Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(156)
4 star:		(34)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I was very suspicious of this guy, but having actually used it I can only recommend it.

We've had one in my house for quite some time. My mother bought it because she is not interested in learning the ins and outs of knife maintenance and read several great reviews of the 120.

I was suspicious, mainly from bad experience with cheezy knife sharpening gadgets, but also because my mom's knives, which had been through the Chef's Choice, always had crappy edges. I had made something of a habit of looking sideways at the Chef's Choice 120 on our kitchen counter.

I finally read one too many good reviews of this product (when I wasn't even looking for them, they just seem to pop up here and there if you read enough about cooking and cutlery), I decided to give it a shot on a Henckel's 5-star Santoku that had lost it's edge. I love the size and shape of a santoku, but it had gotten dull and was superceded by a Kasumi chef's knife I received as a gift. I figured the worst thing that could happen was that a knife I wasn't using would remain unusable.

First off, I Read The Freakin Manual. Do not underestimate the importance of this step. If I had just bought it based on good reviews and ripped open the box, I might have done this, but since I was already suspicious of it, I read through every word of their instructions. If you don't read the manual, the way you assume it works may be wrong (the big mistake might actually be overusing it). More on that later.

Next, before I turned it on, I did a few practice pulls with the power off. Get a feel for pulling the knife through smoothly and evenly. Make sure you keep the knife blade properly aligned with the wheel (i.e. if the knife you're sharpening has a curve, pull in a curve to keep proper contact with the sharpening wheels). Look at a clock, and make sure you're pulling at roughly the speed recommended for your knife's length.

Once I thought I knew how to use it, I made one pull through each side of stage 1. Felt the blade, as per the manual, and I had the burr they said I should feel for. Cool, it seemed to be working. I would recommend doing the burr check, because it does tell you that things are going according to plan. The same test is performed when knife sharpening is done by hand with a stone. After that, one pull on each side in the number 2 slot. Again, I had a burr, things seemed to be going well. Then I made 3 pairs of passes through stage 3, doing the left then right side, as recommended in the manual. Did a cutting test on some veggies. Wow, that thing was SHARP. Definately a better edge than you get from the factory on say, Henckle's or Wusthof's knives. I think my Shun and Kasumi knives were as sharp or sharper from the factory, but this was a nice, sharp, effortless, smooth-cutting edge, and it was equally sharp along the whole length. It's theoretically possible to get a sharper edge, but practically there is nothing left to desire from the edges I get from the Chef's choice, and I will happily be putting that knife back to regular use.

I asked my mom to have a go with the knife, and she was amazed at the edge I got from the same device she'd been using on her knives. It turns out she wasn't using it as recommended by the instructions. For example, she was making multiple pulls on the same side of the knife (you're supposed to alternate, left and then right side), and probably making too many passes. I redid the edges on all our knives, and now they are just awesome. I do feel like I got slightly better results the second and third time I used the machine. Splitting hairs, but it's safe to say it gets better as you get the hang of it. As other reviewers have said, the best thing would be to practice on something inexpensive or throw-away to be absolutely safe. I didn't really have anything that fit that bill, so I just jumped in with a good knife.

So, bottom line is this sharpener can do a very good job, but it's a tool. Like any tool, it needs to be used properly. It may be electric, and it may be a lot easier and faster than a whetstone, but it doesn't have a brain. That's what you're for, so read the manual, make some practice pulls with the power off, sharpen a cheap knife first if you can, and then enjoy. Don't worry about a reviewer who says the thing jams if you try to push the knife against the wheels and thus doesn't sharpen the knife. The manual says not to do that, just use enough pressure to make contact with the wheels.

I have had this model for some time now, and it has preformed without flaw. This particular model (#120) was highly rated in the last issue of Fine Cooking. There is very little metal loss and the edge is far better than a factory one. I think so much of this that I am buying another one for a birthday gift. You will not be disappointed.

I have had mine for 3 months and it's greatest item I've bought. I sharpened old knives that I had put in the back of drawers becuase they were so dull from other hand sharpeners.

Now, it brought to life all my knives and even the serrated knives and the cleaver. My husband is a charter captain, he fillets large salmon and trout that his customers caught He uses the electric serrated knife and had been sending them in to be sharpen, but found buying new blades was cheaper. So, I gave it a try and sharpened 3 sets that were dull. He's amazed how well it cuts now. Use the last slot for serrated edges.

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 Amazon's description of this model's title fool you--it's just a gimmick, 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 have several nice Sabatier kitchen knives that were dull from years of use and abuse. I tried a manual ceramic disc sharpener from Wusthof but only managed to completely destroy the edge on one of the knives. There are several pages on the internet which have good discussions on knife sharpening. Many of the pages mentioned the Chefs Choice sharpener (note most of them mention the 110 or the professional model). Since I felt that I would not be able to use a whetstone or one of the angled rod systems I went for this sharpener.

After practicing on a couple of "junk" knives, I used the sharpener on my Sabatier knives. Since my Sabatier knives were extremely dull, I used all 3 stages. After a few test cuts, I concluded that my Sabatier knives were at least as sharp as my brand new F. Dick knives. I also ran my serrated Sabatier steak knives through stage 3. As with other reviewers, I'm not sure whether there was any improvement or not.

To sum it up, the Chefs Choice Edge Select 120 is easy to use and allows an average person to put a very sharp edge on a straight edge knife. I would recommend that you practice with some knives that you don't care about first. You need to pull the knife slowly and smoothly through the sharpener to get good results. I definitely saw my results improve as I progressed through my knife collection.

I initially purchased a model 100 from a local Target store. It looked identical to the model 110 that is listed on Amazon's site. After bringing it home and trying it, I discovered that it did not sharpen the knife all the way to the hilt. After calling the 800 number for Chef's Choice, I found out that the 100 is different from the model 110 because of the inability to sharpen the full length of the blade. Both the 100 and the 110 use reciprocating flat stones to do the sharpening. I found that the model 100 had a tendency to leave irregular sharpening marks on the knife, They were sharp - but purely on an aesthetic view - they didn't look that good after sharpening. I then opted to go for the Model 120.

The Model 120 uses three sets of rotary stones that are controlled by springs that keep a constant pressure between the blade and the knife. It also has spring loaded slots that keep the knife at an exact grinding angle. It is an almost foolproof method of sharpening knives. As long as you maintain an even speed pulling the knife through the sharpener and you allow the spring to hold the knife at the proper angle, you should get the same excellent results that I got. The first stage only has to be used the first time that you sharpen a knife with the unit - after that only stage two and three should be necessary.

One of my concerns about using an electric knife sharpener has always been about how much steel is removed from the blade during sharpening. The model 120 has a magnetic cleanout plug under the machine that collects the steel removed during the sharpening process. After sharpening eight knives the filings that accumulated on the magnet were almost non-existent.

I have always been reluctant to try an electric knife sharpener on our Henkels Four Star knives. We have had the knives for over twenty five years and the only sharpening that they have ever seen has been with the Henkel's fixed wheel pull through sharpener and steel along with an occasional "tune-up" by a professional knife sharpener. After using the Chef's Choice the edges of the knives are a good as the day they were purchased.

I highly recommend this unit.

Having useed this sharpner on most of my old knives I can safely say that you wont find a better sharpner. However I must admit to feeling a little cheated when I found the same tool at three local department stores for $40 less.

Nothing beats a good whetstone, but you need to not only know how to use one correctly and hold your blade at a very precise angle, but you also have the time to do it right. I originally bought the (much) cheaper two-stage Chef's Choice sharpener which was great for quickly and accurately honing cheap kitchen knives. I've even used it on machettes, anything with a flat grind can be sharpened with these things...

Since upgrading to high-end Shun knives, however, I was uncomfortable with the amount of metal the old one removed and the rough finish it left. After heavy daily use, a manual honing rod simply isn't always enough to keep your blades razor sharp so you'll either need a whetstone or a mechanical device. Dull knives not only work poorly, but they are dangerous to use as well. I've tried the Lansky rod system but it's very hard to hold certain knives in the clamp, which also leaves scratch marks. Not an acceptable solution for $125 plus blades. Sooo, I've upgraded to this device to supplement my whetstone.

This one costs three times as much as the two-stage model, but it works at least three times better. Gradations between the hones is excellent and the third wheel leaves a nice smooth finish. After the initial sharpening you'll probably never use the first one again on any given knife but it's nice to have available. The guides work very well too, helping you maintain a consistent, accurate grind. The down side is that you cannot sharpen hunting knives, daggers, or other blades with a diamond grind or large center spine. Anything flat-, tapered, or hollow-ground works fine. Be cautious not to remove too much material with repeated use though--the diamond hone wheels are very quick and efficient, sometimes more so than you'd expect... They seem to hold up quite well over time too.

All in all I'm glad I bought it. Still need to do things manually from time to time depending on the type of blade and how delicate I need to be, but this really is a top of the line sharpener. Recommended.

I bought this sharpener because I could never get my knoves truly sharp with a standard steel. This sharpener works wonderfully. The triple angle edge looks rough, but is actually quite sharp. I use the finest grit frequently on my knives, every 2nd or 3rd use. I cannot say how this would work on low quality knives, I use it on Henckels, Wusthof and F Dick.

If you're a professional, you may not like the edge profile. I have a fine grit water wheel that I use in the woodshop to sharpen woodworking tools, and it leaves a mirror finish, which looks nicer than the edge you get with the Chef's Choice. But bottom line is that I never brought the kitchen knives down to the shop to sharpen them, while this sits on the counter and I use it regularly.

The three stage strategy works very well. I've used many non-powered techniques over the years with mixed success. Rods, stones, gizmos... Most work fine under limited circumstances, but all fall short in either the time and effort involved or their ability to do a particular stage of the sharpening.

I have a mixed bag of knives, ranging from Chef's Choice trizor and Sabatier au carbone to no-name stamped junk. Of course, this sharpener had no problem bringing them back to an extremely fine edge, but the interesting thing to me, was how differently these knives progress through the different stages of the sharpening. This may account for some of the different sounding reviews here.

The manual has good tips, read it!

I also have a knife that has primarily been used for construction tasks including sheet metal, sheet rock and digging. Needless to say, this knife was a mess. The 1st stage of the sharpener reshaped the edge in no time.

Once your knives are in good shape, it takes very little time to touch them up with the last two stages. Stage 3 is for straightening and polishing the blade, and stage 2 is a very light sharpening. Someone else here mentioned using a steel between sharpenings which is always a good idea. It's also a lot quicker/easier to pull out and put away, and for some softer knives, I think I get a somewhat sharper edge. (BTW this is an F. Dick 12" fine oval steel)

There was also a comment about not having much success with serrated knives that I have to echo. It can help true an already sharp edge but it can't sharpen a dull serrated blade.

Overall, I've had great results. Both in the quality of the edge it produces and the ease of use.