OK I admit it: I'm a knife junkie...

[Chris Pope]

Originally Posted by Stan Hillis

I may get flamed for saying this, but it won't hurt my feelings. I struggled with trying to develop and maintain a knife sharpening technique using whetstones for a lot of my adult life. I told myself that I was a farmer and a knife man and, by God I was going to get this down pat to where I could put a shaving edge on every knife the "old timey way". It was hard, and it took a lots of time because it was just next to impossible for me to maintain that perfect angle every stroke. I tried the Lansky type clamp-on guides. They worked but were tedious and slow.

Then, a friend showed me an electric knife sharpening device, an how he used it in his kitchen to maintain good edges on his kitchen knives. I was sold, and bought one. I've been using it for at least 25 years with no maintenance, no breakdowns, and no ill effects to my knives.

It's the Chef's Choice Knife Sharpener. They are highly rated in reviews and testing, and evidently a solid company. The one pictured here is the model I own, and it is capable of sharpening everything from the tiniest folding pocket knife to the biggest Bowie. There will be no inadvertent scratches on your blades, above the edge itself, like so often happens when a whet rock is used "freehand".

I cannot see myself ever using anything else for my knives. My wife has a very nice set of German kitchen knives that I maintain for her using the CC 120 and, after 7-8 years of sharpening, the blades are not worn away in the least. You learn to use a very gentle touch with the C.C. sharpener and your blades will be the sharpest they can possibly be, and always look new.

https://www.sharpeningsupplies.com/p...20group%20%231

https://www.sharpeningsupplies.com/b...harpener-video

As a disclaimer, I have no financial interest in the sales of these sharpeners. I wish I did.

Stan, some purists will roll in their grave over this post. But all I can say is "ditto"! I went to Chef's Choice about 20 years ago after spending many many hours sharpening knives. And I'm finicky about sharp blades. I do use a steel after the third stage and that seems to help. And I've also found they need to be taken apart and cleaned every so often. Quick question: On your unit does the blade of the knife cut into the plastic guard after long use as shown in the photo below? Think that affects the performance of the sharpener or mess up the sharpening angle?