I noticed last night my kitchen knives seem to be getting a little dull. I've never sharpened them before and they are about 6 years old. Is it better to get one of those electronic sharpeners that you slide the knife through, or will one of these hand held ones work just as good

 

The handheld ones will work if you know how to do it. Spend 5min on YouTube to get a pretty good idea of how to use one.

 

That's a steel, not a sharpening stone. Those are meant to fine tune your edge after a good sharpening, but if you've gone 6 years without putting a fresh edge on your knives, you'll need more than that.

 

Not necessarily. If you can still cut soft produce you might be able to get away with just a steel. If there are nicks & chunks missing from the edge and your wife is cutting on the granite counters, you likely need a stone.

 

WalMart has a good sharpener. It's yellow and fits in your hand. Cheap too.

 

yes it is very to use it and thats an nice working material to be used liked it lol.

 

That "good" sharpener is about the most drastic thing you can do to your knife, short of a grinding wheel. They work, and they work fast, by shaving the edge. That's almost a miniature mill. If the edge is ROUND use that. If the edge is anything like sharp and still has a prayer of being tempered, use a steel or a stone.

 

^Yep. None of the easy to use "sharpeners" are a good idea. Learn how to use a stone and steel properly and your knives will live a long happy life.

 

I wouldn't say that. It works great for my scissors and swiss army knife.

 

Great is a relative term. If by "great" you mean it makes them not-dull quickly, then yes. If by "great" you mean ONLY makes them razor sharp without removing steel from the blade, then no.