Buy winner on Amazon: http://amzn.to/2o7G6Ic
Our winning sharpener can even make new knives sharper.
Highly Recommended: With diamond abrasives and a spring-loaded chamber that precisely and gently guided the blade, this sharpener purred with perfection, consistently producing edges that were sharper from edge to tip than those of brand-new knives. “I’m cutting this paper into confetti,” said one tester. It was the only sharpener to quickly remove nicks in the blade; in 10 minutes, a severely damaged knife looked and cut like a brand-new model. Another big perk: It can convert a 20-degree edge to a sharper 15 degrees.
*** Our editors proudly maintain an unassailable reputation as an unbiased and advertising-free cooking authority, and our objective reviews are strictly uninfluenced by product manufacturers, distributors, or retailers. ***
Read full review: http://cooks.io/1MKlcWH
How we tested knife sharpeners:
All knife sharpeners work similarly: The user repeatedly drags the blade against an abrasive surface at a set angle, which trims and reshapes the blade by removing microscopic amounts of metal that are blunted or too far out of alignment. The four knife sharpeners we tested had one or two kinds of abrasives: ceramic and/or diamond. Ceramic abrasives are relatively sticky and can grab at the surface of the blade, while diamond abrasives produce less friction and a smoother edge. The design of the blade support chamber also differs: Some cradle the blade for smooth results, and others let the blade wiggle, producing ragged edges.
Our methodology:
ROUTINE SHARPENING
We assigned new copies of our winning chef’s knife to each sharpener. We dulled them identically and sharpened each according to manufacturer instructions. We slashed sheets of paper and sliced tomatoes and then repeated the dulling, sharpening, and slicing process four more times with different testers. Those knives that made clean cuts without crumpling the paper or damaging the fruit garnered the highest ratings for their sharpeners.
NOTCH REMOVAL
We filed notches in both ends of each blade and ran them through their respective sharpeners, timing how long—and counting the number of strokes—it took to repair the damage. The winning model required 76 strokes to repair the damage; other models required up to 223 strokes.
DESIGN
We compared how clear and precise the instructions were, how intuitive each sharpener was to use, and how easily they cleaned up. Those models that made jarring vibrations or piercing grinding noises were docked for these flaws.
BONUS POINTS
One model’s manufacturer advertised that the sharpener could narrow the angle of a traditional Western-style 20-degree blade to a thinner Japanese-style 15-degree blade. This refers to the angle of the bevel—the slim strip on either side of the blade that narrows to form the cutting edge. The more acute that angle, the sharper the blade will feel. We tested the claim by running a brand new 20-degree knife through this sharpener for 20 strokes on either side of the blade. Testers reported that the 20-degree knife was indeed almost as sharp as a 15-degree knife.
The Chef’s Choice Trizor XV Knife Sharpener excelled across the board:
✓ Intuitive directions
✓ Smart design makes it easy to use and clean
✓ Spring-loaded chamber that ensured constant contact with the blade
✓ Superior diamond abrasives
✓ Slot to repair extensive damage to a blade
✓ Ability to convert a 20-degree blade to a sharper 15-degree blade
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Why are you guys just redoing some of the old ones without any addition to the content?
Why would you recommend a sharpener that’s made for Japanese blades? It’s not ok to change the 20 degree angle of a western knife. This is completely in professional!
I like the short dark haired lady! I hope she didnt get the boot
As a working certified Executive #Chef I can tell you there are better sharpeners here ; http://www.chefdepot.com/DMTproducts.htm
Btw ChefsChoice no longer makes Trizor knives.
Very few knives come sharp in the first place. Certainly not those Victorinox knves
What about other knives? How do we sharpen them?
I purchased this sharpener and have been sharpening all of my knifes with it. This sharpener works extremely well. Thank you Americas test Kitchen for once again giving me great advice.
A Spyderco Sharpmaker is cheaper, easy to use, and more versatile
I have this sharpener. The Asian version of it with the narrower angle and I struggle to get great results every time. I think there’s some technique that goes into it as I’ve tried varying it between sharpening. I wish I could figure it out.
Wait, is this a Chef’s Choice commercial? Why didn’t you test any of the counter top belt sharpeners?
Diamond is NOT the hardest material in the world.
sharpen with a whetstone
one word “worksharp” a small belt sander that beats everything….
As always, thank you for your awesome reviews!
Will this product sharpen serrated knives too?
Any recommendations for ceramic knife sharpeners? 😀 Are ceramic knives even necessary compared to say, the Victorinox??
Is it possible to get the America’s Test Kitchen exclusive deals on great products made available to Canada? Would love to participate!
If I am gonna spend a ton of money on knives why not get the best sharpening system out there. Wicked Edge offers several & are getting ready to launch there Wicked edge go which will be portable & $150. Of course I would be adding some stones & a strop. But this will get your knives sharper & more precise with their systems. I am looking forward to learning how to hand sharpen some knives. From Hunting & fishing knives to kitchen knives.
thanks for the promotion. No 2nd choice? No value choice? No choice for knives with a traditional bevel? thanks for nothin’
Hmm. Being able to “restore severely damaged knives” means it takes off a lot of the blade edge. I used to use an electric sharpener, until after a few years I realized how much of the blade it was taking away. Since it is nearly impossible to get the part of the blade that is right next to the bolster into the sharpener, I wound up with a cutting edge that had two levels and would not sit flat against the cutting board. I have since learned to hand sharpen, but am not opposed to the pull-through types of sharpeners for quick touch-ups. Never again, though, will I use an electric grinder like the one recommended here. I’m sure it does quite well in the short term, but in the long term it just isn’t good for your knife.
How come they don’t test simple stones?
Showing the good vs bad cutting knife by cutting a tomato they’re clearly pushing down in the ‘bad’ and not drawing across like they did in the good…
Interesting video…it looks like the presenter (Hannah) has been cutting onions without eye protection…or she just lost a loved one – very red eyes.
The Spyderco Sharpmaker will outperform all of these, and it’s pretty moron-proof. If you don’t mind learning a skill, the Imanishi two sided 1k/6k stone on chefknivestogo is a crazy good deal and will do a spectacular job. Beyond that, $130 in waterstones will absolutely perfect an edge for general kitchen use (400 grit, 2000 grit green brick, 6 or 8k finish)
Nothing beats sharpening by hand, nothing.
No wicked edge or edge pro apex? 40$ chef knife with cheap low grade steel. Not quite an accurate test but it is good enough for most home chefs.
ATK is starting to repeat its videos.
most knives are not all that sharp brand new out of the box. so it is not a great compliment to say a sharpener got them “better than brand new out of the box”. I would never run any knife I cared about through any of these electric sharpeners.
This is an old video updated with a cutey spokesperson.
Why do you have two nearly identical videos? First one is better. The presenter is far more enjoyable on the other one. I’m kind of annoyed that I wasted my time watching this one as well.
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My God, I would never put a knife through a “knife sharpener”! I can’t imagine what any of these would do to a good knife. (That is where severely damaged knives come from). Get a Japanese water stone (sharpening stone) and learn how to sharpen a knife. It is so easy once you know. A new knife is dull compared to what you can achieve with a stone. I am talking SHARPER than you can imagine. Glide through a pepper or whatever. I am surprised ATK would recommend these things. You buy a nice knife, you don’t kill it with one of these sharpeners. Korin in NYC for a stone, youtube to learn. Video made me cringe.
Okay, now do a review on sharpening stones like real chefs.
What edge angle are the stones at? Should this be used of Asian blades that have a 16 degree angle or just the Western blades that have a 22 degree angle?
The speaker is very beautiful and speaks clearly and does a good job thanks
can i sharpen scissors with this
There are two things this does not cover.
1) How much material does this remove. If It can restore heavily damaged knives, how much does it remove from new knives? I don’t want my knives to look like toothpicks after a few sharpens.
2) What about the angle of the blade edge? Will this keep the correct angle on multiple different knives, or will it grind all the blades to the same angle?
I am actually leaning heavily towards the Work Sharp knife sharpener. It’s not ht kind of thing you leave sitting on the counter in the kitchen, but it looks like it will be much more versatile than any of the gadgets show here.
I do need to sharpen my knives! How much does that sharpener cost?
This show has all the foxy ladies 😉
Chef’sChoice® Trizor XV® Sharpener EdgeSelect® Model 15REALLY??!!??!!
On Different reviews you state the Chef’sChoice® Professional Sharpening Station® Model 130 your top choice
and the
Chef’sChoice® Diamond Hone® Sharpener for 15° Knives Model 316So Which is it?You give three BEST Knife Sharpener..So, Which is the BEST?
Have you tried the Ikea SKÄRANDE manual knife sharpener? I tried it recently and I have to say it is BY FAR the best mechanical knife sharpener I’ve ever used. It even (with much work) restored several knives that had been severely damaged by other sharpeners. I’m sure it won’t beat your electric sharpener, but at $13 its well worth a try compared to your other mechanical sharpeners. http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50289169/
What happened to Lisa McManus?
what about the price?
Does this work for serrated knives? Asking for a friend.
They meaning you. And again with the generalizations. We’re there violins playing in the background when you wrote this?