Why so much hate for pull sharpeners?

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In full seriousness the Friedrich Dick pull-throughs are the most comprehensive ones you'll find on the market. The Chef's Choice ones are the most interface-simplistic good ones, though, so they might be preferable since there's literally zero setup involved with putting them together the first time, whereas the fancy water-cooled unit, while simple to maintain and set up, would require a little more initial fiddling to get ready for use.
 
JayDeep said:
Not helpful at all, but a valid point and opinion regardless. Unfortunately you don't realize how large of a disposable income I have. So just assume money is of literally zero concern. I just want something very easy, always. My free time is what's limited, not my budget. I prefer to keep what I have and like, but can easily replace if need be.
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So buy a knife, use it and throw it in the garbage. Time's too short to sharpen knives when you're rich.

If you're just a paper millionaire, go with a Havalon knife.
 
JayDeep said:
Never heard of a motorized drag through. Interesting idea. Oh well. I'll keep looking into more options and hope there's a suggestion that suits me.
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My mother had an electric can opener that also sharpened kitchen knives. She loved it and used it for decades.

The motorized sharpeners by Dick look interesting. I do have to sharpen kitchen knives a lot.

On the other hand, someone I know (who shall remain nameless) bought a Smart Sharp Cordless Motorized Knife Sharpener. Before trying it on a knife, I took it apart slightly and noted that, due to slop in manufacturing, if you inserted a knife in the slot vertically as directed, the edge would contact the horizontal top of the carbide wheel. So it is actually a Smart Sharp Cordless Motorized Knife Duller, which could be useful to people who do a lot of edge retention tests. It looks slicker and takes up less space than Bricky on Cedric & Ada.
 
Huh, turns out that F. Dick makes a line of manual pull-throughs, that look as though they will adjust to the angle of the bevel.

www.dick.de

Rapid Steel: DICK

www.dick.de www.dick.de

A hundred bucks, but that should be no problem for our billionaire friend here.
 
UncleBoots said:
Huh, turns out that F. Dick makes a line of manual pull-throughs, that look as though they will adjust to the angle of the bevel.

www.dick.de

Rapid Steel: DICK

www.dick.de www.dick.de

A hundred bucks, but that should be no problem for our billionaire friend here.
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Those are steels, which are meant for use on food service and meat cutter's knives. They will likely not work well for the context being described here.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
Those are steels, which are meant for use on food service and meat cutter's knives. They will likely not work well for the context being described here.
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I thought that at first, but after reading this in the description of the Rapid Steel version, it seemed as though they were not all just steels.

"With our Rapid Steel knife sharpener, resharpening is child's play. It saves you time, makes your work easier and the simple handling will impress you. Simply pull the knife through several times and your knife will be resharpened with a precise, optimal cutting edge."

"Our Rapid Steel is available in 4 different versions:
  • Rapid Steel action and Rapid Steel action set: Sharpening rods with a wear-resistant, ultra-hard special coating for high abrasion. The Rapid Steel Action Set already includes the base plate with suction cups.
  • Rapid Steel polish: To meet the requirements of boning specialists with polished sharpening rods for straightening and smoothing.
  • Rapid Steel HyperDrill: specially designed to meet the requirements of meat cutting with ultra-fine cut rods for honing and smoothing."
My reading of that is that all but the polish option are actually sharpening.

www.dick.de

Rapid Steel: DICK

www.dick.de www.dick.de
 
I have a ceramic pull through that I take fishing and use on my filet knife if needed. It is small, light and quick to use when needed.

I have a carbide pull through that I used once... ir is part of a ceramic rod and diamond stone smith sharpener.

One time was enough. I only used it on a super cheap knife.



I have been sharpening for 30 years, and started getting sharp edges on my knives with a Lansky when I was kid.

I finally taught me self to sharpen on stones and strops and ceramic etc about 18 years ago, and was surprised how much easier it was.
 
UncleBoots said:
I thought that at first, but after reading this in the description of the Rapid Steel version, it seemed as though they were not all just steels.

"With our Rapid Steel knife sharpener, resharpening is child's play. It saves you time, makes your work easier and the simple handling will impress you. Simply pull the knife through several times and your knife will be resharpened with a precise, optimal cutting edge."

"Our Rapid Steel is available in 4 different versions:
  • Rapid Steel action and Rapid Steel action set: Sharpening rods with a wear-resistant, ultra-hard special coating for high abrasion. The Rapid Steel Action Set already includes the base plate with suction cups.
  • Rapid Steel polish: To meet the requirements of boning specialists with polished sharpening rods for straightening and smoothing.
  • Rapid Steel HyperDrill: specially designed to meet the requirements of meat cutting with ultra-fine cut rods for honing and smoothing."
My reading of that is that all but the polish option are actually sharpening.

www.dick.de

Rapid Steel: DICK

www.dick.de www.dick.de
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That's because steels DO sharpen. But they work like files with the teeth running longitudinally. Due to the mechanism by which they sharpen, they are likely not an appropriate choice for this use case.
 
JayDeep said:
They get it what I would call "working edge sharp" and I've been fine with that. I have noticed that they remove quite a bit of material. Is this the reason nobody likes them?
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Yes. Those are the two reasons that most knife enthusiasts don’t like them.

Most enthusiasts want high sharpness and long lives from their knives, so they are willing to put more time and effort into their maintenance.

I’m also a car enthusiast, so I’m happy to get frequent oil changes and buy expensive tires for my sports car.

If you’re happy using inexpensive knives that cut ok and need to be replaced every so many years then pull away!

If, on the other hand, you want to get the most enjoyment out of knives, consider exploring how sharper knives can cut - it’s a pretty satisfying feeling, and you might decide it’s worth the effort to maintain/duplicate it. :)
 
I don't mind the dual grit ceramic rod type for certain knives, but the carbide type remove too much material and can very easily scratch a deep line along your blade.
I will use the carbide type for the beater on my work bench and even for machetes after filing, but not for a knife I care about.
 
https://www.ebay.com/itm/2650370126...yPRD2/PLfm7+n/aX3yFX0YEQ==|tkp:Bk9SR7ibl8uuYQ
Why are these so expensive ? Are they expensive ?
I bought 3 of these for the guide rod sharpening stone holders .. ( $15 at the time )

It's rickety !!! So I mounted mine on a board .. Now it's solid !
I replaced the stones with Diamond ones ( much better - especially for harder steels )
The stones are fine for mild maintenance , but you want Diamond for re edging !

If your a one knife guy ? Then this sharpening method works a treat as you can set and forget .
Otherwise , always put your knife edge in the same place . Don't need to be anal about it , but to minimize material loss .

A nice , near perfectly formed bevel will last a long time / take little effort to maintain .
Leather stropping should be enough to restore the edge .
And when the leather stops restoring the edge , only then do you restore the bevel with stone or diamond .
So depending on ( many ) the variables , you may only need to restore the bevel once a year ( depending on use ) .
If your using a knife at industrial level , who knows ? ( haven't done that )
Our kitchen knives are the hardest used , and they go for 3 months or so between resharpening .
It's been over 3 months since I last looked at them and they still seem to be cutting , but cutting up steak the other day I did notice just a hint of loss on sinew .
 
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