Cool Tool

First_Warrior

I like to cook. I also like tools. After several years of going up to my studio every two weeks to put a edge on my kitchen knives I decided i'e had enough and started looking for a basic electric kitchen knife sharpener. I found that just about all European knives are sharpened at a 20 degree angle. Most asian knives are sharpened at a 15 degree angle. The asian knives are sharper and slice through just about anything with a lot less effort than the 20 degree knives.
After a lot of looking I found a electric sharpener highly rated by Cooks Illustrated that was set up to a 15 degree angle. It is the Trisor XV Knife Sharpener  by Chefs Choice. I don't know how to post a link but I can't say enough good things about this tool. 
I started by reshaping  all my knifes to a 15 degree angle. The next step was polishing the edges and finally buffing the edge to a razor. I am a sculptor and I know what a sharp edge can do.
The tool is a little pricy at about what a box of mid priced cigars cost but now I have a cool tool that keeps my kitchen knifes razor sharp. The only thing that Chefs Choice could have done to make the tool better would be to include a box of band aids. 

peter4jc

https://www.amazon.com/ChefsChoice-EdgeSelect-Professional-Sharpener-Sharpening/dp/B0018RSEMU

jlmarta

When we were younger, one of my brothers worked at a meat packing plant. The butchers there used a standard electric bench sander with about a 4” belt (?) and just free-handed their knives back and forth across the belt. Not a lot of precision involved but I guess years of experience guided their hands... 

ShawnOL

What's a butcher?

webmost

Looks like a nice tool. But the wife doesn't want it. She says "You're my knife sharpener."

Poopy_Jones

I’ve got one of those but it’s an older model. Endorsed by OJ 

First_Warrior

jlmarta said:

When we were younger, one of my brothers worked at a meat packing plant. The butchers there used a standard electric bench sander with about a 4” belt (?) and just free-handed their knives back and forth across the belt. Not a lot of precision involved but I guess years of experience guided their hands... 

I use a 2 inch vertical belt system with guides to sharpen my carving and turning tools. Free hand works pretty good but you eventually loose the correct bevel and then have to reshape the whole tool. A jig set up insures only a very small amount of metal is removed and the tools will last a lot longer.  

Trykflyr_1

I've that same sharpener.  Gets knives scary sharp.  I'm about ready to start replacing discs in it so we'll see if it's cheaper to yard wheels & replace them or just toss the whole thing and get new.

Yakster

The Amazon listing mentioned sending the whole unit back to be refurbished for $45 rather than replacing the discs and that they'd replace everything but the motor. Might want to check it out.

Yakster

Rodger, how are you liking that sharpener?

First_Warrior

It is a cool tool. I reground  a German 8" chefs knife, a Swiss 6" chefs knife, a 7" boning knife to a 15 degree bevels.The knifes are so sharp I had to buy and install a 12" magnetic strip to hold them. The strip protects the edges by getting them of the counter. As has been said before the knifes are scary sharp. My other refuses to even touch the knifes which in its self is not a bad thing.  She has some small knifes that I don't sharpen with my new cool tool.