Amazon.com Price: $179.84 (as of 2011-03-14 03:02:11 GMT) Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon.com at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.

Tagged with: 16piece • forged • henckels • international • j.a. • knife • synergy

Filed under: Anolon 52588 Advanced 15-Piece Knife Set with Block • Calphalon • Chicago Cutlery • Chicago Cutlery Insignia 2 18-Piece Knife Block Set with In-Block Knife Sharpener • Cuisinart • Cutco • Del Ben Sense • Ex • Ginsu • Ginsu 7112 Chikara 12-Piece Stainless Steel Knife Set with Block • Henckels TWIN Signature Knife Block Set • J.A. Henckels • J.A. Henckels Twin Pro S 7-Piece Knife Set • KitchenAid • Mercer Cutlery • Oxo • Rachael Ray • Raffaele Iannello • Shun • Shun Ken • Uncategorized • Victorinox • Wasabi • Wusthof • Wusthof Gourmet 7-Piece Knife Set with Block • Zwilling J.A. Henckels

Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!

Wusthof Precision Edge Diamond Electric Knife Sharpener

Priced at only $ 29.99
Chef’sChoice Diamond Hone Manual 2 Stage Knife Sharpener
Features: Precision angle guides. Can be used right or left handed. Sharpens the full blade edge of kitchen, fishing, hunting & pocket knives. Two-stage sharpening with 100 percent diamond abrasives assure razor-sharp knives with no guesswork….
read more …

build your own storeTweet this!

The other day I was helping my wife cut up some food in the kitchen. Ok, I was standing there and she did practically all of it. What I did notice as I “supervised” how much difficulty she had in cutting things. After giving it a whirl myself (see I did help) I noticed the same thing. I guess our knives had become very dull. I don’t think people really think about sharpening their knives until something like this happens. We just take for granted that they will always be sharp.

Now we didn’t want to go out looking for a sharpening service. I figured it would be too expensive and a hassle to drive out there, drop the off, wait a day and then go back and pick them up. I wanted something that we can use anytime in the kitchen.

After reading several reviews, we chose the Presto Pro EverSharp Electric Knife Sharpener. The nest question was, who has the cheapest Presto Electric Knife Sharpener online

nySharp is The World’s Best Knife Sharpener

AnySharp uses new, patented knife sharpener technology. AnySharp is superior to any knife sharpening steel or stone, and is unlike any knife sharpener you have ever used before.

• sharpens any knife with diamond precision
• perfect for expensive professional Knives (i.e. Global)
• even sharpens serrated blades such as bread knives
• sharpen lawn mower blades without removing them
• sharpens scissors too
• totally safe to use – hands are always away from the blade, unlike many other sharpeners
• PowerGrip suction cup attaches without any tools
• small and light for easy storage

Sharpen any Knife – even serrated blades!

AnySharp is the world’s best knife sharpener.
It uses the same basic technology as chantry knife sharpeners (a type of high-end professional kitchen knife sharpener).

Unlike an electric knife sharpener, Anysharp uses no grinding mechanisms. Gentle as a porcelain knife sharpener (often referred to as a ceramic knife sharpener), AnySharp can be used by even a novice.

It is truly a global sharpener with professional results for any cook or chef.

The AnySharp is suitable for a wide array of knives

• any standard kitchen knife
• any hardened steel professional kitchen knife (like Global, Sabatier)
• hunting knife (including serrated Hunting Knives)
• serrated knife or toothed knives (like a bread knife, steak knife)
• Swiss Army Knives (use it for multiple tools on a swiss army knife

Maintains Perfect Sharpening Angle

Maybe you’re thinking that it’s not so important.  A sharpening angle doesn’t really matter as long as you can make it sharp.  Allow me to answer freely.  Don’t think that way.  Take those thoughts right out of your head right now.  The sharpening angle is monumentally important.  Even were you to achieve sharpness with an incorrect angle, you’ll be sharpening again before you know it.  It just won’t last.  Compare the angles of different types of knives to each other.  Inspect their angles carefully and think of how each is meant to be used.  You’ll see it plainly.  It really does matter.

summary: essential knives for the kitchen; (click on image for larger view and more photos)

We like knives. Sharp knives. Razor sharp knives. And to keep them that way (not to mention, to keep them in a safe spot), we love our wooden knife block. And because we each have our favourite knives, we have a lot of knives.

So many knives that we have had to modify our knife block.

When we did the modification, we removed the rather useless knife sharpener that used to hang at the side of the knife block. We never used it. T sharpens all our knives with his 1000grit whetstone that he got to sharpen his straight edge razors. (Yes, you read that right. He shaves with a straight edge razor.)

The only blades he doesn’t sharpen are the serraded knives and the kitchen scissors. Oh yes, and the secateurs, lawn mower and hedge clippers.

Once the sharpener was removed, there was room for knives to go on the outsides of the knife block.

These are my favourite knives. Note that most are short bladed. Because I have small hands, I prefer the ones with shorter blades.

There is only one knife that is in both of our favourites. It is a serrated bread knife – the blade is about 30cm (12in) long – we got at a lawn sale along with a wooden knife holder for $2…. Yes. The knife holder AND the bread knife for $2! We almost threw the knife away. But then when we heard the bells of a knife sharpening truck, we ran out – no no; we didn’t run with knives in our hands – to stop the fellow before he whipped by.

Anyway… Where was I?? Oh yes. The bread knife. Once sharpened, it turned out to be the best bread knife! It’s a stainless steel Gense. Apparently one of THE Swedish brands.

These are T’s favourite knives. Note that none are short bladed. T thinks that the knife on the right is short bladed….

The only short bladed knife that T deigns to use is a small carbon steel paring knife that I got a hundred years ago at an A&P. We both love that knife! (But T said that it’s not an absolute favourite of his….)

I was living on my own for the first time. The knife was on one of those long cards hanging with several knives just like it in the supermarket aisle, near the tinned tuna. I didn’t know at the time I was getting a good knife. I just needed a paring knife and bought the cheapest one I saw.

For this past Christmas, I gave T two new (to him) carbon steel knives. Initially, we were stymied. Where on earth could new knives be stored???

Improvisation with a strip of leather meant that we can still use the same old knife block to safely store all those ridiculously sharp knives. The really long bladed knife just barely fits (yes, we know; it’s a little too long for the holder.)

This long-bladed knife is one that I often use as well, in spite of the fact that is a lethal looking long bladed carbon steel knife (sword??). The fact that my heart starts pounding and I feel short of breath the moment I touch the knife means that it cannot be termed as one of my favourite knives.

This knife was also purchased some years ago at a lawn sale for $2. The guy had a whole drawer full of carbon steel knives. We didn’t take more. We thought we had enough knives. (I bet he had EXACTLY the right size carbon steel 6 inch blade we’d both love!)

Although, I’m never really comfortable using a long bladed knife. My hands are just too small.

But T (aka Il Cotello) loves long bladed knives. (Hmmm, should I be frightened??)

Oh yes. There is one knife that doesn’t fit into the knife block. It is a beautiful heavy carbon steel Japanese chef’s knife. When not in use, it hangs in a low traffic area on the wall near the paella pan. (Note the little bird decals around the knife; this is because we had a little difficulty with placement of the screws for hanging the knife…).

So. Do you have favourite knives that are kept sharp as razors too?

related:

• Knife Trick (Don’t try this at home.)
• Fried Mandolined Potatoes
• when mandolining… always use the guard!
• dangers of dull paring knives

AccuSharp 001 Knife Sharpener 04 January 2011

I was a bit late to get this out before Christmas, but it seems there is a hot new pull through knife sharpener on the market, and it comes in the form of the AccuSharp 001 Knife Sharpener. I am not sure if this means there will be a few more of them to come, with the “007” being a really suave sharpener.

It is quite basic in design, I have to admit, and it actually works by being dragged over the top of the knife blades (either straight or serrated, thick or thin) instead of the traditional action you use for a pull through sharpener.

This one is getting some pretty good reviews, so if you are in the market for a new knife sharpener then you may want to check this one out. Incidentally I got a different knife sharpener for Christmas, and it is working out just great, but I will be taking a closer look at this AccuSharp if I need a new one in the future!

Check it out on Amazon

Spyderco Sharpmaker 204

Review Status:

You got sumthin’ to say about the Sharpmaker? Tell us what you think by leaving a comment below.

The AnySharp Pro knife sharpener by them apples
Click here to read more …

Tags: AnySharp, Knife, Pro, Sharpener

I realize this post will probably be of interest to, uh, no one, but I’m having a moment here. Humor me. (What category should this even go in? I guess it’s kitchen-related, so…“food” it is!)

Okay. So. Here’s what you’re looking at:

A. ASPEKT Knife Sharpener // $6.99, IKEA
B. Ceramic Kitchen Knife Sharpener // $29.95, Muji
C. Fiskars 7861 Axe and Knife Sharpener // $9.36, Amazon

They’re all the same. Identical. Okay, almost. The only discernible differences are in the color/opacity of the plastic guide slot, and the addition of a stamped logo on item C. All three sharpeners have “FISKARS” embossed underneath, and all are made in Finland.

I was at Muji about a month ago and picked up item B, noticed the Fiskars stamp, and then put it back after seeing how pricey it was. A week or so later, we were at IKEA, and I saw what looked the exact same sharpener, item A. Sure enough, it was also stamped Fiskars underneath (I think this marked the first time I’ve seen a non-food item at IKEA with another company’s branding on it). But the price was so much lower.

Yeah, I bought it. We needed a compact, manual sharpener to keep at the apartment, and this fit the bill perfectly. (It works really well, by the way!)

Just for fun, I checked Amazon tonight to see if the Fiskars sharpener is available elsewhere, and sure enough, item C popped up. The price there isn’t much higher than IKEA (though the list price is $11.99), so it appears Muji is the odd man out here. It’s not like Muji is some tiny store, either—it’s a massive company that specializes in well-designed, low-cost goods. I’m kind of confused.

Anyway, if you need a little knife sharpener that’s well designed and made in Finland, IKEA is your place. Buy with confidence!

UPDATE: The fabulous food writer and critic Ruth Reichl just added this knife sharpener to her holiday gift guide. This time, it’s masquerading as something called the SR-2 Rollsharp, $16.50. IKEA still wins!