Well, working as a chef for years definately instills an appreciating for the inportance of keeping your knives sharp. There's definately an air of mystery around the sharpening process; one one level it's extremely
simple, but it's not
easy! Japanese waterstones can give you a spooky-sharp edge but freehanding requires a lot of skill and can take a lot of patience and practice. There are a variety of methods the pro's and skilled amatuers use (hones, waterstones, paper wheels, strops, mousepad-and-sandpaper) and they can acheive great results. But there if you're "coordination-challenged" there are some superb options that will give you an edge that will shave with a minimum of hassle. I'll list my recommendations in reverse order of desirability (and not coincidentally, from cheapest to most expensive!).
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The Edgemaker Pro- These are a very innovative and effective "V-type" pull thru system that utilizes varying grit aluminum oxide coated rods, much harder than any blade steel you'll ever encounter (close to diamonds in hardness). When you press down and draw the knife thru, you compress them like a spring, allowing them to really cut a bevel quickly. There are three main tools, with 4 grits. There are several virtues to this sytem. First, they're so simple to use a monkey could use 'em. Just line the blade up with the slot at a slight angle and draw the blade thru, applying firm pressure. Second, they remove very little metal. Obviously the coarser grits remove more metal, but you'll rarely use them- once you get a good edge, you'll mostly use just the finest grit (the Yellow
Handy Honer.) Lastly, it's extremely effective. My Dad has sharpened hundreds of knives with his, and nearly all of them are shaving sharp. I've used mine on many knives, and have taken the junkie, "disposable" knives from the commercial kitchens I've run and put an edge on them that will push cut paper and shave hair easily. It will even sharpen serrated knives very effectively! They're pretty cheap, about $30 for all three with free shipping, or $10 for just the
Handy Honer. The downside? There are a few knives it just doesn't work on, mostly due to the way they're ground. And I wouldn't advise you run a single bevel knife like an Usuba thru it (although I did it just to try it out, and it did give me a scary sharp edge- but it probably altered the bevel). For keeping cheap-to-midprice knives razor sharp with rediculously little effort, the Edgemaker is tops.
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The [FONT=arial, helvetica][SIZE=-1][FONT=arial, helvetica][SIZE=-1]Spyderco 204 Tri-Angle Sharpmaker[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=arial, helvetica][SIZE=-1][FONT=arial, helvetica][SIZE=-1]- This sharpener is legendary on the knife forums. It will put an edge on almost any knife that will shave like a razor and push cut with ease. It comes with 2 grits, but finer and coarser rods can be added, including diamond rods. It's really simple to use, too, and is based on the fact that while holding a knife at, say, a 21.5 degree angle is very difficult, virtually everyone can easily hold something straight up and down at a 90 degree angle. The Sharpmaker will also teach you a lot about the process of sharpening, too. The basic set sells for between $45 and $65 depending on where you buy.
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The Edge Pro and Edge Pro Apex- IMOHO this is the finest guided sharpening system out there. It utilizes synthetic waterstones, high grit polish tapes and a ceramic hone to put an edge on your blade that's
breathtakingly sharp! It has a little bit of a learning curve (it'll probably take you 10-15 knives to feel like you really have it down pat- Ben Dale, the inventor, has a DVD & manual that help a lot) but it's worth the effort. The knives I've sharpened on my Apex will easily delaminate paper and many will fillet a human hair. It'll sharpen any knife, including single bevel & differentially bevelled blades, although it won't correctly sharpen a concave edge (of course, you can't usually do them freehand on stones, either- it takes a belt or mousepad-type sharpener for that. I've never seen a concave kitchen knive, btw, and I'm not sure any exist). The only downside is the cost- from EdgePro Inc it will cost you about $200 for the Apex, or $375-$500 for the Pro model. There are some authorized resellers for the Apex with much better prices, some as low as $125 for the bare-bones model. I bought mine for about $225 with a bunch of extra waterstones, a carrying case, DVD & ceramic hone, as well as a blank for polishing tapes. Short of learning to freehand on waterstones or mastering the abrasive belt, there's no better way to sharpen a knife, and even those methods really aren't any more effective. I wouldn't part with mine and give it my strongest possible recommendation!
There is no "best" method for everyone. I love my Apex but still use my Edgemaker's a heckuva lot. I tuck the two peices with the 3 finer grits into my chefs roll to take to work and have sharpened many knives to shaving-sharp that otherwise would be used as dull as a butter knife. They'll take a knife from very-dull to extremely-sharp in well under 1 minute, and I can teach
anyone to use it in less than 5 minutes. For cheaper knives it's really not worth it to me to drag out the stones, and periodic honing will keep them very sharp. Of course, the art of sharpening can be a very enjoyable & therapeutic hobby in and of itself.
No matter what route you take, remember- a sharp knife is safer and makes cooking a lot more enjoyable. Getting and keeping a good edge is so simple that there's no longer any excuse for tolerating a dull knife.
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