Pioneering ideas about knife sharpening
HORL® is located in Freiburg, Germany, near the Black Forest. Otmar Horl was fed up with his dull knife and set out to find a solution. With his knowledge of mechanical engineering, he already knew a lot about knives and materials. He devised various concepts for easily sharpening knives at home. His son Timo joined in developing these concepts into a fully-fledged product.
Different generations
In 2016, the two opened an online shop. Their first successful fair in Freiburg, after all the positive reactions, left them wanting more. HORL® grew and grew. At the end of 2017, father and son decided to dedicate all their time and energy to the company. HORL® is now available in 35 countries.
Spot the differences
HORL® has developed various knife sharpeners.
The HORL Cruise is made of plastic. This sharpening set has a sharpening angle of 20 and 15 degrees. The diamond grinding disc and the stainless steel honing disc are not interchangeable. The Cruise features a stainless steel honing stone compared to the higher quality ceramic stones of the other sets.
The HORL Oak & Walnut are made of oak or walnut wood. This variant has two sharpening angles (15 & 20 degrees), making it suitable for Japanese and Western knives. The diamond grinding stone and the ceramic honing disc are interchangeable.
The HORL Pro has an aluminum casing. This knife sharpener has six sharpening angles (10, 13, 15, 20, 22, 25) and is therefore suitable for Japanese and Western knives, as well as pocket knives. The diamond grinding disc and the ceramic honing disc are interchangeable. The biggest advantage is that the HORL® Pro system sharpens 3 times faster than other HORL® knife sharpeners.
How do I use the HORL®?
The HORL® is one of the easiest tools to sharpen your knives. The following steps will help you achieve a razor-sharp knife.
- Choose a sharpening angle of 15 or 20 degrees and place the knife against the magnetic side of the block. Japanese knives are generally sharpened at a 15-degree angle, and Western knives at a 20-degree angle.
- Start with the diamond side of the sharpener. Move it smoothly back and forth along the entire knife without too much pressure. Do this for about 1 minute. Is this your first time sharpening your knife? Then do this for 5 minutes.
- Use the ceramic side of the sharpener to make the knife smooth and razor-sharp; do this for about 1 minute.
- After this, repeat the previous two steps on the other side of your knife.
Tips & tricks
The following tips will help you achieve a sharper result!
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Make sure your knife stays clean during sharpening to get the best result. Use HORL®'s leather strop or a kitchen towel to remove dirt. Do this also when you are completely finished sharpening to make your knife ultimately sharp.
- If you are looking for even more sharpness, after using the diamond sharpening disc, you can use the #3000 and #6000 from the premium sharpening set. These discs have a finer grit, which will give you an even sharper sharpening result.
The journey of HORL®
A HORL® goes through many steps before it is ready to sharpen your knives.
This starts with the wood selection. HORL® uses two types of wood; German oak wood, American walnut wood. Initially, this wood goes into a drying oven where the wood moisture content is reduced from 12% to 7%. After the drying process, the wood is sawn to the desired dimensions.
After sawing, the wood blocks go into the milling machine. Here they are shaped into knife sharpeners, and the holes that will be needed later are pre-drilled. The milling machine also ensures that the knife sharpener gets an angle of 15 and 20 degrees, so you can sharpen your knives at the perfect angle.
HORL® stands for quality, and therefore all wood is hand-sanded, measured, and checked. If everything is correct, the wood receives a layer of lacquer that protects the knife sharpener from moisture and dirt. The HORL Pro is made of aluminum.
Once all parts are prepared, it is time to assemble the knife sharpener. The knife sharpener is engraved with the HORL® logo, and the iron core is placed. With a special machine, exactly the right amount of glue and pressure is applied so that your knife sharpener fits together perfectly.
The sharpest bread knife
Did you know that you can also sharpen a bread knife with HORL? Do not use the magnetic base for this, as serrated knives often do not have a sharpening angle of 15 or 20 degrees. Simply hold the knife in your hand. Make sure the sharpener only touches the cutting edge of the knife and move the sharpener smoothly along the knife.
Are you also going to sharpen with HORL®? In this blog you will find common household tricks to test the sharpness of your knives.
