Easier Than A Metal File: The Exclusive Home Depot Tool To Sharpen Knives

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Torn lettuce. Crushed tomatoes. A kitchen knife that drags instead of slices. Does any of it sound relatable? If yes, chances are you have a dull knife that makes even the simplest cutting tasks feel like hard work. Sure, you could use a metal file to sharpen your knives, but those don't always work well, and sometimes the file can become dull before the sharpening is complete. Fortunately, there are some other options worth considering. Take, for instance, the Husky Block Sharpener, sold exclusively at Home Depot. It is a compact sharpening tool that can be used not only for kitchen knives and cutlery but also for things like pocket knives, hunting knives, and machetes.

The tool measures about 6¾ inches long, 3 inches wide, and 1½ inches high. It could be easily stored in a kitchen drawer, toolbox, or camping kit. As for build, it features a double-sided diamond block that sits inside a plastic body. This means its sharpening surface is coated with industrial diamond particles rather than the standard aluminum oxide you might find in most budget sharpeners. Its body also has a rubber non-slip pad on the bottom.

Buyers seem happy with the sharpener, too. For instance, one reviewer praised the sharpener for being small and portable while still being versatile enough to handle any knife in front of her. Similarly, another buyer noted that their blades stayed noticeably sharper while using this tool. Not every review is glowing, though. For example, some buyers noted that its sharpening surfaces were coarser than expected, and a few others noted that it is not stable on wet surfaces. So make sure you check out other ways to sharpen dull kitchen knives before buying this tool.

Start by placing the Husky block sharpener on a flat surface. It will help you maintain a consistent angle when sharpening your tools or knives, which is crucial to getting a razor-sharp edge. Also, when sharpening, make sure that the angle matches the existing blade angle, and keep a light touch, as applying extra pressure will not make the blade sharpen faster. If anything, it will make it hard to maintain a consistent angle. Plus, it might even cause uneven wear on the sharpening stone, which could, in the future, ruin your knives and other tools.

Also, when using the Husky block sharpener, start with the 400-grit side, and once the edges start to feel even, shift to the 600-grit surface. Just keep in mind that neither of these grit numbers will help you achieve a mirror-polished finish. For that, you will need a leather strop. So, make sure that you have all the proper tools to sharpen your knives if you are aiming for a high-end chef's-knife look. That said, the Husky block sharpener is still good enough for everyday sharpening tasks. Knives, wood chisels, tactical blades, machetes, pocket knives — it can handle everything.

Where the Husky block sharpener will not work, though, is when you have to sharpen a serrated knife or another tool with serrated edges. It cannot properly reach the curved grooves between the teeth. It's also important to keep in mind that if a knife has visible chips along the edge, significant bending, or deep rust, sharpening with the Husky block sharpener might not bring it back, and outright replacement is the more realistic call.