Bought one of these recently to replace an older model that had been well-used. (These do need replacing every once in a while, as the diamond grit wears down.) Thought I'd share some tips here.First, let me point out that the turning wheels in the center are a guide to make you hold the knife upright. The wheels may not be turning throughout your "swipe" if you are using a thin-bladed knife.
Second, you should use a feather-light touch when "swiping." The cutting edge of the knife is very thin, and you do not want to push it down in the groove and damage it. Use a long, sweeping stroke, light and smooth.
Third, to get the best use of this sharpener, every so often you'll have to clean out the metal dust that collects in the grooves. If the bottom of the groove is silvery-shiny when you look down at it, take a small, stiff, clean brush and whisk the groove until the original gray appears again.
I believe that the two slots on this sharpener correspond to the last two (and most gentle) slots on the manufacturer's three slot electric sharpeners. Thus, the first slot sharpens and the second slot hones. The first slot won't be used as often as the second slot.
The edge you get with this gizmo probably won't be as nice as the edge you'd get from an expert hand on the whetstone, but it will keep the family kitchen knives cutting well for many years.
Now that I have it in hand, though, I'm fairly certain I will never use the serrated feature. So I'm left worrying--what's the difference with this model? If I'm only going to do straight blades, would I be better off with the 450? Does this model compromise in some way to accommodate both types of blades?
Even for straight blades, it's not as easy to use as I expected. I thought it would be a simple matter of drawing the blade smoothly through the slot a few times. In practice, though, the blade catches and doesn't pull smoothly at all (although it did get better after many passes--you should definitely practice with a cheap knife before working on the good stuff). It's also difficult to keep the blade in the proper position. Or, I THINK it's difficult--according to the instructions, when everything is working right the little wheels will turn as you pull the blade through. At best I get one to turn at once, and even then it's usually stop and start. The instructions are hazy on whether this is a problem.
Actually, the instructions (and the company website) are hazy on a lot of things that seem like pretty reasonable questions. For instance, it says stage 1 and stage 2 sharpen at different angles, but nothing tells you WHAT angle, or says anything substantive the "arch-shaped" edge it creates. I'm left wondering if that's something I really want--it just seems to create a "fat" rather than razor edge, sacrificing maximum sharpness for durability.
It says that very dull knives may take many strokes in stage 1, but doesn't tell you how to know when it's ready for stage 2, other than it will be "sharp enough to cut through the skin of a tomato." I should keep tomatoes on hand for this?
Finally, the curved tip of the blade is extremely difficult to sharpen. At that point the rollers are no longer useful as a guide. The instructions offer no hints on how to deal with this.
It's definitely not the easy solution I was hoping for, and I still have a lot of questions about it. But, if you're not going to put in the time and effort to learn to use a whetstone properly (and I already know how much damage I can do with one of those), I'd say it's the best option.
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I'm an avid semi-professional cook/chef and have an extensive collection of knives and sharpeners, including an electric Chef's Choice. I bought this sharpener as a gift and had to try it out first (against my wife's express order). I sharpened one serrated and one regular knife just to see if this would do a good job. Today, I'm ordering another one to send as a belated Christmas gift to my son since I kept the one I tried out. If you need a sharpener, buy this -you will not be disappointed. It's easy (fool-proof!) to use, doesn't take up space, and puts on a razor-like edge in seconds (OK, maybe a minute or two). If your knife has a decent edge already, it hones with just a few strokes. This is a winner.Read Best Reviews of Chef's Choice Multi-Edge Diamond Hone Knife Sharpener Here
I bought one of these for my mother in law as a Christmas present. Her knives were so dull that you couldn't cut hot butter with them. After a few strokes, what a differece. Her knives sliced thru a ripe tomato with ease. She has trouble using the simplest of tools(she refuses to read or follow directions), but this was so easy, even she could sharpen her knives with ease. I was so impressed that I bought one for my self. I keep an edge on my good knives, but this helped with some of my old knives that were beyond using on a steel. I definitely recommend this product.Want Chef's Choice Multi-Edge Diamond Hone Knife Sharpener Discount?
Maybe this sharpener isn't as foolproof as I'd like it, and I admit readily to having two left hands, but my knives didn't come out razor-sharp, at all. They come out sharper, that's a fact, but I wanted more. Maybe my knives (a Japanese chef's knife, a Spyderco with half-serrated blade, a Herbertz with a 440 blade) were too dull to begin with.The tool itself is nicely constructed. Even though it's made of really light plastic it's stable enough, and easy to work with.
But I wonder about the two rollers that supposedly guide your knife. After sharpening, it was pretty obvious that the blade was sharpened unevenly (certainly those of my pocketknives). The rollers, of course, are fixed, and thus don't allow for varying thicknesses. Perhaps I'm doing something wrong (although I'm following instructions to a T), and I'll keep trying, but so far I'm not wildly enthusiastic about this tool.
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