Analysis by Valery Grin · · updated October 3, 2026
HORL 3 Cruise: roller knife sharpener, diamond and steel discs, 15° and 20°
Sharpen the knives you use around the kamado without learning a whetstone, with a magnetic holder and two angles
From€119
Reference price on Amazon (June 2026) · subject to change
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- Material
- Stainless steel and plastic (sand colour)
Quick answer
Worth it if you own Japanese (15°) and European (20°) knives and do not want to learn a whetstone. The listing says it has a standard-grit diamond disc and a steel disc, no water or oil, and is made in the Black Forest. If you already use a stone, it is dear.
Roller with fixed diamond and steel discs, a magnetic holder and two angles, 15° and 20°. The easy way to keep the knives for brisket, fish and carving sharp.
The HORL3 Cruise (model HO3C, manufacturer HORL 1993 GmbH) is a roller sharpener for anyone who does not want to learn to work a whetstone. The principle, per the listing: you place the knife in a magnetic holder, choose the 15° or 20° angle and slide the roller along the blade. It has two fixed discs, a standard-grit diamond one and a stainless steel one, and is used without water or oil. It measures 13.3 × 12 × 6.5 cm, is listed as stainless steel and plastic, and comes in a sand colour.
A sharpener does not depend on the size of your kamado: there is no Large, XL or MiniMax to measure. What does depend on it is what you do afterwards. Carving a smoked brisket after many hours of cooking, opening up a fish or slicing a tenderloin with a blunt knife ruins the best piece. The two angles are meant for exactly that: 15° for fine blades, where the listing mentions Damascus or carbon steel, and 20° for European kitchen knives, hunting knives and pocket knives. On that split, a German knife such as the Wüsthof Classic 20 cm would go to 20° and a Japanese one such as the Miyabi 5000FCD sujihiki to 15°, but the angle each knife maker states is what counts.
The mechanics are two steps. The diamond disc cuts the edge, and the stainless steel disc, with built-in grooves, settles it and clears the leftover material in a few passes. The seller boasts that the block diamonds achieve up to 80 % more material removal than the HORL2 line and that the holder's Grip Pad gives up to 70 % more grip than that line's S-Pad. These are the manufacturer's own comparisons with its previous range, without independent testing, with no independent verification. The listing does not compare it with other HORL models either.
The drawbacks lie in what the listing does not say. The discs are fixed and there is a single diamond grit: no fine grit and no spare discs are mentioned, nor how long each disc lasts. It talks about kitchen, chef, hunting and pocket knives, but not single-bevel blades such as the catalogue's Tojiro deba, so without that confirmation it is not recommended for them. The holder is magnetic and the listing does not clarify what happens with non-magnetic blades. And then there is the price: it is high next to a stone such as the SHAN ZU 1000/6000, which costs a fraction. "Dear for what it is" would be fair if you already master the stone; if not, what you pay for is skipping the learning curve.
On Amazon it shows an average rating of 4.5 out of 5 from 584 reviews. The listing states production in the Black Forest, Germany, with a body made from plastic that its Swiss partner #tide collects on beaches and up to 50 km inland.
Verdict: a simple way to keep an edge for anyone with good knives and little patience for a stone, with two fixed angles and a price justified only by that convenience.
A simple, well-aimed sharpener with two fixed angles and a high price. You pay to skip the whetstone, and the listing leaves out single-bevel blades. Rated on the listing, not hands-on.
Editorial rating from spec sheet, measurements and kamado fit · not a hands-on test
Pros
- Two angles, 15° and 20°, for fine blades and for European kitchen knives
- Fixed standard-grit diamond disc and steel disc, no water or oil needed
- Magnetic holder with Grip Pad that, per the listing, holds even small knives
- Rated 4.5 out of 5 on Amazon from 584 reviews
Cons
- Pricey next to a whetstone: you save on technique, not on money
- One diamond grit, fixed angles and no spare discs listed
- The listing does not mention single-bevel blades (deba) or non-magnetic ones
Who it's for
For anyone with 15° or 20° kitchen knives who wants them kept sharp without learning a whetstone, or getting anything wet.
Not for
If you already use a stone, the price is wasted. And if your knives are single-bevel or ceramic, the listing does not cover them.
Specifications
- Material
- Stainless steel and plastic (sand colour)
- Includes
- HORL3 Cruise roller sharpener, Standard-grit diamond disc (fixed), Stainless steel disc (fixed), Magnetic holder at 15° and 20° with Grip Pad
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Goes well with
Wüsthof Classic Chef’s Knife 20 cm
A European kitchen knife, the kind the HORL listing assigns to the 20° angle. A natural pairing for carving meat as it comes off the kamado: the edge is kept up with the HORL, and you check the Wüsthof listing for the angle it states. That way you do not sharpen the knife to an angle that is not its own.
€125
Miyabi 5000FCD – 24 cm Japanese Sujihiki (Slicing Knife)
A 24 cm Japanese sujihiki, a carving knife that suits the kamado and the kind that asks for a narrow angle. It can go on the roller at 15° if Miyabi states that angle for this blade, so check its listing. With both you keep the carving edge in shape without going near a stone.
€210
Arcos Honing Steel 230 mm
A honing steel between sharpenings realigns the edge while removing hardly any material, so the roller is kept for when the knife no longer cuts. It is a cheap extra that stretches the time between sharpening sessions, without replacing the HORL.
€12
FAQ
Which angle should I use for my kitchen knives?
Per the listing, 15° is for fine blades, such as Damascus or carbon steel, and 20° for European kitchen knives, hunting knives and pocket knives. As a rule of thumb, the catalogue's Japanese knives, like the Tojiro, point to 15°, and German ones, like the Wüsthof, to 20°. But the angle your knife maker states is what counts: if it does not publish one, do not guess, and check its listing before you start running the roller.
Is it suitable for single-bevel blades, such as a deba?
The listing does not say. It talks about kitchen, chef, hunting and pocket knives, and about its two angles, but it does not mention single-bevel blades such as the deba or the yanagiba. With that silence it is not recommended for them: sharpening that kind of blade badly costs more than a sharpener. For those knives, a stone such as the catalogue's SHAN ZU remains the safe option, even though it demands technique.
Does it need water or oil?
No. The listing says it sharpens without water or oil: the standard-grit diamond disc removes material in a uniform pattern, and the grooved stainless steel disc clears the leftover material in a few passes. That is a plus in the kitchen, since there is nothing to prepare and no wet stone to clean up. The listing includes no cleaning instructions for the discs, so it is worth following the manufacturer's.
Is it better than a whetstone?
That depends on who is using it. A stone gives more control and costs a fraction, but you have to learn to hold the angle. The HORL3 Cruise fixes it for you with its 15° and 20° magnetic holder, and in exchange offers only one diamond grit and two angles. If you already sharpen on a stone, you would gain little. If not, and you want a consistent edge without practice, that convenience is what you pay for.