So i have an old set of henkels knives, that have just been beat (dish washer and thigsn like cutting on plates(

Anyway, I want to necessitate them, the steel is no longer able to get them properly sharp.

I know how to use a sharpening stone, but really would prefer something cheaper and easier to use.

Any retrogradations.

3/30/2011 10:14:54 PM

Steels don't sharpen, they hone the edge (bent edge becomes straight).

If you don't want to spend about $100 on a Chef's Choice electric sharpener (best performer according to America's Test Kitchen, and I love mine) then the "Best Buy" that I've used prior to the electric is the AccuSharp hand sharpener for $9:
http://www.amazon.com/AccuSharp-1-001-Knife-Sharpener/dp/B00004VWKQ/

I actually got mine at a hunting/fishing store but they are a couple bucks cheaper on Amazon. You'll just have to buy replacement bits every so often. Works great though, plus very quick and easy to use.

3/31/2011 1:28:07 AM

im going to be that guy.

you really thought that a separate topic on kitchen knife sharpeners was derivative enough from the thread not 3 or 4 spots below it on kitchen knives to warrant making a new topic?

come on dude.

3/31/2011 9:40:14 AM

okay

[Edited on March 31, 2011 at 9:46 AM. Reason : Now answer my damned question]

I used those accushars where i used to work, they were okay but seemed to remove a lot of metal.

what chefs choice was rated the best?

[Edited on March 31, 2011 at 9:49 AM. Reason : dd]

3/31/2011 9:45:16 AM

http://www.amazon.com/Diamond-Knife-Scissor-Sharpening-Honing/dp/B004C6D0BY

or something like



http://www.amazon.com/TRI-6-Arkansas-TRI-HONE-Sharpening-System/dp/B00062BIT4/ref=sr_1_3?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1301584757&sr=1-3

3/31/2011 11:19:13 AM

^ looked at that last stone, but it seemed like the reviewers said it was small, dont feel like over working to sharpen a 12' chefs knife

3/31/2011 11:28:45 AM

they come in different sizes. ask Fumbler. i just picked that one b/c it looked similar to something we've given a friend as a gift. fumbler actually has larger separate hones made of that same stuff.

3/31/2011 12:04:19 PM

Did you mean "resuscitate"??

Or does sharpening your knives make them "necessary"?

3/31/2011 12:32:54 PM

Chef's Choice M130 is the model rated by America's Test Kitchen/Cook's Illustrated
http://www.amazon.com/Chefs-Choice-Professional-Sharpening-Station/dp/B000CSG9BE/

I'd just go with the M115 at Costco for $99:
http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11181284

3/31/2011 4:57:08 PM

Yes they must be made necessarily

3/31/2011 4:57:18 PM

DO they stay sharp?

3/31/2011 5:02:09 PM

Is there anywhere around here that you can take your knives to to have them sharpened professionally?

3/31/2011 6:29:38 PM

Beck's Cutlery was the go-to place for years over in McGregor Downs but they closed up that shop (got me some killer deals when they did!). Ron Beck now does it by mail and at the Farmer's Market on Wednesdays and Thursdays. He's always done a phenomenal job and is a great resources for anything you would want to know about knives.

http://www.beckscutleryonline.com/

Oh, and theChef's Choice is adequate (better than handheld sharpeners and other grinders I've used), but doesn't last nearly as long as a pro. It has stages so you can get a nice edge back quick without losing much metal.

Oh, and if you are really in a pinch go to a butcher, they'll run it through their grinder for free usually (minus the cost of severe wear on your blade).

3/31/2011 11:36:29 PM

^ yeah i remember taking some knives to get sharpened at the McGregor place back about ten years ago. ill have to go see Ron Beck at the Farmer's Market sometime. Is he there any specific time on Wednesdays and Thursdays?

3/31/2011 11:42:28 PM

kitchen works

the kitchen store at the mall in Chapel Hill does knife sharpening.

southern season "might" offer sharpening as well.

4/1/2011 1:08:44 AM

how often are you people sharpening your kitchen knives that you need electric sharpeners?

with proper care and steeling you should only need to do it like once a year unless you're a professional.

seems like adding unnecessary wear to the blade.

4/1/2011 9:52:10 AM

I second Beck's Cutlery.

Also, ^.

4/1/2011 1:26:25 PM

Quote :

"how often are you people sharpening your kitchen knives that you need electric sharpeners? with proper care and steeling you should only need to do it like once a year unless you're a professional. seems like adding unnecessary wear to the blade."

Its not the frequency necessarily, but the convenience and quantity. My wife and I cook, A LOT. I have 6 quality knives that I use every day. I do take good care and use the steel but the edge is not as sharp as I would like in about 4-6 months. Remember, the sharpener is staged so you don't have to do full grinding to get an edge back. They boning knife wears REALLY fast so that gets sharpened more than the others. Each round of sharpening cost me about $15 at Beck's and the trip was out of the way. Now I just go in for an annual tune-up. Oh, plus my parents NEVER take care of their knives so now I can just resharpen and they don't have to use unsafe, unsharp knives or think they need to buy new ones.

4/1/2011 4:35:33 PM

everytime i'm not paying attention someone puts my knives in the dishwasher... sand blasting a blade dulls it rather quickly... honestly a quick hone... makes chopping things 100 times easier.

4/1/2011 5:56:50 PM

I haven't had my knives sharpened in about 5 years, I should probably do something about that

4/1/2011 6:00:42 PM

Quote :

"dish washer"

Henckels, or any other decent knives do not belong in a dish washer. Different materials expand and contract at different rates due to temperature changes. The handle material is not the same as the blade material, thus they will not expand and contract at the same rate when the dish washer gets hot. This difference in expansion rate causes a shearing force between the two materials. This force will cause the adhesive between the two materials to break (yes, they probably have pins too, but they're still glued). Not to mention most dish washer detergents are harsh on plastics and adhesives.

I told my in laws not to put their shit in the dish washer and got a "we do it all the time and nothing's wrong" bullshit. Now the scales on their decent knives rattle between the pins.

Quote :

"the steel is no longer able to get them properly sharp."

Steels don't sharpen. Like was mentioned, all they do is realign the edge after its been rolled from usage.

Quote :

"I know how to use a sharpening stone, but really would prefer something cheaper and easier to use."

I'll admit to being a steel and sharpening snob. IMO you should hand sharpen your knives. Using pull through sharpeners will round off the tips of your knives and you don't have any control over the edge angle.
Tip done by hand:

Also, any pull through sharpener will leave a wire edge to some degree because that's the nature of the sharpener. One side will be sharpened one last time on the last pull. An edge is more likely to roll if you leave a wire edge. Once that happens you'll think it's dull again and sharpen it again...and you repeat the process.

Instead of getting an electric or any other pull through sharpener, why don't you buy a course diamond stone? Having a course diamond stone will make sharpening much less frustrating because you won't have to make as many passes before you move on to a finer stone.
I suggest EZ Lap or DMT's solid diamond stones. The mesh stones work fine but I don't really like them for curved blades.

An 8-10" course diamond stone and a medium ceramic or soft arkansas will handle anything in the kitchen. Sharpening a 12" knife on something as small as a 6" stone isn't a big deal, just run the edge diagonally on the stone to compensate.

I personally don't use a steel. I hardly ever have a rolled edge. Instead I do frequent touch ups on a medium ceramic stone. Whether sharpening once every year or once every week, if it's done right the amount of wear on your blade will be the same. If the wear is the same, then why not do it more frequently and have a knife that stays sharp instead of taking a bunch of material off at one time and having a dull knife between long sharpening intervals?

Again, I'm a knife snob who spent 4 years sharpening chisels and planer blades in the NCSU wood shop in addition to my personal knives. I understand when people don't like sharpening knives and look for easier methods, but that's my take.

4/6/2011 1:28:10 AM

^ he's correct on everything....

However as i mentioned in the other thread i went kitchenaid knives so i don't really care (nor do i care about rounding the point on a kitchen knife) i use a good sharpener that actually has a stropping disk set in it which is usually all i run the knives through. All i'm saying is i'd rather have cheap knives that i can go bzzzzrrtt bzzzzrrrt to a couple times and slice through anything like butter than a good set be ruined by someone who doesn't care doing dishes and not know till i need it then have to pull out the stones....


Which i do have sharpening stones for my CRKT knives lol but they also don't go anywhere near the dishwasher...


[Edited on April 6, 2011 at 3:00 PM. Reason : .]

4/6/2011 2:58:58 PM

he's talking about the blade edge rounding, not the tip.

4/6/2011 3:39:20 PM

^^ like i said, before, excuse my terminology, i realize that the steel is there to align the blade not sharpen, i guess my point was to get across that the blade is actually dull now.

Yes they aren't supposed to be anything other than hand washed, but when you dont have 100% constant control over everything in your house, by say roomates and girlfeinds you notice that your nice knife is being used to cut chicken in your nice nonstick pan. And that your seasoned cast iron skillit is being soaked in dawn.

I'm not working as a chef or a butcher (where i learned to sharpen with a stone), so my need for that shave your arm razor edge isn't necessary. They aren't used that often (or sharpened often enough).

In any case, I'm looking for the sharpener for the common man, who doesnt want to sit there with a big messy oil stone, and worry about holding the correct angle that each type of knife should be sharpened at.

4/8/2011 4:28:05 PM

your roommates and gf need to get that ackrite

4/12/2011 9:03:45 AM

I was talking knives with the chefs at work a few nights ago and one of them ended up giving me a hand held sharpener. It was a Fiskars Ceramic Wheel Roll Sharp Knife Sharpener. He said he had used it on his own knives and it was good. I don't know much about knives but if it's good enough for two off the boat, old school Japanese sushi chefs and their ridiculously $$$ knives then it's good enough for the common man

[Edited on April 12, 2011 at 3:50 PM. Reason : first old school post ]

4/12/2011 3:49:41 PM

Is it this top quality sharpener?

http://www.amazon.com/FISKARS-40127097-RollSharp-Knife-Sharpener/dp/B000AXC8HK

4/12/2011 3:52:42 PM

yup

4/12/2011 3:57:15 PM

Fiskars makes great products. I still don't like pull throughs. If I worked production, like a sushi chef or butcher, then I'd probably use a pull through. The cost of wearing out a nice knife is just part of the bidness. I, however can't justify prematurely wearing out a decent knife.

4/14/2011 2:47:02 PM