Thoughts on the Work Sharp E2…or…

[surfdog]

My father called today and asked if I had some recommendations for a knife sharpener…

I have several… Most of which he would never use.

For the past couple years he has been using a fairly craptastic pull through thing.

He wants something simple, so things like the Wicked Edge/Lansky and the like are out of the running. He’s also not about to start learning how to use whetstones at this point. And at 83, I don’t really blame him.

I have a Work Sharp Ken Onion that I rarely ever use, and he can have it, but he doesn’t like the idea of changing belts and all that… Fair enough.
He just wants something to use quickly as needed.

So I’m left with another pull through or an electric of some sort.
I’ve narrowed it down to the E2 or maybe the Chef’s Choice 130 or 120 for electrics and have no clue on pull throughs.
Yeah, there are other Chef’s Choice available, but most of them seem to re-profile the blade. He just wants them sharp and doesn’t care about the differences between eastern and western blade profiles. The E2 is less than a Chef’s Choice but that is of zero importance. We all can probably spend more on that difference on a bottle of wine or tequila/bourbon/etc or a meal out, so that part is irrelevant. ;-)

Any ideas?

[Panhead John]

I ran across this article from Food and Wine Magazine. Chefs Choice is on it a few times. It looks to be a pretty legitimate article as well, they did some thorough testing of the knife blades to check for sharpness. This isn’t your typical “hyped up for clicks” list.

https://www.foodandwine.com/lifestyle/kitchen/best-knife-sharpeners?globeTest_visualSummaryList=0&utm_source=googlepaid&utm_medium=con&utm_content=EAIaIQobChMI68Xf0a_ChAMVzTLUAR3QRAk0EAAYASAAEgJOaPD_BwE&utm_campaign=commerce-dd-Knives_FoodAndWine_Desktop_CommSEM_DSA&utm_term=&utm_test=&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI68Xf0a_ChAMVzTLUAR3QRAk0EAAYASAAEgJOaPD_BwE

[surfdog]

Thanks.
That Wüsthof looks suspiciously like a WorkSharp E5. Hmmmm LOL
I’m sure it’s great…but suffers from the same “problem” as my Ken Onion…it has belts, and I KNOW he’s not going to deal with those.

So a +1 for the Chef Choice 130.

[jfmorris]

I think based on his usage pattern, either a Worksharp pull-through, or one of the E2 (20 degrees) or E5 (17 degrees) would make the most sense.

I use a Worksharp Ken Onion Angle-Set sharpener - a totally manual process, but got that as it gave me 5 angles from 15 to 25, but its a process more complex than just pulling it through a sharpening with a fixed angle 10 times and done.

Most of the easy to use kitchen sharpeners are all fixed at 20 degrees. Perfect for western knives, but not for eastern, or for things like my brisket slicer, which is razor sharp, and needs that 17 degree setting.

[surfdog]

Thanks
Yeah he’s a western edge guy only. LOL

I have a Ken Onion that I would give to him, but he doesn’t want to deal with belts… Thus my thought of a simple electric like the E2 or Chef’s Choice.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

EDIT I'm a dummy and was thinking the E5 not the E2.... You still have to change belts on the E5 2-3 times per session. Not a big deal, belt change takes a couple seconds. I line up all my knives and run them through the process 1 belt at a time. If you do go E5 I suggest the East West kit as many of my fake Japanese knives and my German knives do better with those angles.

[jfmorris]

The E2 uses discs, and has two 120 grit discs to either side of the center slot, and a separate ceramic honing slot to the side. So nothing to change except when the discs wear out. I think you are thinking of the E5, which does have a belt, and slots to either side of the belt.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

jfmorris doh was thinking the e3 or e5 or whatever it is I have... regardless it's a great sharpener and there isn't really a hassle.

[surfdog]

Thanks

Yeah, the E5 looks great but he’s deterred by the belt changes. He just wants something that he can used once in a while as needed. I already offered him my Ken Onion…but that was a hard pass. Quick & simple are the main priorities.

[Oak Smoke]

I use a Chef’s choice pull through. I have no complaints at all with it. I don’t care about profiles or edge geometry. I just want to spend a minute and have a sharp knife. I have a granton edge slicer that scares me and my Victorinox knives are just as sharp. No I don’t have name brand expensive knives but what I have will cut thanks to that sharpener.

[Smoker_Boy]

I'm like you. I have cheap knives that I got 15 years ago, and I just use the cheap pull-through when I want them sharper.

I put mine in the dishwasher too. Yeah, I know - blasphemy. But re-sharpening a knife is way cheaper than a visit to the ER after stabbing myself trying to clean the knives.

[Oak Smoke]

It is manual.

[surfdog]

Thanks, I’ll give it a look.

[barelfly]

I have one similar to the Chef’s Choice in the article PJ posted. It works well for what I need and between that and a honer, my knives work excellent. I hone usually every few uses and this keeps the edge cutting nicely. my main chefs knife, a Chicago Cutlery brand I got as a wedding gift - and the knife that took my thumb tip off over a year ago , is 24 years old and I’ve only honed and used the sharpener. So I think the sharpener is doing what I need at least.

[Donw]

Easy to use and does a very good job. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...e?ie=UTF8&th=1

[SheilaAnn]

+1 I have the same one and love it.

[holehogg]

https://youtu.be/7IVbFR_Ym5s?si=BGY3OfN5zpa7AxMA

I don't own one but have used and they work great. Easy peasy.

[texastweeter]

The WS KO is what I use. Changing belts is easy once you teach him

[Panhead John]

surfdog My handheld Wusthoff has seen better days so I went ahead and bought the Chef’s Choice handheld recommended in the Food and Wine article. Amazon just delivered it. If you’re still in the market for one let me know. I can sharpen a few of my knives with it give you a few thoughts about it. It even came in an easy to remove plastic package, all I had to do was pull apart the 2 sides! Wish everyone would do that, instead of having to spend 5 minutes cussing it with a pair of scissors…..

[Johnny Booth]

I am leery of pull through sharpeners. I ruined a forged chef’s knife with a sharpener. Micro chips along the entire edge.
I recently viewed a master class about knives and knife skills. They claimed that honing is the regular process for keeping a knife sharp. Actually sharpening a knife by taking metal off the edge and/or redefining it; should be much more rare.

Translation = it ok to use the honing side of a pull-through every time you use the knife. Use the sharpening side very sparingly.

[AdequateEatin]

For quick and easy, I use the Worksharp Ken Onion, but it is not my favorite. I find it shaves too much metal off and you have to be extra careful so you don't get an uneven grind.

In my opinion the best knife sharpener to use is a little pricey but it is the Work Sharp Professional Precision. It takes a bit of time to get them sharp but you don't need to be an expert at getting knifes razor sharp. It takes all the guess work out of the angles and the sharpening stones are flat so you can just trade them out and not need to readjust the angle. I tend to set it up at the table and just sharpen and watch tv.

[jfmorris]

surfdog did you ever decide on something?

From everything you said, I feel your dad is likely best served by a basic 20 degree pull through sharpener. Nothing to plug in, no belts or discs to change, ever. Just maybe a sharpening and a honing slot to deal with... pull a knife through each slot 10 times, done.

On the plus side, those type sharpeners are easy to use, and super cheap. I would probably get my own dad the Worksharp Kitchen Edge Knife Sharpener, for a whopping $12.95. I think I saw this for sale at the local Walmart, in the sporting supply section near pocket knives and such.

[surfdog]

Actually, I just had a pull though delivered to him. I just grabbed a Chef’s Choice 2-stage.
When I next visit, I’ll go ahead and give his knives a good sharpening…and then he can touch up as needed with the pull through. I’m also going to take up a ceramic hone and teach him how to safely use it.

[surfdog]

Thanks for everyone’s input. I decided to go simple and pick him up a Chef’s Choice 465.
When I get a chance I’ll go ahead and give their knives a proper sharpening…and then he can use the pull through as needed. I’m also giving him a ceramic hone and will teach him how to safely use it.