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159 of 163 found the following review helpful:
 Spectacular resultsMay 03, 2000
By T. K. Schonhoff
Cooks Illustrated gave this sharpener a very strong review (their best-of-class as I recall) and I reluctantly laid down my trusty sharpening steel to give it a try. Once I got this special 3-beveled edge on our knives I never regretted the decision to switch. What's particularly nice is that the edge returns so easily with a quick touch-up on the finest setting.I've also notice virtually no obvious loss of metal on the knives after many touch-ups, a problem with other sharpeners that can quickly consume your blades. If you want an edge that makes you feel more like a surgeon than a chef, this will deliver. [The only downside is that it's no good for serrated knives, but their newer model 120 will handle them too.]
118 of 125 found the following review helpful:
 Useful Tool, But Could Be BetterSep 07, 2001
I currently own the professional Chef's Choice model (which I highly recommend, by the way), but previously used this model made for home kitchens (don't let the word "professional" in [the] description of this model's title fool you ... there is a real professional quality Chef's Choice electric sharpener). I purchased a Chef's Choice after reading good things about this electric sharpener in "Cooks Illustrated" magazine. It definitely made a world of difference. I was starting with good knifes--Wustof Trident and Henckels--which may have something to do with my success, but the Chef's Choice really does make home sharpening possible, and easy, in my experience. When a knife seems dulls I run it through the whole sharpening process (once every 4-6 months with a high quality knife that gets a fair amount of use), but to keep my knives constantly razor sharp--which is what I really love about the Chef's Choice--I just run them through the second stage a few times as soon as they're washed. That way they're always ready to use. My only negatives would be ... 1) That I've had no luck sharpening serrated knives (like a bread knife), which the Chef's Choice claims is can do. Because serrated knives hold their edge a LOT longer than other knives, this isn't a major concern for me. To sharpen your serrated knives I suggest taking them to a professional--look under "knife sharpening" or "cutlery" in the yellow pages. It only needs to be done once a year or so and most will do it while you wait for around $3-$5 per knife. 2) My second caveat for the chef's choice is that the "third" stage on this model has little or no effect as far as I can tell. 3) Also, the motor in this model, is a little chintzy, when compared with the far more substantial professional model, which only has two stages by the way. For the money, it should really last longer than three and half years--which is how long by old one ran before conking out.
44 of 44 found the following review helpful:
Great product...Dec 11, 2002
By Jbh Enterprises
"jeff6856"
I am a carpenter, not a chef. However, as such, I know the value of sharp tools. They cut faster, easier and are much safer. A dull tool or knife is unpredictable and this makes it more dangerous than a sharp one. My wife (a much better cook than me) and I have some high quality knives and some knives of dubious quality. I took about 1 hour and sharpened about 10 of them. The results were great. It is a little tricky to get used to holding the knife while in the slots... you are kind of balancing it in your hand instead of holding it. You have to let the magnets guide it. After a few knives, it was much easier. The only reason I didn't give this 5 stars is that I can get a quality knife a little sharper with one of my wetstones. This only applies to the good knives I have. What I do is sharpen the good ones on the machine, then finish with a few swipes on my stone. It is a lot faster than doing the whole thing by hand. The lower quality knives don't seem to respond to this as well. However, they are MUCH sharper than they were before.
38 of 39 found the following review helpful:
Wonderful!Nov 20, 2000
This is a wonderful knife sharpener; I'm very impressed. I've been a stickler for sharp knives all my life, yet had fallen by the wayside due to the "no time!" syndrome. A few minutes per knife with this thing returned them all to razor sharpness, and 60 seconds per knife keeps them sharp. It even made our one cheapo knive, normally relegated to the back of the drawer, masquerade as a surgical instrument ready to tackle tough-skinned tomatoes. Highly recommended.
18 of 18 found the following review helpful:
Not perfect, but sure beats manual sharpeningDec 29, 2006
By Yong Jin Lee
I just received the sharpener today along with a Henckels santoku. I sharpened a half dozen of the old Henckels at home and found the sharpening process to be very quick. The last time I had sharpened the knives was on a whetstone and this process is definitely much faster. I can get the knives about as sharp as the manual process. I was hoping for the 'razor' sharp edge that comes with the brand new knives, but it seems that may not be achievalble with the tool. I used the new knife as a benchmark, and it was not possible for me to get the same degree of sharpness. The machine does provide edges, though, that are definitely usable, and probably better than the average person can achieve on a whetstone. And much faster.
I first followed the instructions that came with the sharpener, and it was quite hard to grasp. It asks the user to hold the knife lightly and let the magnet align the knife. What worked for me was to look directly over the machine so that I can see the contact between the knife edge and the moving abrasive. By looking at the angle and trying to keep the angle consistent, working with the magnet becomes quite intuitive. By trying to keep the angle constant, the hand subconsciously lets the magnet align the knife. If you pull the knife blindly, this process doesn't work quite as well... at least at the beginning, I suppose, since I just started to use the product.
Overall I am happy with the sharpener, and would use this over manual sharpening any day. If I were a sushi chef who whose life depended on the sharp edge, I would probably not use it, but to keep a set of knives at a reasonable condition for everyday cooking, the machine is definitely more than adequate.
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based on 55 reviews
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