Best kitchen knife sharpener?
- Thread starter Citadel99
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MillCreek
Member
I am partial to the three-stage electric sharpeners from Chef's Choice. They sell for around $ 60. The purists would say that it is no substitute for taking your $ 2500 Henckels or Global knife set for a professional sharpening, but does the trick for me.
Kingcreek
Member
for an all-around knife sharpener with minimal skill level required, I recomend the Spyderco Sharpmaker with 3-sided ceramic sticks. JMO, but I think electrically powered, grinding wheel sharpeners have probably ruined more knives than they sharpened.
I use the Sharpmaker or the Gatco sticks then finish on a steel.
jaysouth
Member
For the almost thirty years that I spent in a kitchen, a knifegrinder came around every couple of months and touched up the 'monkey' knives up on a slack belt. Monkey knives are the cheap plastic handle jobs that kitchen helpers and dishwasher abuse. Chefs would not let anyone touch their personal high dollar knives. Once a week or so, hit a diamond stick, then it's just plain ordinary steel applied about 20 times per day.
When I used the Sabatier Au Carbon knives, I had a three sided oil bath set of stones that I used. However, when Stainless came along, it was too hard for the stones and dished them out too bad. The stones were very expensive to replace and fell out of favor when the hard German knives became vogue.
I went through a phase when my work knive was a 12 inch Heinkel Chef knife. It finally dawned on me that the Heinkel was too hard to keep sharp and too big to be as handy as the smaller knife.
I finally went to the 'girlyknife', a 7" Messermeister Santouko with the scalloped edge. It was easier to use than the large german style chef knife and a lot easier to keep sharp.
The traditional shaped chef knife still has its uses and one should be kept handy in a kitchen, but the jap styled knives are superior for about 90 per cent of what a chef needs a knife for.
Pity the poor culinary students. When I sold my last restaurant three years ago, Johnson Wales and Culinary Institute of America were requiring their students to buy sets of Freidrich Dick knives. Good knives at a very reasonable price, but hard to sharpen and keep sharp.
www.knifemerchant.com
When I used the Sabatier Au Carbon knives, I had a three sided oil bath set of stones that I used. However, when Stainless came along, it was too hard for the stones and dished them out too bad. The stones were very expensive to replace and fell out of favor when the hard German knives became vogue.
I went through a phase when my work knive was a 12 inch Heinkel Chef knife. It finally dawned on me that the Heinkel was too hard to keep sharp and too big to be as handy as the smaller knife.
I finally went to the 'girlyknife', a 7" Messermeister Santouko with the scalloped edge. It was easier to use than the large german style chef knife and a lot easier to keep sharp.
The traditional shaped chef knife still has its uses and one should be kept handy in a kitchen, but the jap styled knives are superior for about 90 per cent of what a chef needs a knife for.
Pity the poor culinary students. When I sold my last restaurant three years ago, Johnson Wales and Culinary Institute of America were requiring their students to buy sets of Freidrich Dick knives. Good knives at a very reasonable price, but hard to sharpen and keep sharp.
www.knifemerchant.com
13.45
Member
i've had very good luck with the Firestone Electric Knife Sharpener
Fred Fuller
Moderator Emeritus
Too bad Buck closed the Fayetteville Arms Room on Bragg Blvd (I heard he was going to anyway), I'd tell you to go by and pick up a Lansky from him. Not expensive, not fancy, but they work. Might have to sharpen a big blade in sections with it but no problem doing it.
I set the edge bevels on my knives once then keep them in shape with a steel, everyone knows that they get growled at if they take a knife out of the block (kitchen interlopers use the knives in the drawer or else get talked trash to).
BTW, the block set is not fancy at all, plain ol' Chicago Cutlery stuff. But it's sharp...
lpl/nc (off exit 17 down I-95 from you a ways)
I set the edge bevels on my knives once then keep them in shape with a steel, everyone knows that they get growled at if they take a knife out of the block (kitchen interlopers use the knives in the drawer or else get talked trash to).
BTW, the block set is not fancy at all, plain ol' Chicago Cutlery stuff. But it's sharp...
lpl/nc (off exit 17 down I-95 from you a ways)
sm
member
For Simple Everyday use, especially for the NON- knife person...
Aladdin Sharpener.
This is a Egg-shaped looking sharpener of Plastic, with the carbide steels set at correct angles. One can even mount it to a pc of wood.
I have used my Indian Oil stones, sharpened knives for folks, ladies, and mom. These folks do not care about knives, and are quite surprised when they use a sharp knife.
All they have to do is run the knife thru the Aladdin a time or two to keep edge sharp. After banging in the drawer, being used for a pry bar and such - time to put a edge back on them...in b/t the Aladdin is a handy tool.
Hardware store for < $4 .
Aladdin Sharpener.
This is a Egg-shaped looking sharpener of Plastic, with the carbide steels set at correct angles. One can even mount it to a pc of wood.
I have used my Indian Oil stones, sharpened knives for folks, ladies, and mom. These folks do not care about knives, and are quite surprised when they use a sharp knife.
All they have to do is run the knife thru the Aladdin a time or two to keep edge sharp. After banging in the drawer, being used for a pry bar and such - time to put a edge back on them...in b/t the Aladdin is a handy tool.
Hardware store for < $4 .
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