Customer Reviews

Chef's Choice 110 Professional Diamond Hone Sharpener

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

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.]

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.

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.

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.

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.

I'm a hunter and a fisherman (mostly fisherman) and have had a devil of a time over the years keeping fillet knives sharp. In order to fillet a fish, a knife sharp is everything. I used the chef's choice sharpener on my fillet knives and it got them almost razor sharp. Encouraged, I went and sharpened all the kitchen knives and the box full of pocket knives that I have received for birthdays and so forth over the years. I have nothing but good things to say about this product. Highly recommended!

I purchased the Chef's Choice Model 110 and used it to sharpen a knife [not mine] that had been previously damaged by someone trying to sharpen the knife on a grinding wheel. While the 110 could not correct the cosmetic damage done to the knife, it did restore a very sharp edge to the knife. I look forward to sharpening MY knives and maintaining a razor sharp edge.

Before discarding that knife, try the model 110 and save cash!

This little 'gadget' will transmogrify the dullest, bluntest knives in your drawer into razor sharp slicers and dicers. I didn't believe it really could; I bought it because I was ready to try anything cleaner than oil and stones - even my diamond hone could not refurbish abused blades to my satisfaction.

This machine fixes the problems of those ratty sharpeners on the backs of can openers, the messy and oily hones, the ineffective and tiring ceramic 'V' contraptions - and the user errors. The slots align the blade to the correct angle and keep it that way - the user just stabilizes the knife handle and keeps the blade from running through too quickly. It is that easy!

The stages run from coarse grit (for horribly dull blades that you used to cut branches in the garden last summer) to extra fine (to finish the edge or re-align the blade edge after use). Even my cleaver is sharp enough to cut joints instead of bludgeoning the entire beast into submission. Best of all, it sharpens quickly; it is no longer a messy, all day chore to get sharp knives.

The only down side is that the sharpener is hard to use on short blades or scissors - although it can touch up the tips of straight-edged snippers.

Once you get your blades in shape, keep this machine handy so you can maintain those desirably sharp edges.

You can do it!

I've owned one for five years and my knives are razor sharp. It took me a little practice before I realized I was using it correctly, though. The directions could be better, and the machine doesn't provide any feedback to distinguish proper sharpening. _Cooks Illustrated_ magazine found that they could get knives sharper with this device than with the higher end models.

we sharpened old knives very quickly. The device was very easy to use. If had a complaint, it would be the number of options from Chef's Choice without a clear distinction of the differences. After all, how many ways can there be to sharpen a knife?