Electric knife sharpeners

[24lemons]

I know what you are supposed to use a whetstone but realistically unless you have mastered the technique it’s possible to do more damage than good to your knives. I know I have done that.

I’ve seen a lot about chefs choice electric sharpeners and they seem to be highly regarded. There are dozens of models too which makes it difficult to decide on one.

I like the idea of Japanese 15 degree blades as I have a couple of Japanese style knives ( the Lakeland Damascus steel ones) I am hoping to invest in some better knives in time too.

Can anyone help me make sense of electric sharpeners? I have up to £100 to spend.

[21TonyK]

I used to have one I inherited when I bought a business, used it a couple of times and decided it wasn't a good idea. Wrong angles and the one I had which was a huge thing took off quite a bit of material. Almost comparable to regrinding the knife each time.

I recently bought one of these off ebay...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Knife-Fixed-angle-Sharpe...

If you get a bit of board to screw it down to you can hone knives to a properly sharp edge, I bought a few extra stones up to 10000.

Makes a global look blunt out of the box. Now I just keep and edge with a ceramic rod.

[S6PNJ]

Push the boat out and spend just over a tenner on a manual sharpener - I bought one of these back in Feb this year and it sharpens knives brilliantly!
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Professional-Knife-Sharp...

[24lemons]

Was the one you had a chefs choice one? I’ve seen the kits like the one you bought and I’ve considered getting one. I suppose part of the attraction of an electric one for me is the time factor. Presumably you can use an electric sharpeners and still hone it with a steel

[craig1912]

I have six Kai Shun knives and have used this for the last 7 years
https://www.nisbets.co.uk/chefs-choice-japanese-kn...

Works fine and saves time. Tried whet stones but couldn’t get on with them and didn’t have the patience.

[Too Late]

S6PNJ said:

Push the boat out and spend just over a tenner on a manual sharpener - I bought one of these back in Feb this year and it sharpens knives brilliantly!
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Professional-Knife-Sharp...

Im not going to lie. That looks complicated to use..

I have a bench grinder. Will that do it or am i best of getting some complicated contraption like the one above?

[24lemons]

craig1912 said:

I have six Kai Shun knives and have used this for the last 7 years
https://www.nisbets.co.uk/chefs-choice-japanese-kn...

Works fine and saves time. Tried whet stones but couldn’t get on with them and didn’t have the patience.

That is the one I had in mind. I have ordered one of those eBay contraptions to see what it’s like but I suspect the draw of the electric one might remain.

In your experience how sharp does the chefs choice get the knives? And are there any drawbacks that you have found?

[SVX]

I have one of these, which I use mainly for my ceramic vegatable knives

Link: http://amzn.eu/iMN5WBv

- however, it also works well with the second coarser wheel on my Global knives.

All my "Pro" travel kit knives I sharpen with a regular diamond steel.

[Magic919]

Be warned, this is a slippery slope. Once you start watching YouTube videos on the subject you’ll know it has bitten.

For many, dragging the knife through the manual sharpener a couple of times will suffice. I’d start with one of those, ensuring the angles are appropriate for the knife.

After that, a contraption to control the sharpening angle and a few grades of abrasive. These are not the quickest, but the majority should get a good result with one.

People that use their knives at work don’t have time to fanny about with all this st like us amateurs.

[craig1912]

24lemons said:

That is the one I had in mind. I have ordered one of those eBay contraptions to see what it’s like but I suspect the draw of the electric one might remain.

In your experience how sharp does the chefs choice get the knives? And are there any drawbacks that you have found?

It gets it pretty sharp- every month I just run them through the fine grind and then every 3/4 months through both. Might not get them as sharp as spending time on a whetstone but will slice through a tomato just by resting it on the top.
No downsides as far as I’m concerned.

[hoagypubdog]

This works well for me. http://www.catra.org//pages/products/sharpening/mo...

[S6PNJ]

Found this http://sharpeningmadeeasy.com/electric.htm earlier. Any help to you?

[24lemons]

Very interesting thanks. It’s clear that it’s easy to get carried away and spend vast amounts if you want to!

For the £100 budget are there any other brands or models to consider other then chefs choice?

[bingybongy]

I can't sharpen knives at all, regardless of method.
This solved the problem.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lansky-Sharpeners-4-Rod-D...

[Flat6er]

For Japanese knives I recommend a minosharp. It's simple to use and doesn't take much space.

Simply get the discs wet. Then draw the knife a few times over each set of ceramic discs.

Last year we moved and I found my old global cooks knives from my chefs course in 1996. it brought back the "slice through paper" cut that they had when new. It's half the budget too so you could buy a bottle of something nice too.

Minosharp Plus 3 Ceramic Water Sharpener 550 - Black/Red https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0015S0VN2/ref=cm_sw_r...

[24lemons]

So time for an update I think. I bought one of those £15 eBay specials and I have to say it gets the blades razor sharp. My right index finger can vouch for that!

[21TonyK]

24lemons said:

So time for an update I think. I bought one of those £15 eBay specials and I have to say it gets the blades razor sharp. My right index finger can vouch for that!

Shouldn't laugh but yes, you are right. Set up correctly it can put a razor edge on a knife.