The best ax sharpeners, compared.
Top pick: Lansky Sharpeners The Puck dual grit sharpener – Highest amazon.co.uk star line in this set: 4.6 from 17,585 ratings, at about £11.33. The missing grit number and the missing pouch stay in the assessment. Best value: Fiskars Axe and Knife Sharpener – Cheapest listing here whose UK reviews are about axes, with at least 1,000 ratings, and not already the top pick, at about £9.07. Updated October 2026.
An ax sharpener puts a working edge back on an axe or hatchet. It is not a kitchen gadget that only happens to sit near & Sharpeners on amazon.co.uk. The usual field tool is a round or oval dual-grit puck you hold in the palm and move in small circles along the bevel you already have. A guided sharpener such as the sets its own path. On the UK reviews, it suits axes more reliably than a curved bit. Quality means the abrasive matches the damage, the geometry matches the axe, and the UK reviews mention axes rather than only scissors. How to choose type, grit and a price band is in the [ax sharpener buying guide](/hub/forestry-tools/ax-sharpener/sub/ax-sharpener-buying-guide). A file is the first step for a deep nick.
An ax sharpener puts a working edge back on an axe or hatchet. It is not a kitchen gadget that only happens to sit near & Sharpeners on amazon.co.uk.
36 products checked · 58 hrs invested · +21,400 readers
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Personal buying guide
Question 1 of 2
What shape is the bit?
The Lansky LPUCK is an oval stone, 260 g and 9.5 × 5 × 1.1 cm, listed at £11.33 with 4.6 from 17,585 amazon.co.uk ratings. UK reviews in the file use the coarse face on axes and hatchets in the hand, and one reviewer preferred it to a pre-angled sharpener. The listing does not print a grit number, only a coarse side for cutting and a medium side for finishing, and the included line is the puck alone. Reviewers who want a shaving edge say the medium face is not fine enough and that you need a second stone. Several also say a pouch is worth buying because none comes in the box. Holding the bevel takes practice, and one review contrasts a confusing start with later comfort. The warranty bullets say limited one-year cover while the warranty field says limited lifetime, and both strings are on the listing. It is the top pick in this set on the star line and the size of the sample, with the missing grit number and the missing pouch as the limits.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You will hold the existing bevel on a hatchet or axe and you want the largest review sample in this set.
Less suitable: You want a numbered grit pair, a pouch in the box, or a guided slot.
Specifications
Common questions
Does this listing name an axe?
Bullets name hatchets and axe blades.
Do you use water or oil?
Not specified on the listing. UK reviews mention water, GT85, or using it as found.
Is the angle guided?
No.
The DDF iohEF puck is a round corundum stone, 259 g and 8 × 8 × 2.5 cm, with a red 180 face and a white 320 face, listed at £18.82 with 4.5 from 3,291 amazon.co.uk ratings. UK reviews say it restored an axe and other tools, and one reviewer improved a chipped Fiskars bit in 10 to 15 minutes. A portable bag is included, and the bullet and reviewers describe it as soft leather. One reviewer wanted the puck a little larger in the hand, and another switched to a SHARPAL diamond sharpener afterwards. A further review said it worked better on more open chopping angles. The listing bullets do not state a lubricant. At £18.82 it costs more than the Lansky and the Bacher in this set, so the bag and the 180/320 pair are what you pay for above those cheaper pucks.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want a round 180/320 puck with a bag and a review count in the thousands.
Less suitable: You want the lowest price, or a finer face than 320.
Specifications
Common questions
Does this listing name an axe?
Title is an axe and hatchet stone.
Do you use water or oil?
Not stated on the listing.
Is the angle guided?
No.
The Bacher puck is a round corundum stone, 299 g and about 7.9 cm across, listed at £15.99 with a blue 120 face and a 600 face, and 4.5 from 361 amazon.co.uk ratings. UK reviews bring axes and carving tools to a working edge, and one owner uses it as the fine step after a coarser Lansky. The bullet allows a water soak of about five minutes, honing oil, or dry use, and a vegetable-tanned leather pouch made in Poland is in the box. More than one reviewer says the press-stud on that case tore or snapped, and one called the case junk while the puck itself was fine. Another described it as a finisher rather than the stone for a damaged edge. The origin line says Poland. It suits a buyer who wants numbered grits and a pouch, and the snap is the part to check on the first opening.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want a numbered 120/600 puck and a belt pouch, and you can accept a weak snap.
Less suitable: You need the coarse repair to happen on this stone alone, or you want the 17,585-review sample.
Specifications
Common questions
Does this listing name an axe?
Title is an axe sharpening puck.
Do you use water or oil?
Water soak about 5 minutes, honing oil, or dry, per bullet.
Is the angle guided?
No.
The Deruilong DRL-DSS001 is a double-sided diamond bench stone, 400 and 1,000 grit, listed at £17.99 with 4.5 from 147 amazon.co.uk ratings. The title names an axe beside knives, scissors, and chisels, and a bullet describes a 30 degree knife angle used dry, not an axe jig. The details weight is 280 g and a bullet says 0.75 lb (340 g), so the mass is not one figure. Seven UK reviews in the file talk about a bench stone: it works dry beside a wet stone, the tray grips, and it turns over easily. Those reviews also call the stone quite thin, and none of them describes an axe. The set includes a base and a waterproof cover. It is a small dry plate for knife work, and the word axe in the title is not repeated in that UK sample.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want a dry bench stone for knives and you already keep a wet stone beside it.
Less suitable: You need a palm puck, or you are choosing it because the title says axe.
Specifications
Common questions
Does this listing name an axe?
Named in the title with knives, scissors and chisels.
Do you use water or oil?
Dry, per bullet.
Is the angle guided?
Bullet describes a 30 degree knife angle, not an axe jig.
The SHARPAL 121N is a 150 g diamond plate, 21.4 × 3.5 × 1.3 cm, at £19.99, with 325 grit (45 micron) and 1,200 grit (12 micron), and 4.4 from 3,313 amazon.co.uk ratings. The listing says dry use and no oil or water, and it names an axe in the highlight beside knives and shears. The UK reviews in the file are about knives and chisels: a quick edge, no oil mess, and some buyers calling it the best sharpener they have bought in that knife context. One bushcraft-knife reviewer said the diamonds wore down quickly, and another said the plate lost its cut and they bought a file. There is no sampled axe result in those reviews, and there is no guide. It is a dry bench plate for someone already sharpening knives, and the axe line on the highlight is not backed by those write-ups.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You already sharpen knives and chisels dry and you want a narrow diamond plate.
Less suitable: You want UK reviews that describe an axe, or a palm puck for the woodpile.
Specifications
Common questions
Does this listing name an axe?
Named in the item highlight with knives and shears.
Do you use water or oil?
Dry; listing says no oil or water.
Is the angle guided?
No.
The SHARPAL 129N is a 32.2 g pocket tool, 12.7 × 2.5 × 1.3 cm, at £10.99, with tungsten carbide for setting an edge and ceramic for honing, and 4.4 from 3,131 amazon.co.uk ratings. It has a pen clip and a lanyard hole, and the highlight names an axe. UK reviews bring back secateurs, scissors, and loppers, and they like the size in a pruning bag. One reviewer wrote that it did not touch an axe and was useful on scissors and shears instead, and that it was not a substitute for an old stone. The same sample says a hard press removes a lot of steel from cutlery. It sits at number 1 in Axe & Knife Sharpeners on the saved rank line, which is a browse position, not an axe trial. Buy it for pruning tools you already carry, and do not treat that rank as proof it will cut an axe bit.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want a pocket sharpener for secateurs and shears in a pruning bag.
Less suitable: You are buying it because the rank says axe, or the axe edge is the job.
Specifications
Common questions
Does this listing name an axe?
Named in the highlight.
Do you use water or oil?
Not stated on the listing.
Is the angle guided?
Pull-through style pocket tool.
The S&R set, model 123.040.102, is £5.98 and weighs 132 g on the details line, with 4.4 from 96 amazon.co.uk ratings. You get a 400/1,000 bench stone about 18 × 6 × 3 cm, a handled 120/240 stone the bullet sizes at 21.5 × 3.5 × 3.3 cm, a silicone holder, and an angle guide described for clipping to a blade. The handled-stone bullet names axes, machetes, secateurs, and chisels. Five UK reviews in the file are about kitchen knives: the set is good enough to learn on, slower than some buyers hoped, and one preferred an old oil stone to the water mess. None of those five describes an axe. At this price you are buying a starter knife set whose outdoor stone is a bullet, not a reviewed axe puck.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want a cheap set to learn knife sharpening, and the handled stone is a spare.
Less suitable: The axe is why you are here, or you want reviews that name a bit.
Specifications
Common questions
Does this listing name an axe?
Handled 120/240 stone bullet names axes, machetes, secateurs and chisels.
Do you use water or oil?
Reviews describe water; one preferred an old oil stone.
Is the angle guided?
Angle guide in the set, described for clipping to a blade.
The SHARPAL 103N is a 176 g carbide-and-ceramic multi-tool at £21.99, with 4.3 from 15,606 amazon.co.uk ratings. The details line says 8.5 × 3 × 1.3 cm. The bullets list an axe, a hatchet, and a machete among knives, mower blades, pruners, loppers, shears, and scissors, and the body has a hand guard and an oversized handle for gloves. UK reviews in the sample praise it on allotment tools, secateurs, shears, and scissors. One reviewer found a lawnmower blade weaker than a file, and another had not yet proved durability on first use. Axe use is named on the listing and is not the theme of most of those UK reviews. Lubricant and a carry method are not stated. It is the dearest row in this set, and it suits a garden-tool bag more than a day spent only on an axe bit.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You sharpen secateurs, shears, and the occasional hatchet from one handled tool.
Less suitable: The axe is the only blade you care about, or you want a puck whose reviews are about axes.
Specifications
Common questions
Does this listing name an axe?
Named in bullets and highlight, among many blades.
Do you use water or oil?
Not stated on the listing.
Is the angle guided?
Preset slots.
The Fiskars Xsharp, model 1000601, is a 90 g guided sharpener at £9.07, with a ceramic head and a glass-fibre-reinforced plastic housing, and 4.2 from 9,076 amazon.co.uk ratings. UK reviews use it on Fiskars axes, including an X5 hatchet and an X7, and they also use the knife opening. It is light and quick when an edge is already there. The same sample says it will not restore a fully blunt edge, and those reviewers send that job to a stone. Several call the housing light, flimsy, or poorly made, and one says it is not the usual Fiskars quality. The listing does not print a grit, a lubricant, or a carry method, and the warranty field says no warranty. It is the best value here as the cheapest core axe sharpener in the set with a review count in the thousands, and the housing complaints are why it is not the top pick.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You already own a Fiskars axe with a flat bit and you want a short touch-up.
Less suitable: The bit is curved, the edge is dead, or you want a stone you can carry in a pouch.
Specifications
Common questions
Does this listing name an axe?
Product name is axe and knife sharpener.
Do you use water or oil?
Not stated on the listing.
Is the angle guided?
Yes, sliding inner part for axe or knife.
The Mystnviou listing is a two-pack of 180-grit stones, model LY-whetstone-2PCS-018, at £8.89, 80 g, and 22.8 × 3.5 × 1.4 cm. The title names an axe with a scythe, shears, and a lawn-mower blade. The title says silicon carbide and the material field says brown fused alumina, so the abrasive is not one string. There is no Customer Reviews line and no review text in the saved listing, which is why the score is 0. Lubricant, colour, a pouch, and a warranty are not stated, and there is no guide. Rank 46 in Whetstones does not fill that blank. You would be paying for a coarse garden stone whose material line disagrees with itself, with no UK write-up of how it cuts.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You already accept an unreviewed 180-grit garden stone at this price.
Less suitable: You want a rating, a resolved material, or a puck that UK reviews have used on an axe.
Specifications
Common questions
Does this listing name an axe?
Named in the title with scythe, shears and mower blade.
Do you use water or oil?
Not stated on the listing.
Is the angle guided?
No.
Ten amazon.co.uk listings were scored from the stored pages and the UK review notes already on file. Shelf prices are the October 2026 captures. This desk did not sharpen an axe, and there is no British Standard score. The published score is the star line times 20, rounded to a whole number. A missing Customer Reviews line scores 0. A thin sample, a review that never mentions an axe, a flimsy housing, a pouch snap, a missing grit number and a conflicting material line stay in the assessment. They are not a second subtraction. The highest score is the top pick, once: the Lansky LPUCK. The best value is the cheapest listing in this set whose UK review themes are about axes, with at least 1,000 ratings, and which is not already the top pick: the Fiskars Xsharp. The weight below is 100.
Amazon.co.uk star line
100%The published score is the listing star rating times 20. 4.6 is 92, 4.5 is 90, 4.4 is 88, 4.3 is 86 and 4.2 is 84. A missing Customer Reviews line scores 0. Halves would round up. None of these star lines sits on a half. Sample size does not change that number. Read the assessment before you treat two rows on 90 as the same purchase.
Choose the damage and the bevel before you choose the star line. Prices below are amazon.co.uk shelf prices from the October 2026 captures. This is not a laboratory test, and there is no British Standard score for these pucks.
An ax sharpener for a UK buyer is the tool that puts a working edge back on an axe or hatchet. The usual field tool is a round or oval dual-grit puck. You hold it in the palm and move it in small circles along the bevel you already have. A guided sharpener such as the Fiskars Xsharp, model 1000601, sets its own path. UK reviews in this set use it on Fiskars axes more reliably than on a curved bit. A file is the first step for a deep nick. None of the ten listings kept here is a file.
Follow the edge that is already there. Conservation Handbooks names a steeper angle, used to hurry, as a common mistake. A convex bit and a flat Fiskars bit are not the same path.
SHARPAL 121N says dry and no oil or water. Deruilong’s bullet also says dry. Oil on that plate fights the listing. Bacher is the row that allows water, oil or dry use.
A deep chip needs a file, then a stone. A puck does not replace that file, and the Xsharp does not repair gouges. Thumb-testing the edge is the other habit to drop. Sheath the bit when you stop.
Match the sharpener to the damage before you match the price. A smooth dull bit needs a fine hone or a matching guided slot. A small nick needs the coarse face of a puck. A deep chip needs a file, then a stone. The Gränsfors Bruk guide and Gun Mart’s UK article both split the job that way. None of the ten listings here is a file, so a deep chip is not finished by the Xsharp and it is not finished by a puck alone. Geometry comes next. Follow the bevel that is already on the axe.
Read the abrasive pair inside one product. Grit numbers are not one scale across brands. Bacher prints 120/600. DDF iohEF prints 180/320. SHARPAL 121N prints diamond 325/1200, also given as 45 and 12 micron. Deruilong prints 400/1000. Lansky prints coarse and medium, and no grit number. A missing number is a limit on the Lansky row. It is not a second subtraction from the star score. Use the lubricant that listing specifies. Bacher allows a short water soak, honing oil, or dry use.
Three typical situations, each with a recommendation from this comparison.
You already own a Fiskars axe with a flat bit and the edge is still there. The Fiskars Xsharp at about £9.07 is the best value for that job. UK reviews name an X5 and an X7. It will not rebuild a fully blunt edge, and several reviewers call the housing light or flimsy. The warranty field says no warranty.
A convex bit needs a puck you move along the edge you already have. The Lansky LPUCK is the top pick at about £11.33, with 4.6 from 17,585 ratings. UK reviews use it on axes and hatchets. There is no grit number and no pouch in the box. Holding the bevel takes practice.
You want the grit pair printed on the stone and a pouch in the box. The Bacher puck is 120/600 at about £15.99, with 4.5 from 361 ratings, and UK reviews use it on axes. The bullet allows water, oil or dry use. More than one reviewer says the pouch press-stud tore or snapped.
The top pick is the Lansky LPUCK at about £11.33. It has the highest star line here, 4.6 from 17,585 amazon.co.uk ratings, and UK reviews use it on axes and hatchets. It does not print a grit number and it does not include a pouch. The best value is the Fiskars Xsharp at about £9.07, the cheapest row whose UK reviews are about axes and which has at least 1,000 ratings. It suits a flat Fiskars bit for a short touch-up, and reviewers call the housing light or flimsy. A deep chip still needs a file first. None of these ten listings is that file. This is not a laboratory test.
Lansky Sharpeners The Puck dual grit sharpener
Highest amazon.co.uk star line in this set: 4.6 from 17,585 ratings, at about £11.33. The missing grit number and the missing pouch stay in the assessment.
Fiskars Axe and Knife Sharpener
Cheapest listing here whose UK reviews are about axes, with at least 1,000 ratings, and not already the top pick, at about £9.07.
Editorial
Peter F. is the editor for DIY & tools at productscompared.co.uk. Comparisons in this category are checked against amazon.co.uk listings, review evidence and public UK sources.
Guides on what to look for, how to use a product, and common mistakes.
Public UK and maker sources from the research digest, used for this page in October 2026. Prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk figures in the display file for these ten listings. This desk did not sharpen an axe. No British Standard for these pucks was found. A browse rank is not a test.
Expert source (DIY & tools): Charlie White (Charlie DIYte) (external profile) – public expert commentary used as a research source, not as a contributor to our pages.
This page contains affiliate links to amazon.co.uk (tag pcuk26-21). If you buy through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Prices, stars and review counts are from the listings. This is not a laboratory test.
