Vortex3 expressed precisely :
Hi,

My parents are hassling us for a Christmas present idea.

One thing we need is a kitchen knife sharpener.

I would be predisposed to suggest an old fashioned "steel" but brief research
reveals several different technologies are out there....and there is no
obvious technical advantage to any one:

Since there is no shortage of opinions in uk.d-i-y , I'd be interested in
opinions on the relative merits of:

"Whetstones"
"Steels"
Electric rotary sharpeners
Manual sharpeners that you draw the knife through.

We use a little cheap gadget bought about 20 years ago and I still see
them for sale. 'Kitchen Devil' rings a bell?

It takes the form of two round steels which form a cross, one end of
each steel is molded into a black plastic handle. You just stroke the
blade gently through where the sharpener steels cross. Knives finish up
with a razor edge after just a couple of strokes.

It works superbly well, except for the fact that one of the steels is
loose and sometimes comes out of the plastic moulding, plus the fact
that you hold the sharpener between thumb and finger - If you draw the
knife too far back, it can come out of the sharpener and give you quite
a nick. I therefore tend to place the sharpener in a vice to hold it,
rather than hold it in my hand.

We picked another up last year for just £1.

--
Regards,
Harry (M1BYT) (L)
http://www.ukradioamateur.co.uk