Best easy kitchen knife sharpening system for non-knife people

It depends on how much money they're willing to devote and/or how much time. There are few low- to no-skill systems that will give great results and the they're expensive! The best example of a no-skill but effective system is the Wicked Edge. You simply clamp the knife in the clamp, stick the paddles on the arms and go to town. There is a bit of setup involved but then a person with no real knowledge of sharpening can still get a toasty edge. The tradeoff is that it's extremely expensive. Those that are mechanically inclined and willing to spend the money can get great results with the modern breed of clamped gizmos such as the TSProf (and clones) or Hapstone sharpeners. These range from kind of expensive to mortgage payment expensive but they make sharp edges almost inevitable.

The best system I know of that's pretty easy yet pretty effective without breaking the bank is probably the Spyderco Sharpmaker. Back when I had mine I think it was $50 or so but I see it's around $90 now. But it's simple to use and effective. The main limitation is that it's a slow painful process to reprofile a knife or to sharpen out bigger chips in the edge.

It's probably best that they have them all done professionally to get them back in good shape, then maybe use a ceramic hone or the Sharpmaker to maintain them between sharpenings.
 
As long as their knives are not chipped or severely neglected, the Spyderco Sharpmaker is a solid choice.

The best solution may be to have the knives professionally sharpened, then use the Sharpmaker to maintain them.
 
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