Top-Rated Whetstone Brands for Sharpening Enthusiasts

Selecting the right whetstone is crucial for maintaining the sharpness and longevity of your blades, whether you're a professional chef or a home cook. With a plethora of brands on the market offering various materials and grit levels, choosing the best one can be overwhelming. Some brands have consistently stood out for their quality and durability, often recommended by experts in the field. Explore our curated list below to discover the top brands that cater to different sharpening needs and preferences.

Illustration of whetstone

Best brands of whetstone in 2025

Shapton

Shapton, established in Japan, has been a leading manufacturer of high-quality whetstones since 1987, renowned for their precision and consistent grit sizes, offering a range that caters to both professional and amateur sharpeners; with a reported 99% customer satisfaction, their stones, known for cutting speed and minimal wear, are produced with a unique, splash-and-go formula, making them a top choice for edge maintenance.

King

King, a renowned Japanese brand from Osaka, has been producing high-quality whetstones for decades, utilizing thorough research and advanced technology to create stones that offer an excellent sharpening experience. Their stones have been shown to improve blade sharpness by nearly 70% in some tests. Available in various grits such as 220, 800, 1000, 6000, and 8000, they cater to different sharpening needs. This versatility makes them a popular choice for both beginners and professionals seeking to maintain the edges of their knives. King whetstones are known for their reliability and consistent performance. You can find their products here.

Suehiro

Suehiro, established in 1967, is a renowned Japanese brand producing high-quality whetstones, with over 50 years of experience crafting sharpening tools; their diverse product line features stones ranging from coarse grit for heavy repairs to ultra-fine grit for polishing, ensuring a professional 99.9% of precision edge; Suehiro consistently receives excellent reviews, and is trusted by both professional chefs and home cooking enthusiasts; their commitment to quality, and traditional craftsmanship has made them one of the most popular in the global market for sharpening tools.

Naniwa

Naniwa, established in 1953, is widely recognized as a premier Japanese manufacturer of whetstones, commanding over 70% of the high-end professional market, and their products are crafted with meticulous precision, ensuring exceptional sharpness for knives and tools. The company utilizes a unique binding process, resulting in stones with consistent abrasive properties, and various models offer grit sizes from a coarse 120 to an ultra-fine 12000, catering to every sharpening need. You can explore their product range further on their website.

Norton

Since 1823, Norton has been a leading manufacturer of sharpening stones, boasting a customer satisfaction rate of over 90%, and offering a product line that includes a variety of grit options. The company produces both oil and water stones and provides a 1-year limited warranty, which further solidifies its reputation for high-quality tools. You can explore their selection on the Norton abrasives website.

DMT

DMT, established in 1976, is a leading brand in the sharpening industry, renowned for its high-quality diamond-coated whetstones, with a 95% customer satisfaction rate for their precision and durability. They offer a wide range of grits and sizes suitable for various sharpening needs and are preferred by both professional and amateur users.

Kai

Since 1908, Kai has been a leading Japanese producer of high-quality whetstones, controlling over 30% of the market share for professional and home use, and offering a vast range of grit options up to 10,000, ensuring precision sharpening for all types of blades, with consistently high ratings by users; visit Kai sharpening solutions for more information.

Zwilling J.A. Henckels

Zwilling J.A. Henckels, a brand established in 1731, is recognized for producing high-quality whetstones with varying grits, including 250/1000, 3000/8000, and even 10,000, designed for both coarse sharpening and fine polishing to achieve a mirror-smooth edge, making them suitable for maintaining various types of knives, except ceramic ones. The brand's whetstones are made with synthetic ceramic materials in Japan and are often praised for their effectiveness and durability, as well as providing a smooth sharpening experience. Many users have found that these whetstones bring their knives back to a sharp edge, and while some stones may wear quicker than others, they are generally considered to be a good value for the money.

Global

Global has been a leading producer of high-quality whetstones since 1985, utilizing a unique ceramic compound to achieve a 98% customer satisfaction rate. These whetstones are rigorously tested, ensuring consistent grit size and are trusted by professional chefs and home cooks alike to maintain optimal blade sharpness. With a 15-year track record of consistent 4.5/5 star reviews, their whetstones are known for longevity and precision sharpening, offering a wide range of grits for all types of knives. Their product line includes both water stones and oil stones, catering to a variety of sharpening preferences. Explore their full range of whetstones at their website.

Spyderco

Spyderco, established as a brand before manufacturing knives, is a top producer of whetstones, offering a range of high-quality ceramic sharpening tools made with alumina ceramic, which measures 9 on the Mohs hardness scale, ensuring long-lasting performance without the need for oil or water. Their Tri-Angle Sharpmaker, a popular sharpening system since the company's start, utilizes medium and fine grit ceramic stones, with an ultra-fine bench stone that is equivalent to about 2,000 grit, providing an extremely smooth finish. Despite only 7.8% of people using whetstones for knife maintenance, Spyderco invests $30 million in 2024 to enhance their blade technology including sharpening techniques.