Device for sharpening knives and other edge tools comprises an elongate abrasive honing element, typically a rotatably driven cylindrical rod formed of or coated with an abrasive and located in a housing so as to leave only a semi-diameter of the periphery exposed, the housing including sloping guide cheeks extending upwards at each end of the exposed part of the rod to determine the angle of the blade or other workpiece during at least a final part of its passage along the rod surface.