10 Best Tried and True Japanese Knife Sharpeners in 2023 (Kyocera, Nitori, and More)

The Global Speed Sharpener GSS-01 from Yoshida Metal Industry is designed for double-bevel stainless steel knives and uses a ceramic grindstone.

When we cut tomatoes with our sharpened knife, the blade sliced through effortlessly. We were impressed with how easy it was to slice the tomatoes at a consistent 1 to 2mm thickness. The blade became so sharp that we felt it was even sharper than a brand new knife!

The simple design with having only one slot for sharpening knives ensures that beginners will have no trouble handling this product. It is so compact that it fits in the palm of your hand, making it perfectly portable.

Azuma’s Klever Sharp is a portable sharpener you can attach to surfaces like tables or walls by lowering the lever at the top. However, note that it doesn't stick on wood.

The sharpened blade could cut tomatoes so smoothly that we felt like we weren't even cutting anything. The sharpener restored the knife to a level where we could use it without any problems at all.

The power grip at the bottom offers impressive stability. When the lever was down, the sharpener didn't budge at all, even when we tried to move it with both hands.

At a size of only 2.3×2.3×2.3 inches, it's super easy to store. We recommend attaching this knife sharpener to your refrigerator so that you can use it whenever your knives need sharpening.

Kai Corporation's Compact Electric Sharpener is compact, relatively quiet, and easy to use. Note that it cannot be used for single bevel, thick bladed knives, and special knives, and can only be used with double-beveled knives made from either stainless steel or hagane steel.

This knife sharpener can sharpen knives with minimal force, simply by lightly placing your knife on the rotating grindstone. After sharpening, our knife smoothly sliced through tomatoes, and the cutting surface of the fruit was smooth and clean.

In addition to the weight of the sharpener itself, it has a non-slip bottom that provides stability and prevents it from moving around during use. Moreover, we liked its simple and stylish design. 

However, while we do think it's quieter than other electric knife sharpeners, it is loud enough that it'll be difficult to have a conversation with this sharpener running.

Daiso's Quick Sharpener is a roller-type sharpener where you sharpen knives by gliding them on a rotating grindstone. While you can use this knife sharpener dry, Daiso claims that wetting the grindstone can help make your knife sharper.

With only one slot for sharpening your knife, you simply need to slide your knife through the slot a couple of times to sharpen your knife. However, the grindstone doesn't spin easily, so you'll have to add a bit of pressure and make sure your knife is properly touching the grindstone.

After sharpening our knife, we were able to slice right through a tomato without our knife getting caught on the tomato skin. We also liked how the compact size didn't take up so much space in our kitchen drawers. This would make for a perfect choice for those buying knife sharpeners for the first time!

Eiji Takeuchi's Super Sharpener can sharpen thick bladed knives such as deba knives by adjusting the screw on the body. Additionally, you can open the cover on the back to remove metal particles accumulated after sharpening your knives.

Our sharpened knife felt smooth and there was no roughness felt from the blade while cutting. However, when cutting the edge of a tomato, it was slightly difficult to pierce the tomato skin, resulting in it coming just a hair short in comparison to higher-ranking knife sharpeners.

This knife sharpener is compact and easy to store. We especially recommend it for those who want to sharpen various types of knives such as single and double-bevel knives as well as thicker knives.

Kataoka Manufacturing's Water Sharp III is designed for double bevel blades made of stainless steel and hagane steel. This sharpener has a water reservoir, which when filled, reduces the heat generated from friction, making both your knives and the whetstones last longer.

This product can make your knives incredibly sharp. Once we sharpened our knives, we were able to thinly slice through tomatoes without them losing their shape.

This product has rough, medium, and finishing-grit grindstones, numbered 1, 2, and 3, making it easy to use. The only drawback is that the top cover, which can be opened for cleaning, was pretty hard to open.

Laundly’s Diamond Knife Sharpener re-009 sharpener works by sliding knives into three different sharpening slots in order. This knife sharpener cannot sharpen serrated knives or single-bevel knives.

Once sharpened with this product, our knife could slice tomatoes perfectly straight and even. The non-slip grip is attached to the handle as well as the back of the body, so it won’t slip during use. The entire knife-sharpening section can be removed and easily cleaned with water, so it is easy to keep clean.

Unfortunately, this product is not very intuitive to use, since the knife sharpening slots lack any indication as to what grit the grindstone is.

Yoshida Metal Industries' Global Sharpener GSS-02 was developed in collaboration with Suehiro, a manufacturer specializing in grindstones. Featuring a spring in the grindstone's bearing, this sharpener is designed to be beginner-friendly, allowing anyone to sharpen their knives evenly.

After sharpening our knife, we found that our knife sliced through our tomatoes smoothly like butter. Since the shape of the sharpener itself is slim and long, it was easy to hold it down with our free hand while sharpening.

With four non-slip pads at the bottom, this knife sharpener feels incredibly stable. However, the aforementioned spring in the grindstone was a little firm, requiring you to push down as you slide your knife to sharpen it.

Kai Corporation's Seki Magoroku Diamond & Ceramic Sharpener comes with three different grindstones. There is a cover so you don’t have to worry about dust and metal bits spilling out.

Since the sharpening slots are numbered in order, it was easy to use this sharpener. Additionally, the smoothly spinning grindstones eliminated the need to add extra force when sharpening.

However, our sharpened knife didn't feel as sharp as we'd hoped when sliding the blade into a tomato, getting caught on the skin. Another drawback is that the body tends to wobble due to the non-slip pads on the bottom, which stick out a bit.

Kai Corporation's Kai House The Sharpener is designed in a way that the grindstone is set at an optimal angle for the best sharpening performance. To prevent injury, it also features a safety device that prevents the grindstone from rotating while the cover is open.

When it comes to performance, although our knife was able to slice into our tomatoes without getting stuck on the skin, it didn't feel as smooth as higher-ranking products.

The sharpening mouths are numbered 1, 2, and 3, making it pretty straightforward in terms of use. However, since the sharpening slots are pretty wide, our knife was a bit unstable, making it difficult to tell whether the knife is being sharpened correctly or not.