Sharpener for my mother?

[AR-Trvlr]

My mother is looking for a sharpener for her kitchen knives. Any recommendations for something that will do decent job, be easy to use, and stay under $75 or so?

 

[Razorsharp-Travis]

get the knives reprofiled on some sandpaper, as theyre probably dull as butter knives at the moment, and aim for about 14-17 degrees per side, then pick up a sharpmaker for her so she can easily touch up her knives at 20 degrees per side . If you have a belt sander, even handheld, you can do a fast reprofile on it if you stick it upside down in a vice, then just microbevel it with the sharpmaker- Kitchen knives tend to come with fat edges these days so it might save you a few hours going the powered route

 

[AR-Trvlr]

Unfortunately she's 600 miles away, and I doubt I'll get back there until Christmas of '13.

Are any of the powered sharpeners worth using? The knives are a mixed collecting of 30+ year-old chicago cutlery, from when they were decent.

 

[OHALLUM]

Get her a Work Sharp Knife and Tool sharpener, and she can get excellent results right off the bat, after watching the video from the Mfg. $70 or so with extra belts. I bought one and had all my kitchen knives sharp enough to cut my finger, and then my wife's finger the same day. (Even after warning her) Very easy learning curve and simple to use.

Omar

 

[stitchawl]

She's not going to be as picky as we are about her edges so long as they are sharp enough to do her kitchen chores. It sorts of frightens me to say it, but the 'Chef's Choice' diamond sharpener, especially the three-station model, will get any kitchen knife to an edge that would satisfy most Mothers (except Julia Child.) They are simple enough and foolproof enough for anyone's mother, and she'll be happy as a clam with the results. We don't like them because they are too aggressive, but Mom won't mind. Just teach her that they only need to go through the machine 3-4 times a year if she 'steels' them before each use.


Stitchawl

 

[Sturubu]

For super cheap (at least I found one for < $20) and pretty minimal effort crock sticks do a good job if the knives are semi-sharp to begin with - I think Lanskey makes a box with two bevel settings.

 

[DJG097]

+1 on the work sharp. It's really a great system.

 

[BluntCut MetalWorks]

DMT Diamond/CeraFuse Ceramic Triangle Sharpener - for less than $50.

Use it as a file. Filing a kitchen knife is easier than finger nails.

 

[stitchawl]

Guys, if the OP's mother is anything like MY mother was, the mechanical aptitude extends to using a can opener... an electric one, at that! She raised a blister on her thumb running the dishwasher! My mother would have looked at the WorkSharp, smiled at me, offered me some milk and cookies and told me I was a good boy... then put the sharpener into the closet never to be seen again. The WorkSharp would get her knives sharp, but would she use it? Or would it frighten her off? Either too complex or too dangerous?

If we assume that the OP's mother hasn't sharpened her knives since she received them as wedding presents, crock sticks, even the Sharpmaker just isn't gonna cut it (no pun intended.) They will need to be reprofiled before any actual sharpening can take place. You and I can reprofile on a Sharpmaker... if we have the patience to do so, and the diamond rods too, but Mom won't. She'll take three swipes, maybe four, and think the knife is fine now. Mom's are special people, and unless your mother is Martha Stewart or Julia Child, they need special handling. Something that works perfectly immediately, easily, and most importantly, without risk.


Stitchawl

 

[AR-Trvlr]

Thanks for all the suggestions. The 'Chef's Choice' looks like could be a winner. Mom's actually pretty good, but I think the work sharp is a bit too complicated - the goal is easy to use a few times a year.

 

[Komitadjie]

The Chef's Choice will destroy her knives in very, very short order. I see knives come in all the time that people have ground on those. By and large, the tips are entirely removed, and there tends to be a very large dip ground out of the blade about an inch in front of the bolsters from the start-point.

I would NOT get her a CC.

 

[j_killa]

Spyderco Sharpmaker - very good for beginners, comes with instruction DVD ..

 

[HeavyHanded]

When I was a kid we had one of these in the drawer.

It actually works OK as long as you use some oil with it - once it glazes up you're finished. Am a little surprised to see one made by Norton. If you need a working edge with a minimum potential to trash the knife, this might be a good choice.

 

[BluntCut MetalWorks]

The Chef's Choice will destroy her knives in very, very short order. I see knives come in all the time that people have ground on those. By and large, the tips are entirely removed, and there tends to be a very large dip ground out of the blade about an inch in front of the bolsters from the start-point.

I would NOT get her a CC.

^ this :thumbup:

In 2010 my mother-in-law called and asked me which CC to get for sharpening her knives. I recommended the CC 3 stages. 6mos ago, on her visit, she brought along the kitchen knives (some I given her 5 yrs ago). Exactly as Komitadjie's said... Oh how unpleasant to see the edge of my gift blazen petty (sg2) totally destroyed + a dip to boot, same for Shun vg-10 santoku. I fixed all knives and showed her how use SiC w&d on paint-stick to file the edge to scary sharp (for her). I did offered her my 1K waterstone and dmt F, well, she picked w&d sandspaper sticks.

 

[kenstogie]

I think stitchawl has it covered. A system is only good if someone uses it. I found that many folk and ALL the lady folk I have known and there have been a few, LOL never use a knife properly assuming it's a wire cutter, scissors, hacksaw and a file.

Before I got the Edge Pro apex (and wow it works GREAT with a little practice) I used the little Gerber Ceramic Rod sharpener. Worked good (not great but good) for me on my kitchen knives, was VERY easy to use and was a whopping $2.

I have 2 sets of knives ones I use and take care of and ones anyone may use.

 

[aread]

Maybe you could find a professional sharpener that's local for her?

I bet there is one here on blade forums that can handle it.

Or better yet, 600 miles is a long a$$ drive, but she's your mother, she gave you life! Go do it yourself, you'll be glad you did. I wish my mom & dad were still around. I hate long drives, but would do it right now if I could see them again.

Allen

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

Unfortunately she's 600 miles away, and I doubt I'll get back there until Christmas of '13.

Are any of the powered sharpeners worth using? The knives are a mixed collecting of 30+ year-old chicago cutlery, from when they were decent.

I'd say an emphatic NO! to powered sharpening for these knives. It just so happens, my own mother has used a Chicago Cutlery set of similar vintage for all this time. These are the old wood-handled knives in the knife block. Way back when, she did try to use a combo electric can opener/knife 'grinder' to sharpen them. That was when I was a teenager (this was back in the mid-late '70s), and I knew absolutely nothing about sharpening. But even then, I knew it was just wrong. Really took a lot of metal from the edges (while not significantly making them any sharper), and I'd consider us lucky if the temper of the blades wasn't adversely affected.

For these knives, I'm assuming the edge bevels will be pretty thick on them, especially if they've never been 'properly' sharpened. I'd think a V-crock or Sharpmaker style sharpener might be easiest for her to use, and one with supplementary diamond rods would (could) help to restore a decent edge bevel. Even one with diamond only could be very useful and quick in the kitchen. DMT makes one like this, pictured below. It's rods use a 'coarse' diamond (45 micron), which would very quickly put some bite in kitchen knives like these.

For what it's worth, I've usually used a DMT 'credit card' hone (Fine grit, 25 micron) to touch up the edges on her knives, when they've needed it. The steel on these knives is easy to deal with, so it doesn't take much.

 

[stitchawl]

The Chef's Choice will destroy her knives in very, very short order.

Yes, that is exactly what happens if someone sharpens their knives with a powered sharpener EVERY WEEK. Home-use knives don't need to be sharpened more than 3-4 times a year, which is why, in my post I said tell her that, and tell her to steel the knives daily. Done this way, you won't see any change in blade configuration for the next 10 years. When used correctly, the Chef's Choice actually does work for non-knife people. You and I wouldn't like the results it gives, but Moms all over the world will be happy as clams.

When I was a kid we had one of these in the drawer.

That is the same thing my mother used! That, and the powered stone on the back of the electric can opener...

A system is only good if someone uses it.

And that's the real point of the situation. Would your Mom spend an hour or two re-profiling her knives, then spend the time to set up even a Sharpmaker each time she needed it? Moms need something that sits on the counter in the corner of the kitchen. Moms are not Knife-Nuts. Moms are moms.


Stitchawl

 

[Komitadjie]

I'd tend to agree with you, Stitchawl, if I hadn't seen so many trashed knives because of those things. They are simply too aggressive, and not knowing how it's SUPPOSED to work only makes it worse. Even if you know precisely what to avoid, it's still extremely difficult not to cut off the tip and grind a recurve into the blade, the guards extend far enough forward that you can't start the grind even at the end of the bevel and sweep through, you have to lower the blade INTO the spinning wheels. That means, of course, that the section of the blades within an inch or so of the bolsters simply can NOT be sharpened by that method, and all the metal is ground off forward of that.

Like I said, I've just seen too many trashed knives. It only takes the first time to take off the tip, and the recurve starts almost immediately as well.

 

[stitchawl]

I'd tend to agree with you, Stitchawl, if I hadn't seen so many trashed knives because of those things. They are simply too aggressive, and not knowing how it's SUPPOSED to work only makes it worse. Even if you know precisely what to avoid, it's still extremely difficult not to cut off the tip

Yep, it is. I agree completely. But how often have you seen Mom need the very tip? A Professional Chef uses it, but Mom? Not mine. Maybe she's using a Santoku and doesn't even KNOW she has a tip... Same with the very heel of the blade. Personally, the only thing "I" use the heel for is removing the pit from avocados! (just tap into the pit with the corner of the blade and give a little twist.)

"We" worry about maintaining the tips. But "we" are crazy. Mom hasn't sharpened her knife since Noah was a midshipman. We won't go a week without touching up our edges. Mom isn't even 'aware' that a really sharp knife works better, she's just heard the words.

and grind a recurve into the blade,

Yes, I agree with that too, BUT only if Mom sharpens the knife in the device every other day. When we give this to her, we tell her, only use it 3-4 times a year. Then we show her the safe way to steel a knife (holding it at the top, vertically down on a cutting board, and taking 3-4 swipes DOWNWARD alternating sides.) Using the Chef's Choice 3-4 times a year won't show any significant blade damage for many years. And, if after 10 years there is more recurve than Mom likes, (if she even notices,) well, she's spent about 1.5 cents a day for her knife (Unless she's using a Shun) and can buy another one. It's a tool. Tools do wear out and need to be replaced from time to time. At a penny and a half cost, we aren't talking about buying a new car. And tools need to be used correctly. You don't take 20-30 passes through the Chef's Choice. You take 2 or 3.

There is no doubt that a powered tool removes more metal than you or I would do on a bench stone. No doubt at all. But used correctly, a knife will give many years of service that Mom will be happy with. Not you nor I. Mom.

My wife was actually frightened of my Chef's knife... I couldn't understand why... and didn't want me to sharpen her knife either. Then I realized that she was afraid of the sharp point on it, which is why she always uses a Santoku. I sharpened hers, showed her how to use it correctly, and as soon as she felt the difference between a sharpened knife and a dull one, she never wanted to let her knife get dull again. And once I showed her how to steel it safely, she now even does regularly.

and the recurve starts almost immediately as well.

Again, for you and me. We'll put the edge against a straight edge and moan at the curvature. Mom won't notice it for years. THAT is the difference. We will see it. It will bother US. It won't bother Mom.

She's been using a baseball bat to slice meatloaf for so long she has no idea of what a knife can do, and would be pleased as punch to be able to use a thin pencil instead of a thick bat.


Stitchawl