Chef's Choice

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nksmfamjp

Joined
Jul 30, 2009
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What is the general opinion of Chef's Choice powered sharpener like the 120? It does a great job with my kitchen knives and did a good job with my hunting knives. I just wish it had some angle adjustments. Is there something similar with angle adjustments?

If not, what is an easy way I can sharpen my good knives to a better edge angle? . . .or is the Chef's Choice best for me?
 
The general opinion of those is bad. They grind off too much metal and do a poor job of sharpening. For something better the DMT aligner would be a step in the right direction.
 
powered sharpeners like that are something you give to someone you dont like as a present. i have never seen one that didnt mess up a blade. if you want to get something that will sharpen all your knives in minutes check out my thread on paper wheels. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=578787 it does take a little time and practice to learn how to use them but they work great. for the price you paid for the chefs choice you could have probably set yourself up with the wheels. check out the vids of how sharp i get my knives with them http://sites.google.com/site/richardjsknives/Home/more-knife-pics-and-vids
 
Richard J has it right. Paper wheels are about the same price and so much better.
 
nksmfamjp said:
What is the general opinion of Chef's Choice powered sharpener like the 120? It does a great job with my kitchen knives and did a good job with my hunting knives. I just wish it had some angle adjustments. Is there something similar with angle adjustments?

If not, what is an easy way I can sharpen my good knives to a better edge angle? . . .or is the Chef's Choice best for me?
Click to expand...
IMO they suck because each individual knife needs it's own edge angle, 25degrees per side may be good for a crappy chef's knife but won't be so nice for a sushi knife.

If you want a powered sharpener that is able to change angles buy a belt sander or use the wheels Richard suggested, and use your hands as the angle guide :D.
 
A while back ago, I used the chef choice 130 model - that was recommended by America test kitchen and Cook’s illustrated. It has a preset 20 degree setting - for western knives, a 15 degree - for Japanese knives, and a honing stage. Overall, I thought it was idiot proof, quick and convenient. It did a better job than others that I’ve used, but like most electric sharpeners it removes alot of metal and leaves a coarse finish.

I have an older model that I only use for one of my cleavers (bone chopper) and machete b/c it grinds out the dings and puts a fresh edge quickest. I would only suggest an electric sharpener for those with no other means of maintaining lower quality knives.
 
Well, what else other than the DMT should I be looking at? I can tell you I have really struggled in the past to make things like this or the LAnsky work at all. Is this better, or about the same as the Lansky?
 
nksmfamjp said:
What is the general opinion of Chef's Choice powered sharpener like the 120? It does a great job with my kitchen knives and did a good job with my hunting knives. I just wish it had some angle adjustments. Is there something similar with angle adjustments?

If not, what is an easy way I can sharpen my good knives to a better edge angle? . . .or is the Chef's Choice best for me?
Click to expand...

From your post it sounds as if you are satisfied with the results your getting. That's really the name of the game. YOU are happy with the results. It's quick and easy to use, works for what you want it to do, and you like the finished product.

Other folks might prefer a device that has more control over the angles, is less aggressive, a finishes with a sharper edge, and perhaps more 'technical' to use. That's personal preference. Sharpening knives is a hobby unto itself. Most chefs aren't into that hobby. They just want to get their tools sharp enough to do the job at hand. A kitchen knife will perform well between 360-800 grit (depending upon its usage, i.e. carving, paring, boning, etc.) A sharpening hobbyist will take their edges to 4,000-10,000 grit, but spend a lot more time doing so than you spend with the Chef's Choice. Are you satisfied with the Chef's Choice, or do you want to take your edges further? Only you can answer that. Keep this in mind;
Don't make friends with an elephant trainer unless you have room in your living room for an elephant.
Sharpening as a hobby requires equipment. Often expensive equipment. The deeper you get into that hobby the more equipment you will find yourself buying as you experiment with different sharpening methods.

Stitchawl
 
Like Stitchawl stated, ChefsChoice machines are great sharpeners for anyone that isn't interested in turning honing kitchen knives into a hobby. Nothing wrong with the edges they turn out, and if you use them properly, they won't wear a knife out any quicker than a benchstone used on a frequent basis. All knives wear out if you resharpen them as often as they need it.
I've given a couple to church kitchens and they are infinitely happier with their knives now than when they were butter knife dull.
 
Thanks. Yea, I am hoping with my pocket knives to take this up a level. I am not interested in the regular stones because I have been terrible with them. I'm considering the DMT because I can see how, with the forum's help I might be able to get somewhere with that.

Anyone make crock sticks with multiple angles and stick grits? I have used those pretty well before, but they seem to be usually sold as one grit one angle.
 
I'm feeling motivated to go back and figure out the stone thing again! Is that really the best way to sharpen? The Chef's Choice is making a good standardd eedge, but really, I would like the ability to finishat like 2000 grit with a 2000 grit micro bevel. That is pretty polished in my experience.

I have been looking at Japanese waterstones and I think I might give it a go again. Seems like if I go slow and use black marker, I can get a pretty good edge and then add a micro bevel like the Chef's Choice is doing, but at a much higher polish. If the Chef's choice were like 1000 grit on stage 2 and 1500 - 2000 on stage 3, I might not be looking into this.

Paper wheels look like a good enough deal, but I'm really wanting a flat or convex/trizor type edge. The only thing is, I would like to be able to grind to ~15 deg for the primary angle and like ~20 for the secondary.

The DMT aaligner looks pretty good also, but I always had trouble with that type because the clamp position seems to effect angle on thee main edge vs. near the point.
 
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