Customer Reviews

Chef's Choice 100W Diamond Hone Knife Sharpener, White

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

While this product works well for household use and is a good value, there are a few caveats that should be recognized when using it. Although it greatly aids in sharpening, some degree of skill is required to sharpen a blade across its full length. It can take quite a bit of practice to evenly sharpen any curved portion of a blade and near both ends (the near the tip and bolster).

The bolster side of the blade can be difficult or impossible to sharpen for many knives because the case of the sharpener will hit the handle or bolster of the knife before grinding the full edge, leaving a significant portion of the blade unsharpened. For example, this unsharpened area may alter the straight edge of a chefs knife to prevent it from completely cutting through food.

Knives that have a lot of clearance between the blade and the handle such as butcher knives and large chefs knives can be sharpened through the bolster, but keeping a straight edge can remain a challenge because the magnet only maintains the angle of the cut but not vertical movement of the blade.

Because of these problems, some knives may require professional sharpening to reshape the blade after repeated use with this product. However, if properly used according to the instructions by avoiding the unnecessary use of the coarse stages, the need to do professional sharpening will be greatly reduced. The regular use of a honing steel will help to keep the edge sharp without removing much metal.

While this sharpener doesn't produce an edge that's as good as professional sharpening, nor does it eliminate the need for occasional blade reshaping, it works well for people who just want a quick and relatively easy way to sharpen knives for household use with a little practice.

I'd also suggest practicing with an inexpensive knife for a while before working with any finely crafted blades.

I've been using the Chef's Choice for years now. I still use the one I bought in 1992 almost daily. My knives are still in wonderful shape and hold their edges beautifully.

The guesswork has been taken out of knife sharpening with this machine. I'm only so-so with a steel and in any case, a steel can't do the three stage sharpening that the Chef's Choice does. Since it holds the knife at the perfect angle for each step, it makes it easy for the fumble-fingered (like me) to create a perfect edge every time!

I'm buying one for my daughter now, mine is in perfect condition after more than 10 years and I imagine it will be for years to come yet!

I paid over 100 dollars for this very sharpener back then, which was a LOT of money at the time. They've come down so far in price that you haven't any excuse not to get one now!

I've had one of these sharpeners for several years, and I have to echo another reviewer's comments: This tool is fine for average household knives, but if you know the difference between a sharp knife and a SHARP knife, you won't want to use this on your good cutlery.

I was raised by a knife afficianado, and learned knife sharpening the old-fashioned way (with natural and diamond stones, steels and careful technique). The results with this unit don't hold a candle to a knife sharpened the "right" way. As mentioned by others here, the edge left by the Chef's Choice is pretty rough when compared to a razor-sharp edge, although it IS useful for utility knives or re-setting the edge angles on an abused knife.

I've used this tool to good results "fixing" other peoples' knives -- you know the kind -- the ones that have been loose in the gadget drawer for 20 years, used for everything from hacking through frozen meat to tightening screws, and have never been sharpened. That said, I'd never let my Henckels, Wustofs, ot Forschners get close to this thing.

It's a fast way to repair abused knives and get things started towards sharpness, but by no means does it produce what I'd consider a "final" edge.

I salivated over getting a Chef's Choice electric sharpener for at least 10 years and I am glad I did not take the plunge. I was at my sister's home on Saturday and tested her Chef's Choice sharpener. I can only say that I would never ever let this machine get close to my expensive kitchen knives. This machine, in my opinion, is designed for the vast majority of folks, who have not a clue what a razor-sharp knife is or how to keep it razor-sharp using just a steel. This sharpener may be okay for sharpening mediocre knives but it's a definite no-no for fine cutlery. Let me list the problems with this sharpener:

1. It will ruin your expensive Henckel's or Wusthof's finish. It grinds a highly conspicuous 1/8" to 1/4" wide set of bevels measured from the knife edge, using the rough diamond wheels, leaving very rough marks behind. The results are so ugly, you'll swear at yourself for being so stupid for testing your fine knives on this machine. The diamond wheels are coarse and rough. Gone will be the once beautiful satin/mirror finish on your knife's original edge.

2. Even with the 2nd stage fine-grit hone, the resulting knife edge is still VERY rough by my standards. Again, you will have to know what a truly razor-sharp knife is in order to put this into perspective. If you are one of the vast majority of folks who do not know what is a razor sharp knife, then you'll likely be very satisfied with the result that the Chef's Choice can give you. But once you know what razor-edged sharp cutlery is, you'll never let this machine touch your knives again.

Keeping knives sharp is no magic. First you need to treat your knives well by not letting the fragile sharp edge touch hard objects such as dinner plates, tile or stone countertop, silverware, kitchen sink, dish washer rack, etc. Learn to handwash your sharp knives. Use your knives only on a cutting board. Then learn to keep your knives razor sharp by using a steel on a regular basis. If you really need help, then a diamond-embedded honing steel followed by using a regular steel is still a much better solution to restoring a very dull edge than using a Chef's Choice.

Bottomline is this is basically just a glorified bench grinder on the countertop. Your choice to purchase it or not will depend on your need and your knife collection. For dirt-cheap knives that are sold at supermarkets or on TV, the machine may be a godsend. For fine cutlery, avoid it entirely.

I also have to echo the comments of other reviewers when saying if you have inexpensive, common cutlery this sharpener will work OK. If you have Chef's Quality cutlery don't bring it near this machine. It leaves a rough edge no matter which stone you use and simply isn't meant for good quality knives. If you paid a couple of hundred dollars or more for your set of kitchen knives, get them professionally sharpened. If you have run-of-the-mill cutlery this machine will do OK.

Chef's Choice 120 Diamond Hone 3-Stage Professional Knife Sharpener, White

I bought this product 10 years ago for about $80 just so I could try to recondition my fading knife collection (mostly Forschner and an odd Henckel, Chicago Cutlery and it like). I was afraid that I would have to buy all new knives.
I didn't - I am still using the same knives (and have one or two new ones in my knife drawer). Follow the directions and take your time. You can, after practicing, get your knives to slice paper, and that is certainly sharp by anyone's definition.
The directions could be easier to understand. Read them several times.Then read them some more. Sharpening does take patience and time. And you didn't learn to tie your shoelaces or ride a bike the first try either! For all you whiny-hinies who complained about 1/4 inch gouges and the like, I can only shake my head and wonder if you were holding the knife backwards or upside down...
For all of you who mentioned your "expensive cutlery" and it's "fine finish", I can safely assume that you don't understand why your $249 stock pot doesn't make fine soups automatically, etc., etc.

Considering the price and results of this product it is a bargain. Yes, it is not for the person who considers their knives collector items to impress friends or those who plan to use their knives for cutting paper thin slices of veggies for the microscope...but it does put a good edge on a commonly used knife and does so quickly and accurately. The suction feet really keep this in place. I recommend it to anyone who cares to have a good edge on a knife and does not care if there is a slight mark a 1/4" up...I saw this as well. If you want something much better for those expensive knives then go for the over $100 units here at amazon!

Professional like sharpening in the home at a good price. I love this sharpener and trust it's performance on good knives. The magnetic guides make sure you sharpen the knife correctly so go ahead, run your expensive knives through it; it does a great job.

Well merry christmas.
Let me first of all ease your mind. DON'T BE SCARED TO USE THIS SHARPENER.
DO pick up some quality name brand clearance store knives to practice with.
My cheap warranted look alike clearance store knives sharpened up really nice using this sharpener.
This sharpener DID NOT grind huge amounts of metal leaving me with a stailess steel toothpick for a knife. It only removes a little metal but not too much. If it does you doing something wrong!
My new knife still looked new after sharpening.
With PRACTICE you can EVENTUALLY slice paper from magazines.
My other sharpener is the chefs 2 slot 432 model a good sharpener to learn how to use a system with guides with prior to an electric model.
I rate this sharpener a 4 for the following reasons in the review.
This is a plus..The machine makes you conform to its own sharpening "technique" using fixed angles, guides & slots.
Relax your muscles & make the machine & knife dance together according to the manuals instructions & rules. You cannot make up your own rules & succeed when sharpening.
Think of music timing/rythm each knife will have a different count because of different lengths.
Simply make up your own counts / timing or rythm for your knives.
Counting on the straight & parrallel 1,2,3,4 ect and then lift the handle 1,2,3 when you reach the curve of the blade.
Count the number of pull strokes in each slot while alternating slots Left side of blade, then Right of blade.
You will eventually acquire a feel for the angles & the magnetic guide pull.
This sharpener is a great little sharpener for what it is. I paid $39.99 day after x-mas.
I basically needed something inexpensive & accurate to re-grind a knife edge accurately prior to the honing process.
You must be careful to position perfectly with the magnets & keep the knife moving while pulling If not stage 1 might leave a neat concave gouge in the blades edge like my TV cheap knife.
***I also ground the neat groove out using Stage 1 as well.
Two of my magnets feel too weak to hold the knives well.(I'm taking this unit back to be exchanged within 10 days)
Thin non serrated TV knives shake & whip side to side, they dont suffer cosmetic scratches from magnet guides as much as thicker blades. Thin blades did sharpen eventually with practice though.
It didn't do worth squat sharpening a meat cleaver. Practice didn't help.
I don't think the black plastic guide slots will last long.
I sharpened 10 knives (50minutes of use when I first brought it home) & the bottom of the slots already have knife marks in them. Not to mention a few plastic shavings on the countertop.
The Step 2 & 3 hones that vibrate & shake like paint shakers are annoying.
If you pull the knife too slow the hones will leave slightly noticable chatter marks on the side of the blade bevel & edge.
I found that using slightly faster pulls/strokes all the time for steps 2 & 3 "imitates" a sharpening steel.
I did get the feel for the sharpener it DOES NOT grind all of your metal away leaving you with a toothpick knife.
I might get a diamong grit sharpening steel anyway as I'm old fashioned.

Useful, does sharpen..while instructions are simple enough it takes a little patience, knives have to be drawn through slowly.. does scar blades, seems to handle larger knives better than smaller..
If I owned expensive knives, I'd probably look for alternatives.[