Knife sharpeners - what's everybody using?


 
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I'm using the local Farm Fresh Supermarket. They sharpen them for free!

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MikeZ
 
For the love of god,

DONT use any of those electric/mechanic knife sharpening Gizmos.They are all Crap and most of the time a good knife is ruined.

Get yourself a good honing steel and a sharpening stone and youre done.
I bought this one
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with my Shun knifes, and i didnt need it once on the Shuns cause those damn knifes dont
loose their edge...
Those Shuns are really the best you can find.
I used it on my other knifes, and they are even sharper than when i bought em and they keep their edge, too (well, mostly because i use the Shuns most of the time).


If you arent comfy with using a stone yourself, id suggest to give em to a professional sharpener.


Don Marco
 
I did a search on Amazon and found a ton of them. All different sizes, types and price ranges. If someone knows what to look for, I'd appreciate the help also.

Thanks
Kev
 
Here is an excellent class on knife sharpening.

In general, you don't want a moving grinding wheel or one of the tungsten "v" that you just drag your blade through. Those are very difficult to control, either for bevel angle or the amount of metal you're removing. They'll give you a sharp edge, but not necessarily a long-lasting one. And they will eat away your knife quickly.

If you go for a stone, I would suggest you practice first on an old, unloved knife. My first few attempts were failures, and I ended up with a duller blade. My next few attempts were partial failures, and I ended up with a duller blade. My next attempt was to bring the knife to professional, and I ended up with a perfect blade.
 
Check out the rest of the classes on the eGullet Culinary Institute. They're amazing.

(I assume Chris doesn't mind a nod towards a fellow food forum. If he does, feel free to delete.)
 
That's where I first got the itch to smoke. (That and behind the bleachers in high school, but that's a different story.) But the smoking discussion on the site has dwindled.
 
If you're going to sharpen your knives, get a good stone (try looking here) and practice with it. If you don't want to invest the time or money to do it right, take it to a professional that knows what he's doing (not all of them do).
 
Mike and all:

Once upon a time (y'all like the way this starts?) when I was in Alaska, I stopped by a knife shop (not the mall kind) but knife/butcher shop in Anchorage, AK. Asked about sharpening my Henkels...he sed he would just use one of these and pointed to a Chef's Choice, DiamondHone Sharpener 110. Needless to say, I bought one.

Twice a year (or so the story goes...) I sharpen my knives on the Chef's Choice. Between times, I use my 'steel'.

Caveat...This is not to be construed as a plug for Chef's Choice only citing what I have and what works for me...I am sure there are other sharpeners on the market (GATCO?) that would be satisfactory. THE IMPORTANT THING IS CONSISTANCY IN THE ANGLE.
 
Caveat.

If you use knives with no bevel (most Japanese and some others) you must sharpen at a tighter angle.

I use Globals and a diamond steel and diamond waterstone.
 
Just out of curiosity: what about a sheet of good quality sandpaper, of an appropriately fine grit, laid on top of a sheet of glass? That would seem to provide the equivalent of a very large stone, with a very flat surface, at a very low cost.

(Note: for my pocket knives, I use a medium and a hard Arkansas stone, so I'm not really a Philistine. But I've never seen the equivalent in a size large enough to use on kitchen knives.)
 
About 6 months ago I bought the Chef's Choice 3-stage and haven't regretted it in the least. My knives are all so sharp it's scary!

I haven't used the first stage at all so far, just 2nd and 3rd.
 
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