Chef's Choice Model 312 Electric Knife Sharpener

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GeckosGoMoo

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Aug 8, 2011
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So, my dad bought one of these a while back for sharpening our kitchen knives, and I'm wondering if anybody has had any experience using them to sharpen pocket knives, specifically knives made out of harder steel.

http://edgecraft.com/page2a_m312.html

I bought a Benchmade 51 about a month ago, which is made entirely of D2. Thankfully I don't need to sharpen the knife, but, how well will this sharpener work on it? I spent 170 bucks on my BM51 so I'm kind of sketched about putting it through the sharpener. I've never really sharpened knives before and I bought this knife more due to it being a light-weight flipper, rather than due to its steel.

Thanks,

Lukash
 
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Motorized. Stay away! The problem there is mostly that it tends to miss the last inch, and cut the tip off.
 
That's not to say they don't produce a reasonably sharp edge, they do. The COST of that edge, though, is a greatly shortened life on your knife. You can easily get a better edge, though, through any one of a number of methods that aren't anywhere near so aggressive. Cripes, *I'll* sharpen it for you, just don't stick a nice Benchmade in one of those. :thumbup:
 
I've never seen or heard of one of these types of sharpeners that worked very well with smaller pocketknives (like a SAK or any similarly small blade). The sharpening/polishing wheels are recessed inside the machine, deeply enough that a significant portion of a small blade won't even be able to reach it. These were built with large kitchen knives in mind, especially those with deeply offset edges and thin blades, with no bolsters/handles to impede the process. And in spite of the maker's claim that it works with pocketknives, I'd bet the results would be disappointing for that use. Not to mention, the other points raised already about any motorized, pull-through sharpener shortening the life of your blades.

Personally, I wouldn't subject a $170 D2 blade to this machine's limited capabilities (and higher potential for doing more harm than good). And for this blade in particular, it wouldn't surprise me if the fixed sharpening angle of the machine doesn't match your bevel anyway. Trying to sharpen D2 at 60+ HRC, with a motorized kitchen device, probably at the wrong angle, I'd bet that'd be ugly.
 
Alright, thanks for the replies guys! I think I'll trust your warnings and keep my benchmade away from anything like this. I'm glad I asked, 'cause I really don't know better. Thankfully benchmade offers free sharpenings for life, just gotta pay like 5 bucks for return shipping. I'm sure I'll learn how to properly sharpen knives before I have to resort to that though.

Thanks again!
 
I would send your knives to Richard J. At $1 per inch and return shipping you will get a better edge then Benchmades life sharp and you could send your kitchen knives with it. He does really nice job and you get them back with a polished edge rather then a toothy one.
 
GeckosGoMoo said:
So, my dad bought one of these a while back for sharpening our kitchen knives, and I'm wondering if anybody has had any experience using them to sharpen pocket knives, specifically knives made out of harder steel.

http://edgecraft.com/page2a_m312.html

I bought a Benchmade 51 about a month ago, which is made entirely of D2. Thankfully I don't need to sharpen the knife, but, how well will this sharpener work on it? I spent 170 bucks on my BM51 so I'm kind of sketched about putting it through the sharpener. I've never really sharpened knives before and I bought this knife more due to it being a light-weight flipper, rather than due to its steel.

Thanks,

Lukash
Click to expand...

This picture might help you decide. It is one of a series I did of identical knives sharpened on different machines. This one is of a knife after being sharpened on the Chef's Choice:

Chefs Choice 230x - 2.jpg
It's taken at 230x magnification.

Another drawback to sharpening pocket knives on the Chef's Choice is that the last 1/2" of the heel won't get into the apparatus due to the thickness of the bolsters. Knives I've seen that have been repeatedly sharpened on that machine and others similar end up with the shape of a boning knife like the one pictured below fairly quickly.

11501_285.jpg
 
clayallison said:
This picture might help you decide. It is one of a series I did of identical knives sharpened on different machines. This one is of a knife after being sharpened on the Chef's Choice:

View attachment 226227
It's taken at 230x magnification.

Another drawback to sharpening pocket knives on the Chef's Choice is that the last 1/2" of the heel won't get into the apparatus due to the thickness of the bolsters. Knives I've seen that have been repeatedly sharpened on that machine and others similar end up with the shape of a boning knife like the one pictured below fairly quickly.

View attachment 226229
Click to expand...
That's my concern as well. I don't feel there's inherently anything wrong with motorized systems, just that you need to have at least some control over how aggressive the metal removal will be. Even with my Worksharp I suspect it would take years of use before any of my knives end up looking like that boning knife;).
 
Well, your Worksharp offers the choice of belts, angles, and a myriad of other things that the Chef's Choice systems don't. A fine belt takes off very little material when you're buffing up that edge.
 
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