Kitchen knife sharpener

[Michael Weber]

The selection is a bit overwhelming. All making claims. My wife wants one. It must be electric and easy to use. Something in the order of Chefs Choice. But I don’t know what level of quality or so called stages one will actually needs to give a good result. Being “razor sharp” is not a necessity. Any personal experience or suggestions for a good model and or manufacturer would be helpful. Thanks

[Kev Williams]

I've never had a knife stay sharp long enough to merit any type of expensive sharpening device. I have several of the "V" type sharpeners with the steel and/or ceramic edgers. They all work okay, get the knife really sharp, until it's not. ;)

My favorite is this 'wheel-steel' version:
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[Ken Platt]

Does it absolutely have to be electric? I got https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/shop/tools/sharpening/knife/60002-knife-sharpener and find it to be just right. It sits in the knife drawer, whenever a knife doesn't cut well, couple of swipes through and it's sharp again. I find I can tell by the feel of the blades biting into the knife to know it's sharp so I know how many swipes to take, but usually 2.

I used to wait until I needed a bunch of knives sharpened then go down to the shop. Having this sharpener right there, and ready to go instantly works out much better.

Ken

[Jim Koepke]

My wife's only complaint was about me, one time, not alerting her to having sharpened the knives. She said it was too sharp. She later clarified she liked sharp knives but she wants to know when they have been sharpened. It scared her, must be why it's called scary sharp.

There is a small extra fine diamond stone epoxied to a block of wood in the kitchen for touching up the blades between sharpening sessions.

If the man of the house keeps the knives sharp, the women of the house will have no need for a kitchen grinder.

jtk

[lowell holmes]

Check Lowes and Home Depot web sites. You will find lots of options.

[Doug Dawson]

The selection is a bit overwhelming. All making claims. My wife wants one. It must be electric and easy to use. Something in the order of Chefs Choice. But I don’t know what level of quality or so called stages one will actually needs to give a good result. Being “razor sharp” is not a necessity. Any personal experience or suggestions for a good model and or manufacturer would be helpful. Thanks

The Chef’s Choice is acceptable, and what I would consider the “benchmark” for producing a decent consumer-grade sharpness in a knife. Provided you use it regularly, not letting the knife go to seed. It’s also the ‘America’s Test Kitchen’ preferred sharpener, last I heard.

Then there’s a Tormek, but most people don’t want to spend that kind of money unless they’re obsessed, or going into the sharpening business.

[roger wiegand]

Not responsive to your requirements, but I keep one of these two grit DMT diamond paddles in the knife drawer and the knives all stay sharp enough for our needs. It's so convenient that it gets used frequently, so the knives only take a swipe or two every couple of days to maintain. Having to get out a machine means that, for most of us, the knives need to have gotten into pretty rotten shape before pulling it out.

My wife bought the Chef's Choice, used it once, and it never came out of the drawer again. After a while I brought the diamond hone in from the shop and started sharpening knives whenever I used them. I think it leaves a better edge, and it's certainly easier. Neither gets to "ultimate sharpness", but I've never felt the need for that in a kitchen knife (heresy to some, no doubt!) I'll save my sharpening obsession for shop tools where it makes a more obvious difference.

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[Tom M King]

My Mother used to sharpen her kitchen knives on the brick steps outside the kitchen.

[Doug Dawson]

Not responsive to your requirements, but I keep one of these two grit DMT diamond paddles in the knife drawer and the knives all stay sharp enough for our needs. It's so convenient that it gets used frequently, so the knives only take a swipe or two every couple of days to maintain. Having to get out a machine means that, for most of us, the knives need to have gotten into pretty rotten shape before pulling it out.

My wife bought the Chef's Choice, used it once, and it never came out of the drawer again. After a while I brought the diamond hone in from the shop and started sharpening knives whenever I used them. I think it leaves a better edge, and it's certainly easier. Neither gets to "ultimate sharpness", but I've never felt the need for that in a kitchen knife (heresy to some, no doubt!) I'll save my sharpening obsession for shop tools where it makes a more obvious difference.


The unit we have is the 130. We've had it for a long time, and it stays out on the counter. My wife uses it regularly, and likes it (once I showed her how to use it.) It saves the wear on my Tormek. :^)

If I told her to use a diamond file on her knives, I'd probably be facing a minor rebellion.

[Rob Luter]

We have an older version of this and it's worked well for 20 years or so. I use a steel on my kitchen knives prior to every use too.

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[Bruce Wrenn]

My Mother used to sharpen her kitchen knives on the brick steps outside the kitchen.You can also hone them on the bottom of a coffee cup or an earthen ware bowl.

[Jim Becker]

Neither gets to "ultimate sharpness", but I've never felt the need for that in a kitchen knife (heresy to some, no doubt!) I'll save my sharpening obsession for shop tools where it makes a more obvious difference.
I spend a lot of time in the kitchen and working with a truly sharp knife does make a difference, especially when cutting certain kinds of delicate ingredients...like tomatoes. The sharper the knife is, the safer it is, too. Some of my knives are easier to keep sharp than others. And some family members are not, um...quite as careful...as I would prefer when it comes to not putting the edges at risk. I also now keep a couple diamond sharpening plates in the drawer to take care of edges when they need that level of attention and have gotten into the habit of using the steel regularly, too.

[roger wiegand]

My knives are easily sharp enough to make paper thin slices of a ripe tomato, but that's not particularly sharp in the world of folks seeking ultimate sharpness, hence my comment about them being sharp enough. A boning knife that just glides through the meat and tendons seems to be a more stringent test than a tomato-- i have always found that a slight burr, as a steel leaves, makes it easier to break through the tomato skin.

I've done some work at our museum in Waltham MA on Rudolph Beaver, the guy who invented the disposable scalpel and set up his own business when his boss, a certain Mr Gillette, couldn't see the point of a throw-away blade. I'll need to delve more into their sharpening methods.

[Jim Becker]

Good point, Roger. That wasn't clear to me from your other post.

The burr is likely providing the same benefit that my serrated prep knife is relative to getting into that tomato skin. And it's a great benefit!

[Bruce Wrenn]

Good point, Roger. That wasn't clear to me from your other post.

The burr is likely providing the same benefit that my serrated prep knife is relative to getting into that tomato skin. And it's a great benefit!Go over to Dexter Knives web site and read about sharpening a knife.

[Osvaldo Cristo]

My Mother used to sharpen her kitchen knives on the brick steps outside the kitchen.

Exactly! I was to write that.