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Kitchen Notes

Christmas gift guide

Why this is the one Christmas gift Dad will use every week

He has enough socks, enough aftershave and a shed full of tools. What he does not have is one sharp kitchen knife. Here is the easy fix, and why it gets used long after Boxing Day.

By the Honeroll team 4 minute read

A grandfather carving the Christmas ham on a shaded verandah while the family passes plates, the black Honeroll kit on the table (illustration)
Christmas lunch, carved with a sharp knife. (Illustration)

Every family has one. He says he does not need anything. He carves the Christmas ham, cooks the Sunday roast and runs the barbecue, and he does all of it with a knife that nobody can remember being sharp.

So this year, give him something for the job he does every week.

  1. The kitchen knife is the tool he uses most

    The tools in the shed come out a few times a year. The kitchen knife comes out every day. And when it is blunt, everyone notices: it bounces off the tomato skin, squashes the tomato flat and sends juice across the board.

    A blunt knife squashing a ripe tomato on a wooden chopping board
    The tomato test: a blunt knife squashes it. (Illustration)

  2. He will never learn the whetstone, and that is fine

    Whetstones work beautifully if you can hold the same angle stroke after stroke. Most people cannot, and the stone ends up in a drawer. A rolling sharpener takes that skill out of it: a magnetic block holds the knife at a steady 15 degrees, and the angle stays the same on every pass.

  3. It is stick, roll, flip

    Stick the knife to the magnetic block. Roll the roller along the blade so the diamond disc runs along the edge. Flip the knife, do the other side, then finish with a few rolls of the smooth honing disc. Nothing to soak and nothing to set up.

    Hands rolling the black roller next to a chef's knife held on the magnetic angle block
    Stick, roll, flip. (Illustration)

    See how the kit works Free tracked shipping. 60-day guarantee.

  4. The tomato test passes again

    A sharp knife needs no pressure. It glides through the skin and leaves thin, clean slices, and the Sunday roast comes off in neat slices instead of torn chunks. A very blunt knife takes a few more rolls than a slightly dull one, but it never takes skill.

    A sharp chef's knife slicing a ripe tomato into thin, clean slices
    After sharpening, the knife glides through. (Illustration)

  5. Kinder to his good knives than a pull-through sharpener

    Pull-through sharpeners are quick, but their coarse slots can chew and scratch the edge. Here a diamond disc runs along the edge at a set angle, and a smooth disc hones it afterwards. If he owns one knife he really cares about, this is the gentler way to look after it.

  6. It looks like a gift, not a gadget

    Matte black or a warm wood finish, packed in a black box that is easy to wrap. It looks good enough to stay out on the bench, which is exactly where it gets used.

    Christmas morning: a man opening the black box with the roller and the angle block inside
    In its black box, ready to wrap. (Illustration)

  7. One for Dad, one for you

    The Gift 2-pack is two kits for A$179, which is A$39 less than two single kits. One for him, one for your own kitchen, and you pick the finish of each. Just need one? The kit is A$109 on its own.

    Before you order: Honeroll is a new brand, so there are no reviews on our site yet, and we will not make any up. Instead, use it for 60 days. If the knives are not sharper, email us a photo and your order number and we refund you. You do not have to send it back.

    Shipping is free and tracked. It ships within 1‑3 business days from our partner warehouse and arrives within 8‑14 business days of your order. For Christmas, order by 5 December for the best chance. That is our estimate from the carrier's usual times, not a promise.

Or just one kit, A$109 Free tracked shipping. 60-day guarantee.

This page is an advertisement for Honeroll, a brand of Codext GmbH. Lifestyle images are illustrations; the product photos show the real kit. Results depend on the knife and how blunt it is. Questions: contact us.