I need a knife sharpener

[quakerboy]

Anyone have a good one?

[Richard Steele]

1. There is no such thing.

If you want your knives to be sharp,
you need to LEARN how to sharpen knives.

There is no such thing as a "knife sharpener".

[quakerboy]

2. I hate doing it that way

I have major issues with angle and perfection that make that a very trying experience for me. Even though it comes out better than it started, I come out unhappier, because I know its not a machines fault it aint perfect, its mine.

[Callalily]

3. I totally agree. I have several

expensive, state-of-the art knife sharpeners, but no sharp knives. As diligent as I am to follow instructions, I have yet to sharpen a knife properly.

[quakerboy]

4. have you one of these?

http://www.silvernutmeg.com/FullProd.php?PNAME=Furi_OZITECH_Diamond_Fingers_Knife_Sharpener&p_id=446

That type is drawing my interest, but I am wary of buying things.

[Richard Steele]

5. There is no machine that can sharpen a knife as well as a human hand.

In the kitchen, I have a Sabatier and a Henckels "S series",
and I take an antique hand-forged blade into the woods
every year when I go deer hunting.

Every one of those blades is SHARPER
than the cheap razors I scrape my face with
every morning.
Sharper, because I sharpened them myself.

[MajorChode]

12. Not everyone has a 1,000 yr old Samuri sword or desires absolute perfection

So while what you say might be very true, most people prefer to be more pragmatic.

I have a Chef's choice sharpener, and while I have a couple of knives I don't sharpen with it, for the vast majority it works fine and lasts a long time. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who doesn't have the time or patience to hand sharpen a knife or the scratch to have it done professionally.

[Richard Steele]

18. People who don't desire perfection shouldn't be playing with sharp objects.

nm

[MajorChode]

20. Pffff, the little kids don't fit in the freezer unless you cut them up first

And the chainsaw makes too big of a mess.

[pscot]

6. I use a chefs choice

manual sharpener. It's one of those deals with two grooves that you drag the blade through. With a little practice I've found it will produce a pretty good edge. A good steel is absolutely essential to keep a fine working edge. Not all steels are created equal. I have a really nice one, with a silver guard and a green stone handle that I picked up at Goodwill for about $3. I use it almost every day. I gave my Henckels steel away. It was worthless.

[Call Me Wesley]

7. I have a good one you won't like,

Japanese wet stones. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5y4Ihh0Va38

For me, it's the only way to sharpen my knives. Takes some time and some experience, but it's a nice process and will do the knife good and make it last much, much longer than any kind of sharpening machine.

And here are some of my knives - you could shave with them:

[Paladin]

8. I Hear The Trendy New Japanese Knives.......

....have to be sharpened at an entirely different angle. The local Sur Le Table won't sharpen such knives, because they don't have the proper equipment, yet.......

[Kingofalldems]

9. Buy some Ginsu knives

The man on the TV said they never need sharpening.

[Chan790]

11. Arrrrrgh!

:nuke::nuke::nuke:

Hulk Angry! Hulk Smash!

I know you were joking but it's no laughing matter, son. Serrated cheap-knifes makes me want to hurt people. There is only one use for a serrated blade...to cut things that are very soft with a tough membrane so that the insides don't squish out...tomatoes and bread basically.

[trof]

17. And they're guaranteed for LIFE*!

*The LIFE of the knife.
30 days.
;-)

[Chan790]

10. Take them to a chef supply...

it's a smidge pricey (I'm not going to quote you a price because it can vary widely.) but they really only need to be sharpened about twice a year unless you're a professional chef...in which case, you NEED to learn how to sharpen a knife. Just make sure that you hone them every time you use them, hand wash-and-dry them immediately and put them away correctly. While I have nothing against the knife block, I prefer the canvas individually-sectioned knife roll. If you do all that, they should last you a lifetime with little maintenance.

When I see someone throw good knives into a drawer, it makes me want to punch them...don't be that guy.

[quakerboy]

13. I know how to sharpen

one of the first things my dad taught me. Not long after I ruined his razor strop doing things wrong. These may have been connected, come to think of it. But I am a perfectionist, and each imperfection hurts me when I do it the old fashioned way. Hurts me with a cheap sharpener too, but at least there I can rationalize it as "not my fault".

And I never put a good knife in a drawer. Right now, though I am operating on cheap knives, though, so I don't feel too bad about the magnetic wall hang thingie I use.

I suppose that I should just use my ceramic knives, and screw sharpening, but I am afraid to break one(or cut myself), so I generally use the cheap ones for most things. Those have a special box where they stay when not in use.

[A HERETIC I AM]

14. Or look up "sharpening service" in your local area.

I've got 3 Chef's supply stores near me and none of them offer sharpening services. I have sharpened my most recently purchased (13 years now) chefs knife twice. The first time, I used a guy that advertised his services in the yellow pages and did knives for restaurants, etc. and the second time I did it myself, BUT on similar equipment. A belt-type sander with a belt designed for the job works perfectly and is much less time consuming than doing it on a stone. It's also easier to control the angle using a machine like that. Using a stone does work very well, but in my experience, I always had difficulty keeping the blade to stone angle consistent along the entire length of the blade. My brother has a pretty well kitted out work shop and he bought a small sharpening sander for his lathe tools. I was able to put a consistently angled edge on my chef and skinning knives with that tool almost a year ago that have held very well. As a poster above mentioned, a good steel is important and learning how to use it properly will keep the edge much longer.

[Capn Sunshine]

15. Every good restaurant in town uses this

From these guys if you don't have a commercial supply nearby.

Three stones, each progressively finer, and oil. All the pros use this system, from top chef to sushi guys.

When your knives are your living, you don't want to yank around with gimmicks.

[Call Me Wesley]

16. Very nice,

but I find the oil messy, so I rather use water stones. Easy to clean, too, but a bit more expensive. http://www.premiumknives.com/ShopSite/Cooking_Tools_Sharpening_Stones.html

But yes, I'm with you: Stones is the way to go if you want to have your knives not only sharp, but useful for a long time. In Japanese cooking, which uses a lot of different extremely sharp knives to cut very thin, cooks usually have their own personal set that will only be used by them. It's like having your own Katana. O fcourse, I sharpen mine too with wet stones

:hi:

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

19. When I sharpen a blade you can shave with it.

I use whetstones and ceramic rods, and a little time.

Been doing it since I was a teen.

[MajorChode]

21. That's not that big of a trick, really

The real trick is to develop a razor sharp edge that stays that way for a long time with only regular honing. I have a knife in my kitchen that I sharpened probably about 6 months ago and I use it almost every day. Although I haven't tried it, I'm sure I could shave with it today if I were in such a bizzare mood. I will probably go a few more months before it needs sharpening. I'm sure a professional knife sharpener that was really worth his salt could do an even better job in less time, but I'm not sharpening knives every single day.