Like when you sharpen your kitchen knives by hand using a knife sharpener or whetstone, woodworking tools can be sharpened by hand. However, it is generally accepted that you will get the best finish using equipment such as a bench grinder. This is because: 1. It is harder and less efficient to do by hand As machine parts and tools are designed to be much sturdier than a set of kitchen knives, sharpening and maintaining an edge will be physically much harder work and will take much longer doing it by hand – without any real benefit. Similarly, while your average home may have only a few kitchen knives that need sharpening, you may have a whole workshop of tools that require sharpening – making it a much longer task. 2. You’ll only need one machine While it may seem like an investment, a single, good-quality bench grinder can be purchased for less than £170 and provides excellent value for money based on how often you will use it. If you decide a bench grinder is for you, browse our selection and add them to your online basket or reach out for our personal recommendations – you can call us or send us an email.