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Bob Kramer Double-Cut Honing Rod
Honing Works
We've all sat at holiday tables watching our host put on a show before carving the roast, slashing a knife in the air, back and forth, against a honing rod—swish, swish, swish. It sure looks impressive, but I've always secretly wondered: Does that really sharpen a knife?
All the rods very quickly improved the knives' cutting edges, usually within a half-dozen swipes on each side of a blade, but not all the rods produced equally improved edges. After hours of dulling and honing knives, we found our favorite: the Bob Kramer Double-Cut Sharpening Steel.
Bob Kramer Double-Cut Sharpening Steel
WINNER - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
This tool had one of the longest and thickest hones in our lineup; testers found it easy to use. The rod's two alternating textures, lightly ridged and smooth, let you choose to start gently with the smooth side or be a bit more aggressive by using the ridges first. Under a microscope, we noticed that this rod had more and finer-textured ridges than others in this style. “Wow,” one tester said, praising the way the freshly honed blade glided through paper and tomatoes. Using it “felt really natural” to most testers, and the results were “beautiful.”
We maintain strict objectivity in all testing.*
EASE OF USE ★★★
PERFORMANCE ★★★
BLADE CONDITION ★★★
KEY: GOOD ★★★ FAIR ★★ POOR ★
Details
Material: Steel
Textures: DigitalRidged and smooth
Circumference: 4 cm
Length Overall: 17 in
Item Number: ATKBKHR
Item Weight: 0.9 lbs
Shipping
How We Tested Honing Rods
We bought nine honing rods. All had the same basic design, a sticklike rod with a handle on one end. The rods themselves ranged from 8 to 12 inches long and were made of steel, ceramic, or diamond-coated steel. Their surfaces varied, ranging from smooth to ridged to a combination of textures. The most unusual model was a handle with two interchangeable rods—one diamond-coated steel, the other ceramic. To test them, I bought nine copies of our favorite chef's knife, a sheaf of copy paper, dozens of tomatoes, and a glass cutting board (the fastest way to dull any knife) and headed to the kitchen.
Our testers gave higher performance scores to the rods whose knives sliced paper and tomatoes most smoothly and effortlessly. Also, not all rods were equally easy to use.
Winning Traits
- Rods felt safe, comfortable, easy to use
- Restored a sharper cutting edge with fewer passes
- Left knife edge smoother and more polished
* OBJECTIVITY FIRST, LAST, AND ALWAYS.
America’s Test Kitchen does not accept advertising and conducts equipment tests without the knowledge of product manufacturers. Exclusive equipment offers are sourced only after the test results have been published in our magazines and on our websites.