HORL 3 - Sharpening for Dummies

So here's the scenario; It's Christmas Day. We're hosting. It's been a long morning (and early afternoon) of present opening, eating, drinking and general merriment.

Finally, it's time for - you guessed it - more drinking and eating. This year it's the Holy Trinity; ham, lamb AND turkey.

Who's carving?

(Please not me. Please not me.)

Phew, brother-in-law steps up. He can handle the pressure.

Except...

My knives are no good, apparently. Every one he tries needs sharpening. How's he supposed to work with these terrible tools? To put it bluntly, how do I get on with blades this blunt?

So embarrassing. Another Christmas ruined.

Yes, I have a steel to sharpen my knives with. Do I know how to use it? What do you think?

Surely in the age of folding phones and robot lawnmowers there must be a better way.

HORL 3 is that better way. This review is for the uninitiated. For people like me.

I really don't know much about knives. I used to flat with a trained chef who had his own set of knives. We weren't allowed to use them. Now that I think of it, I don't think I was even allowed to see them.

My set of kitchen knives was on special at Briscoes.

But presumably, even 60%-off knives can still be kept relatively sharp.

Like I say, bashing at them with a steel has had mixed results over the years, so when I crossed paths with the HORL 3 I was immediately intrigued.

Otmar and Timo Horl are the father and son combo who came up with this innovation in their basement. 10 years ago they showed off their first generation of rolling sharpeners at Freiburg's consumer fair.

It must have gone well as just a decade later, HORL HQ now occupies three different locations on the edge of the Black Forest - which is what the triple-tree logo is all about.

The HORL 3 I'm reviewing here, apart from anything else, is just a really attractive kitchen nicknack - with both the roller and magnetic angle support made from solid oak.

But first... what the heck IS a roller and a magnetic angle support and what do they have to do with sharpening knives?

Well, you know in movies about knights and dragons and sword-fights etc? Every now and then you'd see someone sharpening their weapon with a whetstone of some kind. I think that's the tradition that must've been the catalyst for the Horls' far more refined take.

First; the roller. Satisfyingly weighty in the hand, it's crafted from solid wood with the option of attaching two sharpening discs, one on each end. The HORL 3 Oak comes with a diamond disc and a ceramic disc - but I've also been sent the Premium accessory set, which includes both fine and super-fine whetstones and a leather strop - we'll get to all that shortly.

The idea here - like all genius ideas - is simple. Instead of moving your blade up and down a stone, or trying to hold a stone at just the right angle while you move it up and down the blade, by rolling a circular stone back and forward, you achieve a much more efficient and consistent result.

Especially if you can hold your knife completely still, at exactly the right angle.

Which is where angle support comes in; another block of solid wood, this time with non-slip feet on the base and one end precisely cut to 20° while the other is set at 15°. Covering each end is a Grip Pad - very strong magnets covered in rubber to protect your blades.

Then it's just a matter of positioning your knife against the angled grip pad, cutting edge up, and rolling the sharpening stones back and forth for about a minute, max, until you've achieved the desired effect.

Obviously, you start with the unstoppable cutting power of block diamonds, then work your way to a smoother finish with the ceramic, fine and ultra-fine stones, finishing off with a bit of leather stropping, if you really want to get carried away.

The HORL Quick Lock system makes swapping out the various discs effortless - in fact, the whole process is effortless. I couldn't believe how quickly and easily I was able to bring my entire knife set back to its maximum cutting power - probably even sharper than when I first bought it.

Consistency is the key here - using HORL 3 means you're always sharpening at exactly the same angle, both sides, no matter the size - from the largest carving knife to the smallest pocket blade.

For those of you (like my former flatmate) with more discerning sensibilities, there's even a finer "Kagami" stone available, not to mention a more deluxe HORL 3 Pro, which features an adjustable Grip Pad that holds knives at six different angles and uses something called "Planetary Gearing" to spin your sharpening stones even faster, resulting in a 300% more efficient process.

In fact, there are quite a few fun accessories on offer, including:

- The HORL Magnifier - a kind of jeweller's loop to inspect your finely honed edge, close-up

- The HORL Dock - to stand your roller and angle support in and proudly display them on your benchtop when not in use and

- A box for all your sharpening discs called... the HORL Box

Starting from NZ$249.00 for the HORL 3 Cruise - made from ocean-bound plastic rather than solid wood - you may consider all this a bit of an extravagance in these tight economic times. On the other hand, it's unquestionably the most effective and foolproof knife sharpening system I've ever come across, and it'll probably save me another trip down to Briscoes any time soon.

    

    

Click here for more information and pricing on the HORL 3.