I was just about to chop some onions when I realised my knives needed sharpening – which reminded me to tell you (again!) about the HORL rolling knife sharpener. When I first posted about it, I said it rocked my world, and I still mean it.
As a cook who was never professionally trained, the thing I always struggled with most was sharpening knives: wrestling with a whetstone and trying to hold it at exactly 20°. I used to dread it. The HORL is beautiful German engineering, and it’s so simple. The magnetic block holds your knife at the right angle – 15° for Damascus steel (you’ll know if you have Damascus knives, they have those lovely watermark patterns) and 20° for everything else. Then you just roll: the diamond disc side to sharpen, the other side to buff away any burrs.
Try this: run a black marker pen along the edge of your blade before you sharpen, and you’ll see exactly how well it works. My test is always a tomato!
It will last a lifetime – so long that I know I’ll be passing mine on to my daughter. If you’re a cook, you need this in your life. If you have a cook in your life, get them one.
Ad – this video was made in partnership with HORL. I’m not on commission, but do let them know you came from me! Shop HORL here.