Gorilla Grip vs KitchenIQ 50009 Side-by-Side Comparison
We tested and compared the Gorilla Grip and the KitchenIQ 50009 manual sharpeners for speed, sharpness, and ease of use. Here’s our analysis.
Specifications
Design
The Gorilla Grip looks almost identical to the Amesser and the Kitchellence: It has a tall but weighted body, a tapered base, an ergonomic grip, and a soft cover. Unfortunately, the shaky base and the poorly fitted rubber pad set it back by a few points.
Other than the inadequate size, there’s nothing to complain about in the design of the KitchenIQ. The device is symmetrical, sturdy, and has a decent fit and finish. It’s smart, simple, versatile, and highly function-oriented.
Usability
With a straightforward design, the Gorilla Grip is easy to use. We didn’t record any difficulty while inserting the knife or pulling it through the device’s sharpening slots. Stability could be improved, but we didn’t have to tire our wrists to keep it in place during sharpening.
With only two sharpening slots and a basic design, it doesn’t require a high IQ to understand how the KitchenIQ works. The device’s small size may, however, mean you have to pay extra attention every time you use it or risk hurting yourself by misplacing the knife.
Performance
The Gorilla Grip seems to be the opposite of the Kitchellence in this regard. It sharpens quickly and effectively but can peel off a lot of material from your blade. Despite the ‘Polish’ slot, our test knife ended up with a rough, uneven edge.
The KitchenIQ failed the speed test and offered mediocre results in all other performance tests. Its rather small sharpening elements will sharpen your knives enough that you’ll be able to feel the difference, but not significantly. It will shave a lot of metal off your knives and leave a barely passable edge.
Overall Scores
Pros & Cons
- Substantial sharpening rods
- Solid construction
- Intuitive order of sharpening slots
- Ergonomic grip
- Easy storage
- Affordable price
- Base works on both counter edge and flat surfaces
- Simple, sturdy design
- Tapered and bumpy base
- Poorly fitted rubber feet
- Awkward small size
- Long sharpening time
Conclusion
The Gorilla Grip definitely gets the edge over the KitchenIQ 50009. It not only takes a much shorter time to sharpen a blunt knife but the level of keenness you can reach is greater, too. Granted, it is more aggressive against the edge but we’d take that over spending an excessive amount of time for rather mediocre sharpness, which is the case with the KitchenIQ.
We could give credit to the KitchenIQ for its solid construction and the versatility of the ‘edge grip’ base. However, its compact size is awkward to use. The Gorilla Grip will not only fit better in your hand, it also offers more space between the grip and the working section and that means extra safety when sharpening.
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.
