How to Use a Knife Sharpener: Step-by-Step for Beginners? | Pull It Right

A pull-through knife sharpener works by inserting the blade heel-first into the correct slot and drawing it smoothly toward you in one even stroke, then finishing with the fine or honing stage.

Most home cooks blame the blade when the real problem is technique, and a pull-through or electric sharpener fixes the edge in under a minute once you know the motions.

The steps below cover manual pull-through models and electric sharpeners like the Chef’sChoice Model 15. Your own unit’s manual always wins where it disagrees — slot counts and stage names vary by brand.

What You Need Before You Start

A stable, level surface and a clean, dry blade are the two non-negotiables. Everything else is technique.

Set the sharpener on a firm countertop where it won’t slide. For powered models, keep the cord clear of hot surfaces and don’t let it dangle off the counter edge. Chef’sChoice’s manual for the Model 15 is explicit on this — and adds one more rule: never sharpen a dirty blade, because food residue can jam or damage the sharpening wheel.

Wipe the knife down and dry it fully. Then check what you’re working with:

• Dull or damaged edge — start on the coarse stage.
• Slightly dull edge — skip straight to the fine or honing stage.
• Serrated, scissors, or axes — stop. Pull-through sharpeners aren’t built for these, and the Chef’sChoice manual warns against forcing any blade that doesn’t fit freely in the slot.

How Do You Sharpen a Knife With a Pull-Through Sharpener?

Insert the heel — the section nearest the handle — into the slot, then pull the blade toward you in one steady stroke. Tip-first insertion and pushing motions are the two most common beginner errors.

Here’s the full sequence:

1. Start at the heel. Rest the blade’s base in the slot. Never lead with the tip.
2. Pull heel to tip. Draw the knife toward you in one controlled motion. Light downward pressure only — forcing the blade through is how edges get chewed up.
3. Lift slightly around a curved tip. As the curved portion of a chef’s knife passes through, raise the handle a touch so the edge stays engaged the whole way.
4. Alternate sides if your model requires it. The Chef’sChoice Model 15, for example, calls for alternating pulls through the left and right slots in its coarse stage. Single-guide and auto-sharpening models skip this — follow your manual.
5. Finish on the fine stage. Which? testing guidance suggests roughly three to six pulls for a properly dull blade, fewer for a slightly dull one, then one or two lighter passes on the fine or honing stage.

The slot geometry sets the sharpening angle — don’t try to impose your own. Let the device do that job.

How Do You Know When to Stop?

Stop when a burr forms, or when the blade bites cleanly into a tomato. Over-sharpening wears metal away for no gain.

A slight raised lip, called a burr, means that side is done. Wirecutter’s testing notes flag the burr as the natural stopping point; keep pulling and you’re just removing steel.

General guidance lands most dull blades in working order within a handful of passes per side. If you’ve done six pulls and the knife still won’t cut paper cleanly, the edge may have a chip or a rolled section that needs a coarser stage — or a different tool entirely. For cooks comparing options before committing, this roundup of tested knife sharpeners worth owning covers the trade-offs between pull-through, electric, and manual styles.

What Are the Most Common Sharpening Mistakes?

Pushing instead of pulling, applying force, and skipping the finishing stage account for most ruined edges. All three are easy to correct.

• Pushing the blade through. The motion is a draw toward you, not a shove away.
• Leading with the tip. Heel first, every time.
• Leaning on the knife. Excess downward pressure creates an uneven edge and can damage the wheel.
• Skipping the fine stage. Coarse work leaves a rough edge that dulls fast — the honing pass fixes it.
• Sharpening dirty blades. Grit and food residue work into the mechanism.
• Misusing the device. Scissors, axes, and serrated knives don’t belong in a standard pull-through slot.

After sharpening, wipe or rinse the blade to clear metal filings, then dry it completely before it goes back in the block. Clean up the sharpener too — brush out the slots and unplug any electric model before wiping it down.

Slow, even pulls beat fast, hard ones every time. The Chef’sChoice Model 15 user manual lays out the full safety and slot-use rules for electric units.