Check out this wack robotic knife sharpener!

Mecha

Mecha

Titanium Bladesmith
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Dec 27, 2013
Messages
10,013
While at Ace Hardware today, I saw a knife sharpener vending machine, sort of like a key making machine. For $4 it will supposedly sharpen your knife!

Unfortunately, it's only for steel knives, or I would have tried it out on my titanium alloy edc kiridashi. It has a vacuum dust collector, so there's a chance that putting in a ti knife might cause the "flaming shop-vac" effect that some people run into when using normal dust collectors to clear titanium grinder dust. I don't want to be responsible for burning down my local Ace.

I might go back with a steel knife and get some video of the contraption in action, and report back!

What do you say? Would you stick your di- erm, stick your knife in this thing? 😀😬


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Earlier thread about it here

Anyone Use the Sharpening Service at Your Local ACE Hardware?

Hey all. I am looking for a local guy to sharpen a new lock blade carry knife I got. As I searched thru the results from Google, I found that it was in fact a system at the local ACE Hardware. It’s some kinda high tech sharpening system that does the sharpening on auto-pilot, for lack of a...
www.bladeforums.com www.bladeforums.com
 
$4 it’s a little steep in my opinion. I like sharpening though so maybe I’m a little biased. I’d be curious to watch somebody else get theirs sharpened and stand there with a piece of paper lol
 
No doubt, that machine will get an awful lot of hate here. I don't really think the designers or ACE had Level 10 knife experts in mind when they installed that.

I learned to sharpen free hand about 55 years ago and can get knives shaving sharp, and keep most of mine nearly that sharp. (No need for a thinner than foil edge on a construction site knife for me.) Yet many, even here, use alignment devices, hand powered devices, and specialty gear to get the edges they want. I have to have mine sharp; I sharpen my kitchen knives once a day. I cook at least once a day, and a few swipes on my 1200gr diamond rod keeps the edges good. My EDC for the job site knives get a little more leeway, but not much. Once they are dull, they go in the cigar box for sharpening. Sharp, sharp, sharp. I got used to sharpening often when all we had was 1095 at 55 Rockwell (think CASE in the 60s) so it really isn't a pain at all for me. When I have a few minutes to wind down I often light a cigar and get a beverage and sharpen away on the back deck.

I do use a KO Worksharp for damaged knives or to sharpen knives for my amigos that are "sharpening challenged". I kind of see this apparatus as a great idea for them to use. If they are in an ACE, and they have their favorite Chinese/Unknown/Taiwan/Brazil knife with them I will completely and enthusiastically encourage them to give that machine a go. MUCH better than them handing me their knives (even when using the KO WS on them) and all the hassle of cleaning them up and then sharpening them. And I can never get it across to them that their knives of unknown steel will easily dull in an hour of use (or less) because they are just very low quality, so they seem to always need a "touchup". (Read touchup as: regrind/rebevel/resharpen and some oil on the pivot for crap sake)

For people that can't or won't sharpen, or even learn how to, this could be the ticket. Who in this crowd would honestly put their knives in something like that? Again, if I see one of those bad boy sharpening machines out in the wild, (Could Home Depot be next???) I will encourage my amigos to try them and quit asking me to sharpen their knives.
 
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Unfortunately I didn't see the prior thread on this topic. This sharpener vending machine is too funny to resist, so a fact-finding mission was executed.

I need a new kitchen knife anyway, so one was scrounged up from an antique emporium - the Quikut, made in Fremont, Ohio. As you can see, this edged wonder is:
-The type used by professional chefs for chopping, dicing, sandwiches, and trimming.
-Features a handle molded of TENITE that's guaranteed not to come loose.
-Made of Rasta-frei steel.
-Has the new "Rocker" blade for faster, easier cutting.

The thin blade is about 1/32" thick, with no distal thickness taper. It was fairly sharp out of the sleeve, so I scrubbed the edge on a concrete block out front of Ace which dulled the knife instantly, and headed in to try the sharpening robot. Results will be posted shortly.

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Richard338 said:
Will it cut?!
Click to expand...

The machine followed the odd edge curvature more or less exactly and the knife came out much sharper than it originally was. A minimal amount of material was removed.

The knife can easily can shave arm hair now, and even tree-topped a few hairs (and my arm hairs are very fine). It slices up a receipt no problem.

Results: the sharpening robot works better than I expected, and will do a fine job for non-knife people who just need a new edge on their kitchen knives, since they can go years without sharpening a blade.
 
Mecha said:
The machine followed the odd edge curvature more or less exactly and the knife came out much sharper than it originally was. A minimal amount of material was removed.

The knife can easily can shave arm hair now, and even tree-topped a few hairs (and my arm hairs are very fine). It slices up a receipt no problem.

Results: the sharpening robot works better than I expected, and will do a fine job for non-knife people who just need a new edge on their kitchen knives, since they can go years without sharpening a blade.
Click to expand...
I think its badarse..thanks for video......I kinda want one just cause......
 
Centermass said:
Excellent sciencing for the good of the order, Mecha Mecha . Somebody will set up a go fund you for the $4. Not me, but somebody.
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Thanks! Once I saw the machine, I knew what had to be done. The entire operation ended up costing almost $20, which is a princely sum equal to about 2 lbs of hamburger meat and a pack of buns. So I hope you guys appreciate my going hungry for two days in order to present the latest advancements in the world of cutlery and knife-adjacent products! 😁
 
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