It might sound counterintuitive, but every pro chef will tell you that a sharp knife is safer than a dull one. A sharp knife is less likely to bounce off an ingredient and into your hand. If you’re a serious cook, you know that sharp knives are essential tools. While there are plenty of inexpensive sharpening devices that promise a razor’s edge, they often fail to deliver — and we have a drawer full of failures to prove it. If your knives can’t slice through a sheet of paper with ease, they aren’t sharp enough. Why not fix that before the Thanksgiving turkey hits the table? The Tormek T-2 Pro Kitchen Knife

The Tormek T-2 Pro Kitchen Knife Sharpener is the one you want. It’s a pro-level tabletop machine designed for commercial kitchens, but it will seem even more impressive sitting on your kitchen counter. 

The Tormek was built for professional kitchens’ stringent demands for sharpness, simplicity and speed. But don’t be put off by ts pedigree; the T-2 is surprisingly simple to operate and delivers a pro edge in under 60 seconds — even in our amateur hands.

Power up the machine, slide your knife into the built-in guide, then draw the blade lightly across the T-2’s spinning grinding disk, which is coated with a layer of diamond dust. (Don’t expect sparks; it rotates about as fast as a hamster wheel). An adjustable guide holds the blade at the ideal angle to create a sharp cutting bevel. A few passes back and forth is all it takes. Finish up by drawing that new bevel across the T-2’s integrated honing wheel a couple of times, which straightens the edge and polishes the blade. That’s it. You’re done. Your old knife has a new, precise edge that’s evenly sharpened across the entire bevel.

And you didn’t once have to Google “whetstone,” “honing rod” or “sharpening steel.” We love this tool!