Kitchellence 3-Stage Knife Sharpener In-depth Review: Pleasant to Use, Slow to Produce Results (2024)

The Kitchellence enjoys over 20,000 reviews on Amazon, most of which are raving compliments. It looks very similar to many other pull-through sharpeners on the market, so we had to test it and find out if there’s something that sets it apart.

The device has an excellent build and is safe and easy to use; however, we weren’t particularly impressed by its performance in the speed and sharpness fronts. It’s a reliable sharpener but we’ve tested better choices at the same price range.

Key Specs

Where to Buy Price at publication $22.80

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Compared to Other Manual Knife Sharpeners

6.9 Performance

The Kitchellence could bring the knife to a serviceable keenness level without peeling a bunch of swarfs off the blade. However, it was slow to sharpen, which defeats the purpose of a ‘convenient sharpener’.

4.8 Sharpening Time to Cut a Lemon

We spent 125 seconds with the Kitchellence to bring a knife from uselessly dull to cutting through a lemon in one single draw. The cut was effortless and did not require significant hand pressure.

The sharpening time is rather slow; but note that we blunted the knife to an extreme degree for the test. Most cooks wouldn’t wait until their knives become so dull. If you maintain your blades properly, you should be able to make them serviceable after about one minute on this device.

7.0 Maximum Sharpness Achieved

After sharpening on the Kitchellence for 6 minutes, the knife slid through a ripe tomato effortlessly, so we went on to try it on raw chicken breast with skin. It went through the chicken breast in two slices.

This isn’t an exceptional result, but the knife was only at Level 8 when brand new, so it’s safe to say the Kitchellence almost brought it back to its factory level.

7.7 Edge Smoothness

The Kitchellence produces some of the smoothest edges among pull-through devices we tested. Thanks to its stability and the thickness of the sharpening rods, it was easier to maintain a consistent pull force through each draw. As a result, the edge came out smooth and even from tip to heel.

We could find no remaining burrs or metal flakes on the edge. The ceramic rods in the final stage did a good job straightening the edge and removing little burrs.

9.0 Material Retention

The Kitchellence’s substantial sharpening rods and blades are braced tightly together so they sharpen very well, but don’t remove much material from the knife edge at a time. The ‘swarf’ is more fine dust than chips, hinting at a fine edge.

This is mostly thanks to the design of the tungsten carbide blades themselves. However, the Kitchellence is also one of the rare cases where the bulky diamond rods really work to ‘prepare’ the edge for the peeler slot.

9.2 Design

We fell in love with the Kitchellence the moment we had it in our hands: It’s neat, simple, and strikes an excellent balance between aesthetics and functionality. We could tell the maker of it paid attention to every detail.

Dimensions

See Also

How To Sharpen Your Knives

9.3 Build Quality

We’ve had our hands on a few others that look very similar to the Kitchellence, and they were all lightweight and shoddy. So it was a nice surprise how well-built the Kitchellence is.

The device is made of high-quality ABS with a nice finish. It’s solid, sturdy, weighted, and every part fits together tightly and seamlessly. It didn’t create the rattling sound heard on many others as we shook it or used excessive force to sharpen.

The only thing we didn’t like about the build is the tiny and somewhat flimsy silicone pad underneath the grip.

In the Box

• The Kitchellence sharpener
• 1 x user’s guide
• 1 x safety glove

The Kitchellence comes in one piece, with a solid ABS plastic body. It has a distinctive matte finish that’s very soft and comfortable to touch.

The package includes a glove and a user’s manual that offers instructions on how to sharpen metal and ceramic blades.

Working Section

The Kitchellence sports three stages of sharpening, marked with the numbers 1, 2, and 3. The Coarse slot (1) removes small imperfections and preps the edge, the Medium slot (2) removes more material and sharpens the edge, and the Fine ceramic rods (3) offer a final polish.

Though the working section is easily removable, replacements are not sold separately. So once the rods have worn out and the tungsten blades are no longer keen, the whole device will just end up in the trash bin. That being said, with its thick rods and quality build, we suspect it will last for years.

Those larger, more robust sharpening rods separate the Kitchellence from other pull-through sharpeners such as the Cubikook or Wamery. They feel firmer and more sturdy, and the larger size also means they may last longer.

Base

The device tapers at the base and has a patterned pad underneath it. The pad is soft, thin, and doesn’t help much with keeping the device stable.

9.0 Grip

Among all the devices we tested, the Kitchellence offers the best grip. It has an ergonomic handle with finger nubs. The cover is a special kind of ABS plastic that feels like a matte silicone — it’s so comfortable on the skin a lot of the time we just skipped using the glove altogether.

9.1 Ease of Use

Its weight and design makes the Kitchellence a breeze to use: if you know how to use a knife, you will have no problem working with this device. The only mild problem is when you try to sharpen on a wet surface — but hey, it’s not hard to give your countertop a quick wipe, right?

10 Slot Arrangement

The Kitchellence has a very intuitive design, with the slots arranged in a progressive order. There are numbers engraved on the stainless steel cover on each slot, and on both sides too, so it’s more difficult to get it wrong than right. You won’t need other visual cues or instructions.

9.0 Insertion

The slot openings are not the widest among those we tested, but they have reasonable width and depth. Insertion was effortless and didn’t require much anticipation or forethought.

9.5 Pulling Through

We like that the sharpening rods are larger on this device than most others of its type. They created a firmer, touter brace of the knife edge as we pulled the knife through. Unlike some other devices, this brace hasn’t loosen up after six months of heavy-duty use.

The U-shaped holder stays clear of the working section, so we never once cut into it even when we deliberately increased speed and lowered the knife tip at the end.

9.0 Stability on a Clean Surface

Despite its small and tapered base, the Kitchellence is stable when working on a clean surface. This is thanks to its solid structure and an additional piece of metal placed underneath the working section for increased weight and a lower center of gravity.

7.5 Stability on a Wet and Dirty Surface

Facing the slippery countertop challenge, the thin and small rubber feet showed their weaknesses. The working section’s location high above the base didn’t help either. As a result, the device slid and wobbled a little.

The solution is easy: keep your countertop clean and the device will be safe to use. If you have shaky hands and want to be extra safe, however, the Cubikook may be a better choice.