A dull eight inch chef knife sits on the counter next to a soft tomato. The blade skids across the skin, the tomato squashes, and the cook reaches for a serrated bread knife instead. The longzon 4 in 1 knife sharpener exists for that exact kitchen, where nobody wants to learn a stone and the budget is a single twenty dollar bill.
The short version: this is a manual pull through with three abrasive slots and a scissors slot, plus a pair of cut resistant gloves in the box. It will bring a soft steel kitchen knife back to tomato slicing sharpness in a few minutes. It will not put a factory edge on anything, and it will chew up serrated, single bevel, or hard Japanese blades.
Below is what each slot really does, the complaints that repeat in owner reports, and how it stacks up against the AccuSharp 001C and the KitchenIQ 50009 Edge Grip. If you are still deciding between sharpener styles, start with the plain language tour of every sharpener type and come back.
What the four slots on the LONGZON actually are
The manufacturer describes a three step process of coarse, medium, and fine. The fourth slot is for scissors, which is how the count reaches four. Every slot uses a fixed angle, and the brand does not publish that angle.
- Slot 1, coarse: tungsten carbide. This slot scrapes steel off fast and sets a new bevel. It is the slot that repairs a truly dull edge and the slot that does the most damage if you overuse it.
- Slot 2, medium: an abrasive rod stage. Listings describe it as emery or diamond depending on where you read, so treat it as a refining stage rather than a specific grit.
- Slot 3, fine: ceramic rods. This is the honing and polishing pass, and the reason the edge comes out smoother than most budget pull throughs.
- Slot 4, scissors: a separate notch for household shears. It works on cheap kitchen scissors and should never see a pair of fabric or hair shears.
The manufacturer lists the gloves as cut resistant without stating a cut level. Treat them as a confidence aid, not safety gear.
If the coarse versus fine idea is new to you, our guide to when each slot earns its keep covers the logic in a couple of minutes.
What matters in a budget pull through
Every pull through sharpener trades precision for speed. The blade rides between two fixed abrasives, so the angle is decided for you and the abrasives grind both sides at once. That is fine on a soft stainless supermarket knife and a poor match for a hard steel knife with a thin factory bevel.
Three things separate a usable pull through from a knife wrecker: a fine stage that cleans up the coarse scratches, a stable base so the blade does not tilt mid stroke, and honest limits. The box should tell you what not to run through it.
The LONGZON does reasonably on the first two. It is weak on the third, because the listing implies it suits nearly every knife and it does not. For the mechanics behind why a carbide slot leaves a rougher edge than a stone, see what happens to the steel inside each sharpener style.
LONGZON vs AccuSharp vs KitchenIQ at a glance
| Model | Type | Best for | Price band | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LONGZON 4 in 1 | Countertop pull through, 3 abrasive slots + scissors | Soft steel kitchen knives, cheap shears | Under $30 | |
| AccuSharp 001C | Handheld, carbide V blades | Fast repair of beaters, garden and camp tools | Under $20 | Price |
| KitchenIQ 50009 Edge Grip | Two slot countertop, carbide + ceramic | Tight drawers, occasional touch ups | Under $15 | Price |
The picks, with honest verdicts
LONGZON 4 in 1 Knife Sharpener
Best Budget Multi Slot
Manual pull through | coarse, medium, fine, scissors | gloves included | under $30
This is the right buy for a drawer of soft stainless knives sharpened twice a year. Owner reports repeatedly mention a smooth, shiny edge for the price, which is the ceramic final stage doing its job. One independent bench report measured cutting force dropping from about 1260 grams to about 372 grams, short of a factory edge but a huge step up from dull.
The recurring complaint is speed. A properly dull knife takes several minutes of pulls, not the handful the box implies, and results vary from knife to knife. The same report found a slightly uneven bevel, roughly 14.5 degrees on one side and 13.5 on the other.
Skip it if you own serrated bread knives, single bevel Japanese knives, or hard steel above roughly 60 HRC. The carbide slot will chip those edges. It rewards patience and punishes impatience.
Pros
- Ceramic fine stage leaves a cleaner edge than most sub $30 pull throughs
- Large handle and rubber base keep it planted during pulls
- Scissors slot and gloves add real value for a first sharpener
Cons
- Slow on a truly dull knife, with inconsistent results between passes
- Fixed, unpublished angle and no serrated capability
- The frame sits close to the rods, so fingers land near the abrasives
AccuSharp 001C Knife and Tool Sharpener
Fastest Repair
Handheld | diamond honed tungsten carbide blades | under $20
The AccuSharp flips the idea around. You hold the sharpener and draw it along the knife, which lets you work a long blade, a machete, or a garden hoe on the tailgate. The manufacturer lists diamond honed tungsten carbide blades, and the retailer listings say it handles straight and serrated edges.
It is faster than the LONGZON at fixing a wrecked edge and rougher in the finish, because there is no fine stage at all. Owners who love it use it on beaters and tools. Owners who hate it ran a good knife through it and watched the bevel turn into a saw.
Pros
- Works on blades too long or odd to fit a countertop slot
- Removes metal quickly when a knife is truly gone
- Cheap enough to keep in the tool bag
Cons
- No fine or ceramic stage, so the edge is coarse
- Easy to overuse and thin a knife fast
KitchenIQ 50009 Edge Grip
Smallest Footprint
Two slot pull through | carbide coarse, ceramic fine | under $15
The Edge Grip is the tiny two slot unit found in half the kitchen drawers in America. Carbide coarse slot, ceramic fine slot: the LONGZON recipe minus the middle stage and the scissors notch. The base hooks over a counter edge so the knife tip clears the surface.
It is a touch up tool, not a repair tool. The recurring complaint is that the coarse slot takes off more metal than expected. Live in the fine slot and it earns its spot.
Pros
- Fits in a utensil drawer with room to spare
- Ceramic fine slot does a decent weekly touch up
- Lowest price of the three
Cons
- Small body is harder to hold steady on long strokes
- Coarse slot is aggressive for its size
All three are pull throughs with fixed angles, so none replace a stone or a guided system for good knives. If your block is worth more than the sharpener by a wide margin, the home sharpener picks that protect better knives point to better options. The rest of the budget pull through field covers the models that did not make this page.
Mistakes that turn the LONGZON into a knife wrecker
The coarse slot is the problem in almost every horror story. Owners run twenty pulls through carbide, see a wire edge, and keep going. Two to four pulls in coarse, then move on, is the pattern that works.
Pressure is the second mistake. The manufacturer says to pull from heel to tip without pushing back and forth, and that instruction matters. Sawing the blade in the slot rounds the edge and chips the carbide.
The bottom line: the longzon 4 in 1 knife sharpener is a fair deal for soft steel kitchen knives and cheap shears, as long as you use the coarse slot sparingly and accept a few minutes per knife. Pick the AccuSharp for tools and beaters, and the KitchenIQ when drawer space is the whole decision. Owners of hard steel or serrated knives should look elsewhere.
Not sure which style suits your knives at all? Our quick selector that weighs your knives against your patience gives a straight answer in under a minute.
FAQ
Is the LONGZON 4 in 1 electric?
No. It is a manual pull through with no motor. Every stage works by drawing the knife through a fixed slot by hand.
What angle does the longzon 4 in 1 knife sharpener use?
The manufacturer does not publish an angle. An independent measurement found roughly 14 degrees per side, with a small difference between the two sides. Expect a western style edge rather than an acute Japanese one.
Can it sharpen serrated knives?
No. The slots grind both faces of the edge, which flattens the scallops on a serrated blade. The AccuSharp is listed for straight and serrated edges if that matters to you.
How many pulls does each slot need?
The manufacturer says a few pulls per slot. Owner reports suggest two to four in coarse, five to ten in medium, and five to ten in fine for a typical dull kitchen knife. A very dull knife can take several minutes total.
How does it compare to a 3 stage sharpener?
It is one, once you ignore the scissors notch. The three abrasive slots follow the same coarse, medium, fine logic as any three slot manual sharpener, just at a lower price and build quality.
Sources
- LONGZON: 4 in 1 Knife Sharpener with Cut Resistant Glove, manufacturer product page. https://www.longzon.com/products/4-in-1-longzon-4-stage-knife-sharpener-with-a-pair-of-cut-resistant-glove
3 Responses