Fake Wusthof Knives?


 
M Borner said:
I’m currently looking into a Lansky sharpening system. Anybody have any thoughts on this?
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It's a good value for the money. I have one, bought after watching a favorable review by Project Farm. It's good to see they haven't changed the price much since I bought mine in late 2021. This is the most recent review of sharpeners by Project Farm reinforcing the Lansky as a good value, but there is also an earlier review that might also be of interest.


There are plenty of users and mods out there to improve its performance. One common complaint with a guided system is that it takes some time to set up. What you will ultimately end up paying for in a guided system is a decent knife blade clamp or vise that can grip the blade to keep it from shifting while sharpening, and decent diamond hones (stones). I have used the hones that came with the Lansky and they are adequate, but I ultimately upgraded to some better stones and better knife clamps. Longer blades may need to be sharpened in stages (or sections). There is also the consideration that you are facing the business end (edge) of the knife as you are sharpening, so paying attention to where your hands are is critical. But once a knife is properly sharpened, using a hone or steel will restore its sharpness for a good long time - sharpening is not a task that needs to be done often, only when honing or steeling fails to return the knife to sharpness. There are other guided systems out there as well, so if you are interested, do some research. Good places to visit are Gritomatic (www.gritomatic.com) and bladeforums.com. Good Luck!
 
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LMichaels said:
I almost bought one of those. But it just seemed so "tedious". IDK
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Yes, I agree completely! But there is just something about a sharp knife...I don't know why it does this, but it makes me angry :mad: when I have to "saw" back and forth to cut something like a steak or chop. I have to fight the urge to see how far I can throw the %^$%#&*. My presumption of sharpness is that I should be able to just "push" down on the blade to cut. A sharp knife is a pure joy for me :love:.

It probably took 45 minutes or an hour to sharpen those two pocket knives but I lose track of time when I do something like that. It's only tedious when I think about doing it, but not while actually doing it.

As near as I can tell, it's been about 3 years since I last used the sharpener prior to sharpening the tool box knives. All my knives are in ship-shape and I use a hone often to keep them that way. I printed an angle guide for my ceramic hone, but those are also available for purchase.

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Honestly while I am sure those things can give a slightly better edge overall, that Chefs Choice especially with the stropping stage really puts a nice edge on the knives
 
Hello, again. I hate to bring back an old thread, but I wanted to update my progress and to point something out I just noticed. I sharpened all of my knives using my Chef’s Choice 110. I followed the detailed instructions to the letter. The knives are indeed, very sharp.
They still won’t hold an edge, though. Maybe a little longer than before, but they still need sharpening, almost after every use.
I also noticed, recently, that the serrated knife is starting to show signs of rust. This can’t be right! So now I’m back to wondering if these knives are fake.
1. They won’t hold an edge.
2. They’re showing signs of rust.
 

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I bought this 12 years ago now and have had zero problems wit any knives.


Personally, the electric sharpeners are just grinding the heck out of knives and are so aggressive to the steel.

If you think your knives are fakes, then call the company and have a talk with them. Maybe they'll inspect them for you and offer up some input.

I have knives that are 30 years old that are going strong. I've never had to sharpen a serrated knife because all it cuts is bread. Nothing else.
 
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Brett-EDH said:
I bought this 12 years ago now and have had zero problems wit any knives.

Personally, the ekectric sharpeners are just grinding the heck out of knives and are so aggressive to the steel.

If you think your knives are fakes, then call the company and have a talk with them. Maybe they'll inspect them for you and offer up some input.

I have knives that are 30 years old that are going strong. I've never had to sharpen a serrated knife because all it cuts is bread. Nothing else.
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I use a Chefs Choice 463 manual sharpener. I get a very good edge with our grinds my knives down. IMO electric sharpeners take off way too much material.
 
After watching this thread, I’m STILL amazed that Twenty years after purchase from a very reputable retailer (Williams SOnoma, not sanoma) OP did not approach the seller directly within the first year. Complaining on a forum like this strikes me as rather like a whistle on a plow! This is just my outside “looking in” observation, why do you refuse to take the blades to a PROFESSIONAL instead of using them as the leading edge (sorry, it was just waiting) of a learning curve with a power unit likely far faster than you can immediately master.
Buddy, since you’ve chosen to publicly grouse about a very fine knife maker you need to re-think how you are treating your blades.
I have blades from many manufacturers, my first chefs knife I bought with my own money when I was 14!! A 10” Chicago Cutlery chefs knife, it has been dressed almost every use and professionally sharpened maybe eight times in the subsequent 54 years. Knives need respect, they are the most personal of kitchen tools. They deserve to be treated with are and respect.
Serrated? Mine is 35 years old,never been sharpened, my sister has my mothers serrated knife, 70 and never been sharpened.
Granted we both treat the as bread knives but, still. Proper care will always win the day!
 
IMO electric sharpeners take off way too much material.

They can do that.

But I find that I now only need to use the awesome-sauce Trizor XV sharpener once per year. So my cheapo knives (including a Cuisinart set from Target) will likely be passed down in my will.

The keys to keeping my cheapo knives working great is, first, getting them all well sharpened down to the same 15 degree angle (thanks Trizor XV!). And then honing literally every time I pick the knife up.

That's more honing than you need need to do. But there's no harm in over-honing with a steel. So it is a good habit for me. And with all that practice, I've gotten pretty slick with the honing steel. Really impresses the crowd at Thanksgiving when I go all Iron Chef.
 
Yes on the CC Model 15 I find mostly I only hit the knives on the 3rd stage and skip the first 2 once I've gotten them done properly on the machine
 
Timothy F. Lewis said:
After watching this thread, I’m STILL amazed that Twenty years after purchase from a very reputable retailer (Williams SOnoma, not sanoma) OP did not approach the seller directly within the first year. Complaining on a forum like this strikes me as rather like a whistle on a plow! This is just my outside “looking in” observation, why do you refuse to take the blades to a PROFESSIONAL instead of using them as the leading edge (sorry, it was just waiting) of a learning curve with a power unit likely far faster than you can immediately master.
Buddy, since you’ve chosen to publicly grouse about a very fine knife maker you need to re-think how you are treating your blades.
I have blades from many manufacturers, my first chefs knife I bought with my own money when I was 14!! A 10” Chicago Cutlery chefs knife, it has been dressed almost every use and professionally sharpened maybe eight times in the subsequent 54 years. Knives need respect, they are the most personal of kitchen tools. They deserve to be treated with are and respect.
Serrated? Mine is 35 years old,never been sharpened, my sister has my mothers serrated knife, 70 and never been sharpened.
Granted we both treat the as bread knives but, still. Proper care will always win the day!
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I get where you are coming from. I think at this point, I'm going to have them professionally sharpened, but just a couple of them, as a test. I Didn't wait 20 years to complain, It's just that I didn't want to go into details of my situation. Which is that my Wife was the primary user of these knives. She is the one who regularly asked me to sharpen them. Well, she passed away just recently, and I became the primary user. That's when I realized, these knives suck! Either that, or their fake.
I hate going back to my dollar store paring knife, but I'm going to. This knife is awesome and rarely needs sharpening. It also, was sharpened using the CC 110, and I doubt seriously that I'll ever have to sharpen it again.
As far as my Wusthof serrated knife goes, it's never been sharpened and is doing fine. I posted the picture of it to simply show the rust that's forming.
 
If your wife is the primary user, I highly recommend that she learn how to “keep” the edge with a steel. It takes a little practice but, there is no better way to keep a knife at its best.
My father said “Use it, wash it, dry it, steel and put it away!” I do not always steel but, about every third use I will. The rest is GOSPEL around here, I have trained my granddaughter to wash dry and put away, she isn’t sure how to steel yet but, she’s watching.
The rust on the serrated knife is a little odd but, I’ve had an occasional errant piece of “something” stick when I fail to follow dad’s instructions and cause a small rust spot but, polish it with care and it will be fine. I cannot see how you can have this much trouble with knives of this caliber, what kind of cutting boards do you use, glass ones are evil!
 
I tried several types of sharpening systems, even purchased a set of Japanese water stones while I was visiting Tokyo and learned how to use them, you can get an amazingly sharp edge, but I needed to put 20 minutes in order to get that.

What eventually worked for me is the Ikea Aspekt sharpener. It's $10, made in Scandinavia and can give you a nice, consistent edge every time. Also easy and quick to use. The key point is to keep sharpening the knife until it can easily cut curves in a piece of paper. Once knife is sharp I usually just hone before use with a steel rod.
www.ikea.com

ASPEKT knife sharpener, black - IKEA

ASPEKT knife sharpener, black Sharp knives are a cook's best friends and this knife sharpener can be yours. Simple to handle, easy to store and always ready to give your knives a workout. Helps you keep your knives sharp and ready for duty.
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