Cubikook CS-T01 3-Stage vs. Zwilling 4-Stage Manual Sharpener Side-by-Side Comparison
Cubikook CS-T01 3-stage vs. Zwilling 4-stage manual sharpener. Our tests proved the former to be the better choice.
Specifications
Design
The Cubikook is heavily function-oriented — it skips the bells and whistles and focuses on keeping the device sturdy, stable, and effective to use.
The Zwilling sharpener has a robust construction; its frame is made with mostly high-quality materials and has an excellent fit and finish. Its most important components—the sharpening blades—however, seem to be made of the wrong material for the job. The tall, long, but narrow body, meanwhile, makes it more prone to losing balance and stability.
Usability
The Cubikook has a straightforward design with a flat base, a sturdy working section, and an intuitive slot arrangement. Everything supports a safe and easy sharpening experience. It’s the best handheld sharpener for those with weak or shaky hands.
Though the Zwilling’s slot layout is not exactly basic, it’s easy to work with. Blade insertion is safe and simple. However, the actual sharpening process can be a little challenging as the device tends to rock on its narrow base pad.
Performance
The Cubikook performed consistently well in all four categories: speed, sharpness, material retention, and edge smoothness. As pull-through sharpeners go, this one is one of the most well-rounded options.
The Zwilling isn’t a complete failure: It can sharpen a dead, dull knife to highly serviceable keenness. However, it lost way too many points on speed, which is a critical criterion for convenient sharpeners. Its sharpening blades left a consistent edge, but that doesn’t make up for the excessive amount of material it removed doing so. It reminded us of the Chef’s Choice 4643 in many ways.
Overall Scores
Pros & Cons
- Excellent stability
- Affordable price
- Consistent sharpness
- Solid and sturdy construction
- Substantial weight
- Sharpens both Asian and standard knives
- Strong build, high-quality body material
- Slot cover
- Beautiful design
- Small ceramic rods
- Flaky brand label
- Brittle sharpening blades
- Anti-slip pad doesn’t fully cover the base
- Awkward grip
Conclusion
The Cubikook CS-T01 3-stage may not have the same fancy features that the Zwilling 4-stage sharpener offers, but that didn’t stop it from outperforming the latter in our tests.
The Cubikook CS-T01 sports a function-oriented design, with a sturdy body, a wide base, and a low center of gravity. This helps it maintain great stability during sharpening. Its abrasives, although looking rather modest in size, did a great job sharpening the knife and left a sharp, smooth, and even edge.
The Zwilling sharpener accommodates both Asian and standard knives and boasts that it can put an edge on your knife after “a few strokes”. However, its performance didn’t quite match up with what we expected from a Zwilling product. It took a long time to sharpen, shaved off a considerable amount of knife material, and couldn’t achieve the same level of sharpness the Cubikook offered.
Behind the Comparison
Anh Ngo is a writer with 9 years experience at different media outlets, covering from public news and events to product testing and analysis. At HealthyKitchen101, she works across different departments, communicating closely with its network of writers, editors, and health, tech, and search engine experts to provide a meaningful and pleasant reading experience for visitors.
Lap is Head of the Research, Testing, and Review Team (RTR Team) at HealthyKitchen101.com, where he directs and supervises the testing of kitchen gadgets and appliances.
