Chef's Choice 120 Diamond Hone 3-Stage Professional Knife Sharpener

... I don't find the sharpener to do that great a job. I have used Lansky sharpeners for years and recently acquired a Chef's Choice 120. Here are my impressions:

PROS:

Does an OK job for the person with no sharpening skills whatsoever.

CONS:

You have to get the timing just right when drawing knives through the unit, otherwise the grind is uneven.

If you accidentally allow the point of the knife to dip down upon withdrawing, it will excessively grind the tip.

The rubber feet do not do an adequate job of stabilizing the unit. It will creep when it is in use. I had to place mine on a piece of latex drawer liner.

Finally, and this is what I dislike most of all it leaves longitudinal scratches along the length of the knife. The scratches are not deep but they ARE noticeable.

My advice Get a sharpening stone and learn to use it or if you don't feel comfortable with establishing sharpening angles, get a Lansky or Gatco sharpener. Stay away from this unit.

Over the years I've used Chef's Choice sharpeners with excellent results. Currently I use the 120 model and it produces superb edges on top of the line Henckels knives. It takes about 15 minutes for six knives. When I used stones each knife would take 10 minutes or more. The stones may have produced a slightly better edge but, as a working dad, saving an hour of time is a blessing. Three observations: The usual professional criticism of this system is that it takes off too much steel. I've never found that to be the case. Second, do follow the instructions. Third, different tasks require degrees of sharpness: For some tasks, such as cleaning and cutting a number of fish, a razor sharp edge, without "toothiness," doesn't work for me as well as a slight toothy edge (one with micro-serrations). So experiment.

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I have always sharpened my many good knives by hand with only the best stones. I am considered to be excellent at sharpening knives by hand. I would never have considered an electric sharpener, or worse, a scraper on a fine knife, but many knives, six children, canning, cooking and commitments have resulted in my not having time to keep the knives as sharp as I would have liked. The reviews on this sharpener persuaded me to spend the money to try this machine. I sharpened every knife in the house in short order. Even the old steel butcher knives stored in the basement which would have taken over half an hour each if sharpened by hand were perfectly sharpened in just a few seconds. The edge when viewed with a good magnifying glass is scratchy, but the cutting edge is smooth which being the only important part, was smooth. This machine is more consistent than sharpening with a stone by hand and produces as good an edge in a fraction of the time. I give the "Chef's Choice 120" knife sharpener my highest rating and recommend it to anyone wishing to maintain a fine edge on their professional knives. The book must be read before using! You must be able to follow directions when using a machine of this type!

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I have a new model 120 and have had excellent results for kitchen cutlery. The device takes about a few practice knives to get used to, but once you become accustomed to how much pressure to exert on knives when sharpening, how far toward the hilt or back of blade to insert the knife, and the action of each stage, you will be able to produce razor-sharp kitchen blades, this includes serrated knives and Santoku blades.

I purchase a series of new Cuisinart kitchen knives that were dull; in fact, the blade steel had a burr on it, a sign of an unfinished sharpening process. The knives are made well and use good quality steel, but the company's sharpening process was sorely lacking. No problem, thanks to the model 120. I sharpened several paring knives, two Santoku blades, Chef's, long meat slicing, serrated bread, and a serrated fruit/veggie knives with exceptional results. The blades were able to slice through paper after the process, much like a quality sports knife. No need to spend more for an exceptional sharpener.

I even restored the edges on three knives that a previous sharpener, the CC Trizor XV, had 'butchered.' The Trizor XV puts a 15-degree edge on knife blades. I found the device took too much material of the blade and produced unacceptable edges, not all of which were evenly ground and sharp. The 120 is doing a far better job of sharpening. The CC120 did an excellent job of restoring those blades, making them, too, razor sharp and once again useful. This is a product that is worth the money. At about $5.00 to $7.00 to have each knife professionally sharpened, two more sharpening sessions and the CC120 will have paid for itself. For kitchen knives, this is a great product. And to hone the blades between sharpening sessions, stage three can be used to hone knives. Take the time to read the instructions and you'll save time on new-product R&D and better understand the rationale for each of the three stages.

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I have tried many different devices, this is the best ever. Yes it is expensive but if you want an easy way to make your knives razor sharp this is the device.

I have had mine for going on 6 years, it has worked flawlessly and still sharpens my knives perfectly. In fact it may be cheaper now than it was 6 years ago!

BUY IT!