Knife Sharpeners

[Bogie]

Tired of stones !!!!
Are there any good Electric models out there that will not ruin a good quality hunting knife ??????

[huskminn]

I am by no means an expert on knife sharpening, but I have been very happy with my Chef's Choice 3-stage electric sharpener. I use it for all my knives--kitchen, filet and hunting.

It's a little pricey--$75.00-$80.00, but I'm really glad I have it. I often will take it with me to friends' or relatives' houses and sharpen their knives for them, so it gets a lot of use.

They do make two electric models, but the better is the 3-stage. If you watch, you might be able to get them on sale for $65.00, but that doesn't happen very often.

Hope that helps.

Good luck.....

[delmuts]

another sharpener that works is one of the little hand sharpeners. they are ceramic, they put an decent edge, but are only good for a while. they develope a groove after a while and don't work as well( they will work on your wifes butcher knives, they are thicker) i tell archers that want to sharpen broad heads to buy a new one each fall. then put the old one in the drawwer with the butcher knives. they cost 4-8 $ . del

[Bogie]

Thanks huskminn & delmuts
It sounds like I might be interested in the Chefs Choice. I've been looking at that model but didn't want to spend that much without talking to someone that owned one. I have several of the little ceramic ones and they are great for maintaning an edge. huskminn will that elec. handle the thicker knives like a large Buck knife? Thanks for any info you can provide.

[huskminn]

Bogie,

I have a Buck with a 5 1/2" or 6" blade (can't remember which) and it does a fine job on that knife. The only thing that I don't like is that it's tough to sharpen the first 1/8" (handle end) of the blade because the knife's handle hits the edge of the sharpener and doesn't allow that portion of the blade to reach the grinding/sharpening wheels. However, I don't often use that portion of the blade, so I don't worry about it too much.

It does work great on my fillet knife and all of my kitchen knives, with the exception of the paring knives (blades too short). I cook a lot, and use knives a lot, so this sharpener has been great for me.

I'm not certain how thick a blade the sharpener will handle. If you're looking at one in the store, open up the box and look at the instruction booklet. It may tell you max's and minimums. I can tell you that it handles the blade width of my Buck and also my 14" chef's knife with no trouble.

I know the Chef's Choice is a little pricey, but I have two things to say: Get the three stage model.......and........put it on your B-day or X-mas list. It's a perfect gift for someone to give you. That's how I got mine .

Good luck.......

[This message has been edited by huskminn (edited 02-26-2001).]

[rvvrrat]

I've had the Chef's Choice for about eight years. I agree with huskminn, it doesn't sharpen short knives very well. It also takes some practice to get the tip of curved blades.

I also agree with the three stage unit. The extra stage puts a very course edge on very dull blades. The final two put your cutting edge. It can "revive" some old knives you can't seem to get an edge on.

If you part with the cash, you'll find it so easy to sharpen that you'll wonder why you didn't get it before. You also might get the opportunity to sharpen other folks' knives if they ever see you use it. It takes literally a couple of minutes to run through all three stages.

Expensive, but I like it also.