Need opinions on a knife sharpener

GotGarlic

GotGarlic

New member
Hi. I've decided it's time to learn to sharpen my knives on my own. My local kitchenware store has this brand of knife sharpener for sale: Knife Sharpening Tools at Taylors Eye Witness. I thought I wrote down the brand and model, but I'm not positive which one of these they carry. From what I remember, I think it was either the Modern or the Classic. I'd like to support a local business, if it's a good choice of sharpener.

Does anyone use one of these? Opinions? I have a Pampered Chef knife set with a chef's knife and paring knife; I liked it okay till DH gave me a Henckels santoku knife for Christmas a couple of years ago. I also have a Henckels boning knife. That's pretty much it for everyday cooking. I've been asking the butcher of a local grocery store to sharpen them occasionally, but I'd like to learn to maintain them myself. So, any comments or suggestions? Thanks.
 
You may have opened a can of worms here. Asking about knife sharpening or knife sharpeners is sort of like asking about the best religion. You risk castigation by knife nuts who will on the one hand insist you must buy and learn to use elaborate and expensive sets of sharpening stones or fancy gadgets like an Edge Pro, and on the other hand will tell you that your knives aren't worth sharpening, that you need to spend a small fortune on exotic Japanese kitchen knives in order to properly chop an onion. That's all fine and good, but it's on a par with a sports-car nut telling you that you need a Ferrari to drive to the corner market. Take such advice with a spoonful of salt.

Manual sharpeners are fine for most home cooks who have decent, mainstream kitchen knives and who aren't into the Zen of knife sharpening. Or at least that's what Cook's Illustrated concluded in an article published a few years ago. I've attached the summary of their test of manual knife sharpeners.
 

Attachments

I think a good pull through model would work just fine for your purpose, GG. I do not recommend electric sharpeners with the exception of the Shun if you have Shun knives because anything else will ruin the factory edge angle.

Ummmm, Doug, I don't push $250 polishing stones on people who neither need nor want them. Those goodies are for people like you and me. :)
 
GG, I've never even seen either of the Chantry's you referenced. Looking at their design I would make a guess that they both would do an adequate job of sharpening for you.

This might not be possible, but why don't you take a knife to the store and ask (very nicely) if you might try one out. When they deny you, see if you can get a full refund if you purchase one and you don't like the performance.
 
Thanks, Doug and Buzz. That's a good idea, to take a knife there. I know the owner somewhat - I've taken a few cooking classes there. And thanks for recognizing that this isn't a new hobby I'm about to spend several thousand dollars on ... :mrgreen:
 
I gotta bang the drum yet again for The Edgemaker Pro. On normal consumer-grade knives (ie Wusthof-on-down) these suckers can't be beat. I don't know much about the Chantry but in the pic it looks like it utilizes a tungsten carbide "ripper blade." If that's the case it's about the most destructive way you could possibly sharpen your knife. The Edgemaker Pro (ie the "EMP") removes very little metal and is very gentle on your knife. Plus, you can learn to use it in under five minutes, and under 90 seconds if someone familiar with the tool is there to teach you.

Like Buzz, I'm guilty of being a knife-nerd and a sharpening snob. But we both realize that not everyone wants to spend a thousand bucks on stones and spend their life hunched over a wet rock!:shifty: The EMP was made for The Masses, people who want a sharp knife, not a hobby. I've sharpened countless knives on those things and recommend them enthusiastically. They won't break the bank, either- you can get the entire set for $30 with free shipping. Most people can get by with just the Yellow, or at most the Yellow/Red combo pack. Good stuff!
 
The Lansky system does work well. It's not ideally suited for longer knives but it does a good job. It's a little spendy vs the pull-thru sharpeners, though.
 
I use the edgemaker pro on my Forschners. It has almost no learning curve, requires no preparation for use, and does the job on typical american knive
I just got my Japanese knives back from Rob, who did a good job of bring them to where they need to be. They really need to go to someone who understands J knives.
I am now ready for another year of use.
 
bigjim said:
I use the edgemaker pro on my Forschners. It has almost no learning curve, requires no preparation for use, and does the job on typical american knive
I just got my Japanese knives back from Rob, who did a good job of bring them to where they need to be. They really need to go to someone who understands J knives.
I am now ready for another year of use.
Click to expand...

This covers 90%.

Chad Ward's book, An Edge In The Kitchen, is excellent.
 
Last edited:
Rob Babcock said:
The Lansky system does work well. It's not ideally suited for longer knives but it does a good job. It's a little spendy vs the pull-thru sharpeners, though.
Click to expand...

Eh, it's not that much more and they offer cheaper systems. But you have the option of changing angles with the Lansky compared to a fixed angle of those pull through sharpeners.
 
High Cheese said:
Eh, it's not that much more and they offer cheaper systems. But you have the option of changing angles with the Lansky compared to a fixed angle of those pull through sharpeners.
Click to expand...

The nice thing about the Edgemaker Pro is that it's not really a "fixed angle" system. The rods flex quite a bit to accommodate any 'reasonable' grind. True, it's not as precise as a truly user-definable angle, but it will keep a knife shaving sharp for at least decades. Not perfect, to be sure, but it's not a tool for knife-geeks: It's a better alternative to the Accu-Sharp.

To me, the main hassle with the Lansky is removing and replacing The Clamp with long knives. It involves a bit more work, but that's not a deal-breaker. That aside, it works well.
 
Rob Babcock said:
To me, the main hassle with the Lansky is removing and replacing The Clamp with long knives. It involves a bit more work, but that's not a deal-breaker. That aside, it works well.
Click to expand...

It does a 8" chef fine. I did my 10" slicer on it but can't remember if I had to reposition the blade. I think anyone with a larger blade than that is freehanding on a stone. What I do with my chefs knife, since it's a triangular shape blade, is set the knife in at an angle so the edge is as perpendicular to the centerline of the sharpener as possible then center it in the clamp. It works better than having to reach for the heel of the knife.

The actual angle of you edge is probobly a little off from the tool so when you first use it you'll have to work a bit to set the proper angle. After that it's just quick touch-ups. I follow the recommendations in the how-to video on the different angles which seems to work pretty good.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top