Can you sharper *nicer* knives with an Electric Sharpener?

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ptolemy

ptolemy

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Obvious answer is yes, you can. But, less obvious answer is, can you do so reliably? or is it a waste of nice steel? And, are there any recommended products for electrical sharpening in an apartment? The sharpening systems, are out of the question for this situation.

TIA :)
 
ptolemy said:
Obvious answer is yes, you can. But, less obvious answer is, can you do so reliably? or is it a waste of nice steel? And, are there any recommended products for electrical sharpening in an apartment? The sharpening systems, are out of the question for this situation.

TIA :)
Click to expand...
I used a Chef’s Choice 15/20 for years before I learned to sharpen by hand. I thought it worked well.
 
Sure, Tormek is nice I think. It is more satisfying by hand, with stones but a Tormek will do.
 
If you absolutely have to use one, I'd recommend looking to something from Work Sharp.

I've gifted/recommended the belt sander versions of the Knife and Tool and Ken Onion to many people and all have been happy. Mind you, none of them are sharpening high end knives. There's also still a learning curve so do your homework.

They also recently came out with a manual pull-through sharpener that addresses a lot of the downsides of traditional ones.

https://www.worksharptools.com/shop/product-category/benchtop/powered/
 
But there are still a lot of reasons that a powered sharpeners will cause "headaches."

1. Personal knowledge/touch is still required.
2. Failure to sharpen "right to the tip" & sometimes to the heel if it has a finger guard.
3. Not maintaining even pressure and speed which tends often to produce a scimitar edge profile when the start near the handle is slow versus near the tip.
4. High speed with low draw speed of the blade can literally de-temper the edge/burn it.
5. Picking your edge angle with the typical counter top "Electric Sharpener" is not possible in any device I've seen.
6. Really fine polished edges aren't possible either.
 
I used a chef’s choice electric pull-through for years too, on my henckles/wusthofs. It works well enough - removes a lot of steel and finishes to a fairly low grit but gets a knife sharp enough to cut pretty quickly. I wouldn’t use it on any knife I actually cared about at this point, though.
 
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Yeah, the main issue is that most of the work in keeping a knife in tip top performance level is thinning, not sharpening. Until someone makes a gizmo that actually does this electric sharpeners are at best just high speed honing rods.
 
I realize some people just need a refreshed toothy edge and aren't the people who will use stones. No biggie. I generally recommend one of these.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007IVBET0/?tag=thefinestkitchen-20
Anything with a motor has a mind of its own. Anything with a motor requires MORE skill than stones, not less. Not something I'd normally recommend, but not sure if your circumstances.
 
It doesn't refresh an existing edge, but put an entirely new edge on it, ignoring the geometry of the blade. I don't know if you ever have sharpened a knife treated with such an utensil, but it's no fun. Expect a heavily damaged edge with deep grooves, fatigued steel and a geometry that has to be entirely restored.
 
Jovidah said:
Yeah, the main issue is that most of the work in keeping a knife in tip top performance level is thinning, not sharpening. Until someone makes a gizmo that actually does this electric sharpeners are at best just high speed honing rods.
Click to expand...

For the average home cook though, the perfect is the enemy of the good. Before I knew any better it was either the electric sharpener or nothing. And I’d say it was better than nothing.

We look on these sharpeners with horror, but tbh it gets the job done for probably thousands of people that know nothing about knives and don’t particularly care. Hopefully people with decent mass-market consumer knives like Shun and ZKramer are at least having their knives professionally sharpened (which is likely done on a belt, and never thinned, so not much better), but for your typical zwuthof (or cheaper) owner it’s good enough to help them cut through tomatoes.

But if we parse the OP’s question where he specifically asks about “nicer” knives, I agree the answer is no. If they’re knives you care about then better to let them sit in a drawer and buy a victorinox beater and use the sharpener on that.
 
Jovidah said:
Yeah, the main issue is that most of the work in keeping a knife in tip top performance level is thinning, not sharpening. Until someone makes a gizmo that actually does this electric sharpeners are at best just high speed honing rods.
Click to expand...

You actually can thin on the Work Sharp I mentioned. It's just a mini-belt grinder. One of my buddies I recommend these too bought the KO edition and he uses it for everything. His knives, hatchets, lawn mower blades, does all the neighbors stuff, etc. Now, you'll burn through a lot of belts as they are small and you need to be quite mindful of what you're doing but it's possible.

No, it is absolutely not a substitute for stones, especially for nicer knives but the right choice can offer some versatility. Again, there is a learning curve.

For nicer knives I think I'd opt to send them out before going this route though.
 
Sure it's better than nothing...barely. It's an okay solution for people who are willing to buy a cheap victorinox every few years and replace it when the wedging gets too horrible... But at that point it's not even economical anymore.

If you're considering using it on even slightly expensive knives I think you should reconsider your desire to invest in quality knives instead.
 
Jovidah said:
Sure it's better than nothing...barely. It's an okay solution for people who are willing to buy a cheap victorinox every few years and replace it when the wedging gets too horrible... But at that point it's not even economical anymore.

If you're considering using it on even slightly expensive knives I think you should reconsider your desire to invest in quality knives instead.
Click to expand...

Hard to argue against that and I agree. Unless you have physical restrictions preventing you from using stones, I say stones will always be the better option and really what is called for with nicer knives.
 
Benuser said:
It doesn't refresh an existing edge, but put an entirely new edge on it, ignoring the geometry of the blade. I don't know if you ever have sharpened a knife treated with such an utensil, but it's no fun. Expect a heavily damaged edge with deep grooves, fatigued steel and a geometry that has to be entirely restored.
Click to expand...
Totally agree, would never use with my knives. For someone who doesn’t care (I also find it weird that they exist), I tend to think it’s the minimum viable option. I’ve used ‘em, don’t like ‘em. But they’re OK in a pinch when you don’t have a pro sharpener nearby (not just someone with a truck-back grinder).
 
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