Knife Sharpener Reviews

I took a...dull knife and in 1-2 min had it slicing paper with this sharpener. On my good knives 30 seconds to put on a really nice edge. I'm very pleased so far, and expect that this will be less wearing on my knives than using stones. I'll be using this regularly to put on a quick edge while cooking. Highly recommended.

If your good knives are getting dull this steel is the way to go. A few swipes every time you use the knife will bring the edge back. We have a set of chicago cutlery that has been rejuvinated with this steel.

Why did I ever use the elbow greese and stone methode to sharpen my knives? I recieved this sharpener as a gift. setup was easy I just pulled it out of the box made a couple of miner settings then pluged it in. In a matter of minutes I was shapening my dull kitchen knives. The sharpening action is very easy, just run the knife through the first slot a few time then through the second slot a few more and with the aid of the electric motor my knives come out sharper then when new. I've used this sharpener 40 or so times now and it still puts a fantastic edge on my knives. This sharpener would've been well worth my investment with just the time I save not having to sharpen by hand, had I bought it for myself. It does it's job well.

I have had mine for 3 months and it's greatest item I've bought. I sharpened old knives that I had put in the back of drawers becuase they were so dull from other hand sharpeners.

Now, it brought to life all my knives and even the serrated knives and the cleaver. My husband is a charter captain, he fillets large salmon and trout that his customers caught He uses the electric serrated knife and had been sending them in to be sharpen, but found buying new blades was cheaper. So, I gave it a try and sharpened 3 sets that were dull. He's amazed how well it cuts now. Use the last slot for serrated edges.

I was very suspicious of this guy, but having actually used it I can only recommend it.

We've had one in my house for quite some time. My mother bought it because she is not interested in learning the ins and outs of knife maintenance and read several great reviews of the 120.

I was suspicious, mainly from bad experience with cheezy knife sharpening gadgets, but also because my mom's knives, which had been through the Chef's Choice, always had crappy edges. I had made something of a habit of looking sideways at the Chef's Choice 120 on our kitchen counter.

I finally read one too many good reviews of this product (when I wasn't even looking for them, they just seem to pop up here and there if you read enough about cooking and cutlery), I decided to give it a shot on a Henckel's 5-star Santoku that had lost it's edge. I love the size and shape of a santoku, but it had gotten dull and was superceded by a Kasumi chef's knife I received as a gift. I figured the worst thing that could happen was that a knife I wasn't using would remain unusable.

First off, I Read The Freakin Manual. Do not underestimate the importance of this step. If I had just bought it based on good reviews and ripped open the box, I might have done this, but since I was already suspicious of it, I read through every word of their instructions. If you don't read the manual, the way you assume it works may be wrong (the big mistake might actually be overusing it). More on that later.

Next, before I turned it on, I did a few practice pulls with the power off. Get a feel for pulling the knife through smoothly and evenly. Make sure you keep the knife blade properly aligned with the wheel (i.e. if the knife you're sharpening has a curve, pull in a curve to keep proper contact with the sharpening wheels). Look at a clock, and make sure you're pulling at roughly the speed recommended for your knife's length.

Once I thought I knew how to use it, I made one pull through each side of stage 1. Felt the blade, as per the manual, and I had the burr they said I should feel for. Cool, it seemed to be working. I would recommend doing the burr check, because it does tell you that things are going according to plan. The same test is performed when knife sharpening is done by hand with a stone. After that, one pull on each side in the number 2 slot. Again, I had a burr, things seemed to be going well. Then I made 3 pairs of passes through stage 3, doing the left then right side, as recommended in the manual. Did a cutting test on some veggies. Wow, that thing was SHARP. Definately a better edge than you get from the factory on say, Henckle's or Wusthof's knives. I think my Shun and Kasumi knives were as sharp or sharper from the factory, but this was a nice, sharp, effortless, smooth-cutting edge, and it was equally sharp along the whole length. It's theoretically possible to get a sharper edge, but practically there is nothing left to desire from the edges I get from the Chef's choice, and I will happily be putting that knife back to regular use.

I asked my mom to have a go with the knife, and she was amazed at the edge I got from the same device she'd been using on her knives. It turns out she wasn't using it as recommended by the instructions. For example, she was making multiple pulls on the same side of the knife (you're supposed to alternate, left and then right side), and probably making altogether too many passes (because she hadn't read the manual, which would have told her how many are actually necessary).

I redid the crappy edges on my mom's knives, and now they are just awesome. I do feel like I got slightly better results the second and third time I used the machine. Splitting hairs, but it's safe to say it gets better as you get the hang of it. As other reviewers have said, the best thing would be to practice on something inexpensive or throw-away to be absolutely safe. I didn't really have anything that fit that bill, so I just jumped in with a good knife.

So, bottom line is this sharpener can do a very good job, but it's a tool. Like any tool, it needs to be used properly. It may be electric, and it may be a lot easier and faster than a whetstone, but it doesn't have a brain. That's what you're for, so read the manual, make some practice pulls with the power off, sharpen a cheap knife first if you can, and then enjoy. Don't worry about a reviewer who says the thing jams if you try to push the knife against the wheels and thus doesn't sharpen the knife. The manual says not to do that, just use enough pressure to make contact with the wheels. My mom also didn't read the manual carefully, and didn't get very good results. I followed the manual, I got awesome results, and anyone else should be able to do the same.

The three stage strategy works very well. I've used many non-powered techniques over the years with mixed success. Rods, stones, gizmos... Most work fine under limited circumstances, but all fall short in either the time and effort involved or their ability to do a particular stage of the sharpening.

I have a mixed bag of knives, ranging from Chef's Choice trizor and Sabatier au carbone to no-name stamped junk. Of course, this sharpener had no problem bringing them back to an extremely fine edge, but the interesting thing to me, was how differently these knives progress through the different stages of the sharpening. This may account for some of the different sounding reviews here.

The manual has good tips, read it!

I also have a knife that has primarily been used for construction tasks including sheet metal, sheet rock and digging. Needless to say, this knife was a mess. The 1st stage of the sharpener reshaped the edge in no time.

Once your knives are in good shape, it takes very little time to touch them up with the last two stages. Stage 3 is for straightening and polishing the blade, and stage 2 is a very light sharpening. Someone else here mentioned using a steel between sharpenings which is always a good idea. It's also a lot quicker/easier to pull out and put away, and for some softer knives, I think I get a somewhat sharper edge. (BTW this is an F. Dick 12" fine oval steel)

There was also a comment about not having much success with serrated knives that I have to echo. It can help true an already sharp edge but it can't sharpen a dull serrated blade.

Overall, I've had great results. Both in the quality of the edge it produces and the ease of use.

Unfortunately, I paid twice the www.Amazon.com price from a local store several years ago, and I must say it is one of the few kitchen appliances I have been disappointed with. It takes a long time to get all the knives honed to the angles of this sharpener. Then keeping them sharp seems to take a long time and they never seem to get as sharp as one would expect. The motor heats up quite easily after a few knives and begins to smell like it is overheating. I think the product has always been over-rated. I might buy it at this price but a simple non electric works just as well at less money.

After investigating knife steels, oil stones, water stones,
and various gadgets this sharpening device is truly a "Chef's Choice". It is easy to use, requiring only a light touch. It does a great job in sharpening your knives and does not take a long time. Another benefit is the price and better still the immediate savings when you buy the Chef's Choice 300W Diamond Hone Knife Sharpener from Amazon. This purchase will NOT CUT into your wallet !! My Henkels and Sabatiers have nice sharp honed edges. Now I think I need to buy a new cutting board.....

I found this product very unsatisfactory. After 20 minutes of working with a Chicago Cutlery knife, some edge was produced but still not as sharp as factory edged. This product might be alright to throw in a camping box to be used where there is no electricity, but certainly no more than that.

I got one of these recently, and put it to the ultimate test. I have an old "mixed" set of knives, which were dull beyond the ability of using the honing steel. At the time I got this sharpener, I also got a Brand New set of Sabatier Commercial knives, which had been hand sharpened from the factory.

The test was could I get the old knives to be as sharp as the brand new ones. The answer, No I couldn't. In a sense, this is unfair, since the old knives (with the exception of a Wustoff paring knife) are of lower quality. Further, the sharpener did restore the older knives to a very respectable edge. My old Hoffritz Chef's knife, for example was sharp enough to cut through a piece of paper held in one hand (a test recommended in the manual)with little effort. (The Sabatier Knife did this effortlessly).

One hint -- the manual says that a reasonably sharp knife can be sharpened in 20 or so strokes, while a dull knife might take 50. This, in my view understates the process. While my old knives were very dull, it took a couple of minutes per knife to get a good edge on them.

Overall, I recommend this product, for all but the best knives. I will probably have my Sabatier knives professionally sharpened, but will certainly use this for my second set of knives.

I'm an avid semi-professional cook/chef and have an extensive collection of knives and sharpeners, including an electric Chef's Choice. I bought this sharpener as a gift and had to try it out first (against my wife's express order). I sharpened one serrated and one regular knife just to see if this would do a good job. Today, I'm ordering another one to send as a belated Christmas gift to my son since I kept the one I tried out. If you need a sharpener, buy this -- you will not be disappointed. It's easy (fool-proof!) to use, doesn't take up space, and puts on a razor-like edge in seconds (OK, maybe a minute or two). If your knife has a decent edge already, it hones with just a few strokes. This is a winner.

This thing is a ...joke. Yes, I've tried everything suggested in the instuctions, including holding my hand just so. Curiously, it'll make a grocery store rubber paring knife about as sharp as it will make real carbon steel knives. My guess is, that was the design goal. If you want to sharpen your rubber knives, this is your machine. It does a lot of impressive vibrating and stuff but it doesn't really sharpen knives. If you want one of these, mine will be for sale soon on e-bay.

I am a carpenter, not a chef. However, as such, I know the value of sharp tools. They cut faster, easier and are much safer. A dull tool or knife is unpredictable and this makes it more dangerous than a sharp one.

My wife (a much better cook than me) and I have some high quality knives and some knives of dubious quality. I took about 1 hour and sharpened about 10 of them. The results were great. It is a little tricky to get used to holding the knife while in the slots... you are kind of balancing it in your hand instead of holding it. You have to let the magnets guide it. After a few knives, it was much easier.

The only reason I didn't give this 5 stars is that I can get a quality knife a little sharper with one of my wetstones. This only applies to the good knives I have. What I do is sharpen the good ones on the machine, then finish with a few swipes on my stone. It is a lot faster than doing the whole thing by hand.

The lower quality knives don't seem to respond to this as well. However, they are MUCH sharper than they were before.

I am a proud owner of this machine.(I did not get paid by the manufacturer to say this) This machine is foolproof, you just have to read the instructions that comes with the machine. You know what? I put a razor sharp edge back to my 8-inch chef knife in less than 3 minutes! I was so overwhelmed by how sharp the edge cuts newspaper, it just glides through with almost no resistence at all! I actually had tears in my eyes for the knife "just came back to life" again. OK, for those of you who don't know how a real sharp edge cuts like, here's a rule of thumb: use the razor and paper test, that is, open a new piece of razor and cut through a piece of paper from up to down. Cut for a few times and remember how it feels like, then cut with your kitchen knife, if it drags or even nicks during the cutting stroke, the knife needs sharpening. This machine puts life back to your dull, hide at the dark corners of your knife drawer knives. If it doesn't, it's either you got some [bad] knives or you are just plain STUPID! ... Thank you VERY much.

I salivated over getting a Chef's Choice electric sharpener for at least 10 years and I am glad I did not take the plunge. I was at my sister's home on Saturday and tested this machine. I can only say that I would never ever let this machine get close to my expensive kitchen knives. This machine, in my opinion, is really designed for the vast majority of the folks, who have not a clue what a razor-sharp knife is or how to keep it razor-sharp using just a steel. This sharpener is a last resort to sharpening mediocre knives but a definite no-no for fine cutlery. Let me list the problems with this sharpener:

1. It will ruin your expensive Henckle's or Wusthof's finish. It grinds a highly conspicuous 1/16" to 1/8" wide set of bevels measured from the knife edge, using the rough diamond wheels, leaving very rough marks behind. The results are so ugly, you'll swear at yourself for being so stupid for testing your fine knives on this machine. The diamond wheels are coarse and rough. Gone will be the once beautiful satin/mirror finish on your knife's original edge.

2. Even with the 2nd stage fine-grit hone, the resulting knife edge is still VERY rough by my standards. Again, you will have to know what a truly razor-sharp knife is in order to put this into perspective. If you are one of the vast majority of folks who do not know what is a razor sharp knife, then you'll likely be very satisfied with the result that the Chef's Choice can give you. But once you know what razor-edged sharp cutlery is, you'll never let this machine touch your knives again.

Keeping knives sharp is no magic. First you need to treat your knives well by not letting the fragile sharp edge touch hard objects such as dinner plates, countertop, silverware, kitchen sink, dish washer rack, etc. Learn to handwash your sharp knives. Use your knives only on a cutting board. Then learn to keep your knives razor sharp by using a steel on a regular basis. If you really need help, then a diamond-embedded honing steel followed by using a regular steel is still a much better solution to restore a very dull edge than using a Chef's Choice.

Steve

I've been using the Chef's Choice for years now. I still use the one I bought in 1992 almost daily. My knives are still in wonderful shape and hold their edges beautifully.

The guesswork has been taken out of knife sharpening with this machine. I'm only so-so with a steel and in any case, a steel can't do the three stage sharpening that the Chef's Choice does. Since it holds the knife at the perfect angle for each step, it makes it easy for the fumble-fingered (like me) to create a perfect edge every time!

I'm buying one for my daughter now, mine is in perfect condition after more than 10 years and I imagine it will be for years to come yet!

I paid over 100 dollars for this very sharpener back then, which was a LOT of money at the time. They've come down so far in price that you haven't any excuse not to get one now!

This is a great machine. Takes a little time but is way better than the back of a can opener. The knives simply fall through tomatoes when they're done. I'm not an expert....but I love this system.

I spent 45 minutes with this thing after reading the instructions twice. Now I'm not stupid, I'm 45 and a handyman. The first four knives I got fairly sharp (except the ends which this thing will never be able to sharpen) and after that it never sharpened another knife no matter how many times I drew the blade through the grooves. Its noisy, and just doesn't get the job done. If a Chef actually tried to use this to sharpen his knives they'd fire him for wasting time. My recommendation is to try something else because this just doesn't cut it. I'm returning it ASAP!

Even though I normally use a diamond sharpening block and know how to check the angles of the bevel, I have to admit, this device is quick and easy.

It gives an acceptable edge as long as you use it according to directions. It is convenient, as it can sit on your counter or be pulled out of the cupboard in a jiffy. So you tend to keep your knives sharp. The problem with hand sharpening is that it is finicky work that takes time. This is faster and easier, so you tend to do it oftener.

A sharp knife is actually a safer knife as it cuts easily. If you force a dull knife, it can slip and make a nasty cut. (The worst cut I ever saw was with a knife too dull to cut wax. It had no edge, but made a nasty, torn gash. The user was forcing the dull edge through wax and got injured.) So keep your knives sharp and in a block and use them with respect. This sharpener will certainly help you do that.

I have had this sharpener for several years and am quite satisfied with it. When you sharpen your knives for the first time, it takes many repetitions with both wheels, but you get a very sharp edge. After "setting up" your knives with the first sharpening, you'll find it fairly easy and quick to resharpen every few months. I'd recommend it if you want to get good sharp edges but don't want to spend the extra $ for the top of the line sharpeners.