I’m not what you’d call a knife connoisseur, though I do have a decent collection, some of which are used more than others, meaning of course that my favourites see a lot more action and become blunt quicker.

Scattered around the kitchen I have a couple of ‘traditional’ knife sharpeners that you run your knife along and through, and they work fine, but never seem to give the results I want.

I hadn’t realised until after speaking to a good friend of mine that sharpening a knife is a bit of art form and takes a fair bit of practise to get the perfect angle and sharpness, especially when using a stone, which I don’t have time for.

After a Google search of well reviewed sharpeners, I came across the Horl 2 sharpener, and suitably impressed with its reviews I ordered one.

The Horl 2 is nothing like any other sharpeners, and is really quite innovative as well as stylish, and it takes the guess work out of finding the correct angle for your blade.

In the box you will find a wooden block that on one end is angled to 20° and the other at 15°, and next to it is the Horl 2 cylinder with built-in ball bearings that ensures a smooth roll.  On one side of the cylinder there’s a Diamond Grinding Wheel, and on the other a Ceramic Honing Wheel that refines the grinding result.

You start off by deciding which angle best suits your knife, and as both ends of the block are covered with a silicon S-Pad and magnetised, it’s designed to hold your knife in place as you roll the Horl 2 cylinder back and forth on your knife to sharpen the blade.  Once you’re satisfied with the sharpness on one side of the blade using the Diamond Grinding Wheel, give it another minute with the Ceramic Honing Wheel, then simply turn the knife around and repeat.

Horl say that on average, the first sharpening of a dull blade takes five minutes, and thereafter, for keeping the blade perfectly sharp on a regular basis, you will only need a few grinding passes.  Included in the box are easy to read instructions, but if you’re still unsure Horl also offers a video tutorial (below) to help you when using the product for the first time, but it really is very easy, and actually quite therapeutic.

It’s so much easier to use than a whetstone, which is probably the knife aficionado’s go to, but for the likes of us here at Muddy HQ, who just want an easy way to sharpen our knives, the Horl 2 not only looks great, but actually works, really, really well.

price: £159

more at » www.horl.com