I Finally Found My Perfect Knife Sharpener

[bep35]

Question. Can I sharpen my Asian knives in addition to my "regular" knives on this sharpener?

[Panhead John]

bep35 I’m no expert so I used Google and I also looked in my owners manual. And yes, it looks like you can! 👇👇

A quality electric knife sharpener designed for 15 degree bevel angle Asian knives.

Recommended as Best Electric Sharpener by Cook's Illustrated Magazine, The Chef's Choice Trizor XV sharpens and strops your knives to "better than factory" sharpness. In only seconds, it can sharpen almost all knives to a 15 degree angle: straight edge, serrated, kitchen, Asian style. This sharpener eliminates the need for multiple sharpening gadgets, and provides a compact appliance that is fast and effective. It is also able to convert the traditional 20 degree factory edges of European and American household knives into a 15 degree edge. The Trizor XV sharpens contemporary double bevel or single bevel traditional Asian-style knives as well.

PJ here now……the Owners Manual that comes with the sharpener is detailed and well written. It has instructions, with pictures, on how to sharpen the different styles of knives……Euro/American and Contemporary Asian blades is one section. Another section says….Sharpening the traditional Japanese blades…….Procedure for sharpening serrated blades is also explained.

[yakima]

I am detailing daughter, a denizen of Amazon, to order this. I have other perfectly workable sharpeners, but they are a pain to set up and difficult, for me at least, to maintain angle consistency. I regularly use a honing steel; have both steel and ceramic. Should use the ceramic more.

[smokenoob]

I have used an older version of Chef’s Choice for years, very happy with it. It sharpens to 15°. Some of my better knives are 20°. All my knives are 15° now…..🥴

[Mosca]

Carolyn It depends. There is a lot that goes into knife design. The blade angle is a compromise that fits with all the other parameters. Focusing on just the blade angle is like focusing on BTUs for a gas grill, or megapixels for a digital camera; it only tells part of the story, and a sharp angle doesn’t mean a good knife. But consumers have kinda fixated on it, and a 20° angle is now hard to sell, so knife makers are designing around the 15°.

[Mosca]

(Cont) A 20° angle resists chipping better. 15° angle knives have thinner blades and are lighter, but tend to use harder steel which is more brittle. 6 vs half a dozen.

My take on this, which is admittedly more practical and consumer-to-tool-interface dependent rather than absolute, is that, at the consumer level, they’re all pretty good knives regardless, and it’s more important to find one that you’re comfortable using, and follow the manufacturer’s instructions for care and sharpening.

[Carolyn]

Mosca That makes sense. Thanks

[ecowper]

I'll be interested to know if this gets "clogged" with metal shavings, which is an issue I've heard about for this type of sharpener. Although I've not heard about this one specifically.

[Panhead John]

On the bottom of my model is a rectangular tab with an attached magnet to catch the metal shavings. Pulling the tab off allows you to brush off the metal shavings and clean anything within the opening. There’s also a built in cleaning device for the 3rd [honing] disc which you can use to clean any debris off the disc/wheel. They say it only needs to be done yearly with average use.

[Donw]

Panhead John We bought Kathy’s sharpener in 2017. Just check and sure enough that tab is there. Didn’t notice it before.😳

[Panhead John]

Donw One of the few times I’ve read an owners manual….😂 Otherwise I wouldn’t have known about it either.

[synodog]

I have this in my cart. Sometimes the wife says she’s ordering stuff and she’ll ask me to verify what else is in the cart and get it along with whatever she’s ordering.
That method has worked a lot.

[Mosca]

Sheesh. So I went and sharpened my knives. I use the Work Sharp Ken Onion. The two tools are comparably priced, but the Chef’s Choice looks easier to use. If I didn’t already have this one, I’d get the CC.

[Panhead John]

https://www.printful.com/blog/websites-to-sell-items-online-for-free#:~:text=Seller%20fees:%20No%20fees%20if%20you%20meet,fee%20for%20selling%20an%20item%20through%20OfferUp's

🥸🤓

[briano52]

I like the Work Sharp Ken Onion and related models of belt sharpeners. The edge you get with a belt device is beveled a little bit. I find the belt devices can put a fine 15 degree edge on my Asian style knives. And the Work Sharp belt devices are gentler than the Trizor type devices. The Work Shop belt devices allow you to change the belts to adjust to your job. Coarse grit for a complete reshaping and a whole series of finer grits for minor touch ups. (Trizors also have 3 grits)

[surfdog]

I recently gave away my Ken Onion sharpener…and replaced it with the Ken Onion Mk 2 Elite edition. The improvements they made were worthwhile, to ME anyway. I use that for EDC knives, hawksbill knives, tools, etc.

Seeing as I do NOT want to change the geometry on my “better” kitchen knives, I use the WS Professional Precision Adjust for those. Upgraded that to the elite edition several months ago.

I have steel & ceramic hones in my knife rolls…so I rarely need to do a full sharpening.

[klflowers]

Dammit man, in addition to crushing my feelings in your answer to fzxdoc, now it is in my cart. I was cutting tomatos yesterday and both my chef knives were dull, and my handheld is about worn out. How about some sympathy over here?

[Panhead John]

Oh Kevin, I’m so sorry for that. 😢……….When will it be delivered?

[briano52]

Don't mean to be a contrarian but the Chef's Choice is a machine that uses vibrating grit pads to establish a new edge on a knife. If your knife is really dull, and needs complete reshaping, this is OK. But the grinding on the Chef's Choice takes a lot of metal off of the knife. You can see and feel the removed metal powder. Using this power sharpener on a regular basis will greatly shorten the lifespan of your knives, by many years. Maybe by 75% or so.

To maintain a fine knife over time, don't sharpen it but use a hone to straighten the edge. A hone can be a steel or ceramic rod. If you hone your knife, before and after every use, it will stay sharp for an extended period. Often a year or more.

I have some sharpening devices, some powered like the Chef's Choice and some simpler. They only get used every couple of years. In between, honing keeps the knives very sharp with minimal effort. If you are not familiar with how to use a honing rod, there are lots of good YouTube videos on this.

[WI Bubba]

briano52 You have a valid point. The one PJ showed is the three stage that has a rotating disc to establish the bevel as Stage 1. You would only use it to establish the bevel or grind out nicks. After that, you only need the second and third stages. You can remove a lot of metal if you use it wrong but following the instructions, I don't think you take any more metal off than you would with any other method. I think the people who have problems with taking off too much metal are just using it wrong.

I've been using these sharpeners for decades on the same knives and they are still going strong.


This is a chef's knife I inherited from my mom. She used a Chef's Choice sharpener on it for at least twenty years before I got it and I've had it for the last six years. I don't have a new one to compare it to, but I think there is enough metal left to last another twenty years.


This is a replacement slicer I got under warranty roughly fifteen years ago.





It has a different heel geometry than the original one, so the entire blade doesn't fit in the sharpener. You can see the amount of metal that has come off of it in the time since it was new. I'm guessing about an 1/8th of an inch?
Again, I think I'm going to get another twenty years out of this one.

That is something to consider when choosing the Chefs Choice sharpener. If your knives have a full bolster that runs all the way down the heel, then you won't be able to get the full length of the blade into the sharpener. This style of sharpener is best for blades with a half, or no bolster. It will work on other knives, but if you have a full bolster, you will have a small section at the heel, that doesn't get sharpened.

If you want to know more about the anatomy of knives, there is a good explanation with lots of pictures here.

https://elementknife.com/pages/kitchen-knife-anatomy?_pos=1&_psq=Anatomy&_ss=e&_v=1.0

[Panhead John]

Well said Will. Yes, any knife sharpener can take off too much metal if used incorrectly. The 1st stage is only used for changing the angle of your blade to 15*, if it’s a different angle or if you have a badly knicked knife edge. As I mentioned earlier here, the majority of the time you’ll be using stage 3, which acts as a hone to finely polish the edge. If your knife is already at 15* but dull, stage 2 would be used for sharpening, followed by the stage 3 honing.

[Panhead John]

As WI Bubba pointed out, the Chefs Choice does not use vibrating grit pads. From Chefs Choice…..


• Stages 1 and 2 (Abrasive Discs): These stages use rotating conical discs coated with 100% diamond abrasives.

◦ Stage 1 features a coarser grit for initial sharpening and reprofiling.

◦ Stage 2 uses finer diamonds to further refine the edge.

• Stage 3 (Stropping/Polishing Discs): This final stage contains patented flexible stropping discs. Unlike the hard diamond discs in the first two stages, these act like a barber's razor strap to polish the edge and remove any remaining burrs.

[yakima]

Ordered this morning. To be here tomorrow, allegedly.

[yakima]

Amazon delivered in about 27 hours. How in the world do they do that?

PJ has provided much good info, but left out the most important. I quote: "...not intended for use by persons with reduced...mental capabilities...."

I will just leave it at that.

[Panhead John]

Hmm, what happened? If you tell us maybe we can offer some suggestions. Even with my reduced mental capabilities it worked great.

[yakima]

Nothing has happened yet. Have not plugged it in.
I was trying not to make disparaging remarks re current owners!

[Panhead John]

Have you checked the batteries in your carbon monoxide detectors lately?
🤓

[yakima]

Holy moly! This sharpener is impressive. Sharpened an Old Homestead 8 inch butcher knife, Japanese stainless. It was really dull, now it is not. Picked it up at an estate sale years ago, have never used it. Used all 3 slots. Also did a Wusthof paring knife, using slots 2 & 3.
Use a light but firm hold (if that makes any sense). The motor is quiet.
So now I will be on the lookout to salvage knives.

[yakima]

Huskee, I recommend that someone should review this sharpener, I have the Ken Onion Worksharp, and prefer this new to me rig. Simpler, more consistent blade angle.

Directions recommend grinding until a burr develops. I have tended to stop short of that, then moved on to next slot. Very sharp results, with minimal material removal. We have a Cutco set, have sent several In for sharpening, and have also used a commercial local sharpening service. This device, for me, will likely replace other options.

I have a Shun paring knife, for about 4 years, bought new. It was dreadfully sharp. Used it a lot. Tended to hurt myself about every time I touched it. It is now back In the dangerous category.

[Huskee]

I will pass it on!