In my family, there was a Christmas ritual that went along with the usual routine of piling all the kids in the car and heading over to grandmother's house. We also piled all the kitchen knives into the car. While I was playing with my cousins, my grandfather would take the knives and disappear into his workshop to perform some mysterious alchemy that somehow changed our dull knives into frighteningly sharp razors. For many, knife sharpening remains much like it seemed to me as a child: something akin to voodoo, perhaps even magic. Luckily, knife sharpening is not magic. It's a skill you can learn, and with practice, master. Which is a good thing, since even the best knife will quickly become useless if you don't sharpen it regularly. And let us not forget that a sharper knife is a safer knife. Fortunately the basics are pretty easy to pick up, and many of today's sharpening systems are simple enough that if you can hold a knife, you can sharpen it too. The only really tricky part is learning how to drag the knife back and forth against a stone properly. Mark Richmond of Chefknivestogo.com has a fantastic series of video tutorials that will get you on your way. Here's one that covers the basics: <script language="JavaScript" src="http://admin.brightcove.com/js/BrightcoveExperiences.js" type="text/javascript"></script>

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<script type="text/javascript">brightcove.createExperiences();</script> HOW WE TESTED

To keep things simple, I primarily used kitchen knives, though I also sharpened a couple of hunting knives, a pair of scissors and even a screwdriver just to round things out. With the exception of the Wusthof tools, these sharpeners should work with just about any type of blade you throw at them — from chisels to straight razors.Before we dig into the actual reviews, it's important to understand exactly what sharpening means. Sharpening is the process of removing some metal from each side of the blade to make a finer edge. Over time, that edge begins to wear down and you have to repeat the process. Depending on how much you use your knives and what sorts of surfaces you cut on, you may need to sharpen your knives as frequently as once a week or as little as every six months. Sharpening is different from honing, which is why you won't find any honing rods in our roundup. Typically, honing rods refine an already sharp edge. After you sharpen your knife and start using it, that sharp edge begins to curl over, a bit like the tip of a wave curls as it breaks. To get the wave back up to its peak point, you can run your knife along a honing rod. No material is removed, it's just reshaped. (Technically, there's also stropping, but we'll leave that for the enthusiasts to explain in the comments.) Sharpening really only becomes necessary when honing no longer restores the edge to its former glory. Pick one of these systems, learn it, and soon you'll be the voodoo sharpening master everyone brings their knives to at the holidays.

Naniwa Super Stones The Naniwa Super Stones are ceramic and available in variety of grits. To get a good edge with stones, you'll likely want three, possibly four, stones with progressively finer grits. I tested the 220-, 2000- and 5000-grit stones and found that this progression worked well enough, but would be even better with something in the 500 to 1000 range. The Naniwas are "splash-and-go" stones, which means you don't need to soak them before use; just splash some water on them and start sharpening. That said, soaking helps, especially with the finer grits, which are otherwise quite "thirsty" and require frequent re-wetting. There was no noticeable pore clogging, though you can develop considerable slurry when sharpening with the rougher stones. The samples I tested included plastic bases, which feel less solid and tend to wobble, but you can get the stones without the bases, which I'd recommend. Also note that Naniwa makes a wide range of stones, some of which are not that great. Stick with the Super Stones ($40 to $140) and slightly higher-end Chosera line ($70 to $200) for the best results. WIRED Gives a beautiful polish. Great edge that appears to wear quite slowly. TIRED "Wet-and-go" isn't quite true on higher grits. Cheap plastic bases are prone to wobbling, so stick with the plain stone. Rating: 6 out of 10

Shapton Glass Stones Like the Naniwas, the Shapton glass stones are branded as "wet-and-go," with no soaking necessary. But unlike the Naniwas, which still require soaking, the Shaptons really are wet-and-go — just throw some water on them and sharpen away. The Shaptons are also much denser and faster cutting, removing a significant amount of metal with each pass. It took less than half the time to achieve the same sharpness on the Shaptons than on the Naniwas. That denser, harder stone has one drawback, though: If you make a mistake — grinding too hard on the back edge of the blade, for example — the consequences are amplified. While they're great stones, if you're new to sharpening, you may want to practice with some cheap knives to get a feel for how the Shaptons work. Shaptons aren't the cheapest option — they start at around $40 to $300 a stone depending on the grit, and I tested a starter set of three (500, 2000, 16000) that you can find online for under $300. However, if well cared for, Shaptons will last for many years. You'll also want to pick up a stone holder and diamond lapping plate to polish your stones. WIRED The glass backing and dense stone give the Shaptons a smooth, solid feeling that makes them a pleasure to use. TIRED Expensive. You'll need a diamond lapping plate to keep them flat — a costly extra. Rating: 8 out of 10

Edge Pro Sharpening Set Stones are the best way to put a polished, lasting edge on your knives, but to do so requires learning and practicing the proper technique. If you'd rather not spend as much time practicing — or if you're paranoid about messing up your knives — an Edge Pro sharpening set is for you. The Edge Pro essentially reverses the sharpening process. Instead of moving the knife over the stone you move the stone over the knife. A clamp keeps the knife in place, and you swing the stone back and forth over the blade edge. A guide arm ensures that your stone stays at the proper angle, and you can dial in any angle you desire. It's like a set of training wheels. It takes a bit of time to get it all set up and working properly. But once you do, you'll have a foolproof system even a child could use (though they shouldn't). The Edge Pro I tested came with ceramic stones, but you can order a variety of different stones to fit your set. The only catch is that the Edge Pro is somewhat cumbersome to set up compared to a flat stone. The ease and convenience also come with the price — at anywhere from $175 to $360, depending on whether you get the simpler portable model or the beefier "Pro" version, this is one of the most expensive options of the bunch. WIRED Sharpening so easy, your dog could do it. Choose from a variety of stone types. TIRED "Easy" is not synonymous with cheap or simple. Fiddly to set up and disassemble. Will set you back a pretty penny compared to a basic set of stones. Rating: 6 out of 10

Spyderco Tri-Angle Sharpmaker A favorite with knife enthusiasts around the web, the Spyderco Sharpmaker ($50 to $60) is another option for those who feel more comfortable with some helping guides. In this case, you'll still be moving the blade freehand, but the stones are kept at the proper angle by a plastic base. The Spyderco consists of a plastic tray with a variety of slots into which you place two triangular stones, positioning them different ways depending on what type of blade shaping you're attempting. The instruction manual lists a bunch of options. There are also slots for a couple of guard rails — basically a pair of rods to prevent you from accidentally cutting yourself. You grip the base with one hand and hold the knife in the other. Then, keeping the blade perfectly perpendicular to the table, you draw the knife up the stones and toward yourself, doing sort of a reverse chopping motion. You alternate between the pair of stones to work both sides of the blade. Like the Lansky, the Spyderco is best suited to smaller knives. Thanks to its versatile approach and triangular stones, the Spyderco is also great for things you wouldn't ordinarily think to do with a sharpener — like removing the burrs from a Phillips head screwdriver tip, or bringing the edge back to wire cutters. WIRED The most all-around useful of the bunch. There isn't much the Sypderco can't sharpen. Also has a nice compact case. TIRED Not as great for chef knives or larger knives. The instruction manual relies heavily on cryptically small photos. Rating: 6 out of 10

Lansky Deluxe Diamond Kit The Lansky kit is not really made specifically for sharpening kitchen knives. It's made more for pocket knives, razors and tools. Thus, the Lansky is more likely to turn up at Sears than your local kitchen supply store. However, it gets the job done. The Lansky operates the same way the Edge Pro does — it keeps the knife locked in place while you move the stone at a fixed angle over the blade — but it's much, much simpler. You hold the assembly with one hand and swing the stone back and forth over the blade with the other. The Lansky uses diamond stones rather than ceramic stones, and there are four different grits in the kit. The Lansky is without a doubt the easiest of the bunch I tested for sharpening smaller knives. I used it to sharpen all my pocket knives, too. It's also inexpensive — usually $90, but can be easily be found for less. The big limitation is that it can only handle up to about 8-inch blades, so if your knife is any bigger than that (which chef's knives often are) you'll need to look elsewhere. WIRED Fool-proof. A versatile sharpener that can handle many different knives and tools. Cheap. TIRED Only good for pocket knives, paring knives and other short blades. Your knuckles come pretty close to the cutting edge when you're zig-zagging the stones over the blade — kinda sketchy. Rating: 5 out of 10

Wusthof Precision Edge Electric Sharpener If you want a simple, no-fuss, no-muss way to sharpen knives, the Wusthof Precision Edge electric sharpener ($190) fits the bill. I'll admit to being a stone-sharpener purist. I turned up my nose when the Wusthof arrived, but when family and friends heard I was doing these tests and showed up with the dullest, brittlest of blades, I kept going back to Wusthof's electric gadget. After a few seemingly too-far-gone knives were transformed back into razor-sharp blades, I was converted. That said, I still prefer stones for my expensive, high-quality blades. The Wusthof isn't going to give you the finely polished edge that lasts weeks, but man, can it turn some ugly cutlery into functioning kitchen equipment. A word of warning: Don't run the thing for hours straight, sharpening knife after knife all through the afternoon. It never outright quit on me, but the smell of melting plastic did at one point fill the air. WIRED Brings knives back from the dead. So simple and powerful, it feels like cheating. TIRED It is cheating, and your top-end knives deserve better. Rating: 7 out of 10