has a couple of bolt heads which the magnetic guide block grabs on to. The diameter of the Horl 2 is 2″ so as long as you don’t have a knife bigger than this the Horl 2 will work fine.Horl is a German company based in Freiburg in Southern Germany, which not only headquarter there but manufactures their product in Germany. Available in either of the two woods used for the sharpeners themselves you can match the sharpener or go with a wood contrast.