I also had no reservations about sharpening my Blenheim Forge knives using the Horl 2, which I had never sharpened since having them. This was because I was nervous about my knife sharpening skills and was concerned about damaging them. I had considered paying someone to do them (or asking my local butcher nicely) but now there is no need.

HORL 2 Pro Sharpener | Borough Kitchen

In terms of time, the estimate of 1 to 5 minutes is really spot on and the results are fantastic. I did all my knives in one sitting and found it a pretty relaxing process. I was a little worried about some of my larger chef’s knives that they would be too large. The Horl 2 had no problem with the ones up to 2″ in depth. The diameter of the Horl 2 is 2″ so as long as you don’t have a knife bigger than this the Horl 2 will work fine. Subsequently, you can sharpen or hone with just a few passes, particularly if you're going for a 'little and often' approach to blade maintenance. It could be that your knife needs a coarser-grit stone, as that tends to be the case for extremely dull knives. The standard diamond stone of the HORL has an approximate grit of #420; as this is a low grit and diamonds are exceptionally hard, over one minute of using this stone should sharpen an extremely dull knife. However, if you find that is not working well, you can use the even coarser Coarse Diamond Stone Attachment (compatible with HORL 2 and HORL 2 Pro models only), which has an approximate grit of #200.If your knife is particularly large –a cleaver for instance –it's still possible to use the Horl 2 with a little effort, as you can place the knife mount on your work surface and then use a bread board or similar to elevate the sharpener. Before T3, Duncan was a music and film reviewer, worked for a magazine about gambling that employed a surprisingly large number of convicted criminals, and then a magazine called Bizarre that was essentially like a cross between Reddit and DeviantArt, before the invention of the internet. There was also a lengthy period where he essentially wrote all of T3 magazine every month for about 3 years.

Horl Professional Knife Sharpeners Review | Borough Kitchen

The version I've been testing is the 'standard' Horl 2, which has an exceedingly pleasing, natural wood finish. You can also get the more affordable Horl 2 Cruise, which has a white painted finish and only a 20º sharpening angle. True connoisseurs may crave the Horl 2 Pro, which uses 'planetary gearing' to send its barrel edges whirling around three times faster than by manual rolling alone. That is a touch pricier, mind. Once your blade is thus angled just right, all you have to do is run the business end of the Horl 2 along it. This is a pleasingly hefty little barrel that has a sharpening steel surface on one end, and a ceramic honing disk on the other. When sharpening a knife for the first time with it, you will need to roll it up and down along the edge of your knife for several minutes. This is to 'train' the edge to the Horl 2's specifications. You then reverse the knife on its magnetic mount to sharpen the other edge of the blade. From the minute I saw the Horl 2 Knife Sharpener, I immediately thought what a great-looking product it is. It is something that I would definitely be happy sitting on my kitchen work surface rather than shoved away in a drawer, like other knife sharpeners I own.

Who are Horl

I’ve used the Horl 2 on my full knife set over the past few weeks. This includes my range of Wüsthof knives, the Starrett BBQ set of knives to my ‘special’ ones from Blenheim Forge. Across these, there are different types of knives all in a range of sizes. The views expressed in this summary table are from the point of view of the reviewer’s personal use. I am not a member of the armed forces and cannot comment on its use beyond that covered in the review. It is hard to over-emphasise just how satisfying this process is. I felt confident that I couldn't mess up my blade's edge, and the end results have been uniformly impressive, on everything from cheapo German utility knives to expensive Japanese ones made of Damascus steel. When swapping from a kitchen knife to an outdoor / hunting knife, it became apparent of an issue you need to work round regarding the tip of the knife.

HORL 2 Sharpener / Walnut | Borough Kitchen HORL 2 Sharpener / Walnut | Borough Kitchen

I have a couple of ‘traditional’ knife sharpeners, where you have fine and coarse slots you run your knife along, before finishing the process with a knife sharpening rod. The Horl 2 is nothing like these sharpeners and is very unique and I would also argue very innovative. A broadcaster, raconteur and public speaker, Duncan used to be on telly loads, but an unfortunate incident put a stop to that, so he now largely contents himself with telling people, "I used to be on the TV, you know." Another feature of a hunting knife verses a kitchen knife it that typically there is a ‘plunge line’ where the blade profile and ricasso meet. Also shown below are photos of how the corners of the HORL 2 stones hit the plunge line and might not quite reach the very end of the cutting edge. You will also likely mark the ricasso with the stone.Horl is a German company based in Freiburg in Southern Germany, which not only headquarter there but manufactures their product in Germany. They want to ensure the quality of their product and having manufacturing-based locally together with many of their suppliers helps them ensure this. First Impressions HORL knife sharpeners give you the precise sharpness of a whetstone in a fraction of the time, thanks to 1) a magnetic angle support that sets the optimal sharpening angle and 2) a rolling mechanism that grinds sharpening and honing stones against the edge of your blade.