keltin
Washing Up
Oh........sorry. I've been trying to break way from that....but it's hard.
Still, maybe my posts make people think!!
Review: AccuSharp Knife and Tool Sharpener
- Thread starter eatsOats
- Start date
The friendliest place on the web for anyone that enjoys cooking.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Oh........sorry. I've been trying to break way from that....but it's hard.
Still, maybe my posts make people think!!
Katie E said:Okay, y'all. Let's play nice or I'll have to poke someone with my dull knife.
Yep Katie - the topic of this thread is a review of the AccuSharp Knife and Tool Sharpener. Asking about the angles it can handle would be on topic ... but a discussion of blade angles is off topic and should be moved to a new thread to discuss that, as is a discussion of knife metals and custom knife makers.
... going off to sharpen my pointed stick .....
OP
OP
eatsOats
Senior Cook
Disappointed
A few months ago my accusharp quit working. I tried reversing the cutting blades to no avail. I'm not really sure what's going on, but it's practically useless now. Oh well, I sharpened quite a few knives for $8.
A few months ago my accusharp quit working. I tried reversing the cutting blades to no avail. I'm not really sure what's going on, but it's practically useless now. Oh well, I sharpened quite a few knives for $8.
Rob Babcock
Head Chef
I hate to be a 'wet blanket,' eatsOats, but I would caution anyone in the strongest terms to avoid sharpeners like the Accusharp! They will indeed put a servicable edge on almost any knife in very short order but they're horrible for the knife! Knife guys call them "rippers" because that's how they sharpen- they scrape/rip all the steel off that doesn't fit thru the blades. The process takes off an awful lot of steel, cutting the life of the blade dramatically. And if you use them for a long time they'll really chew up the edge. Don't believe me? Look at your edges under magnification (microscope of jewelers louple)- the blade will almost look serrated. The knife will cut aggressively but not cleanly, it's really tearing thru the material you're cutting.
Nearly every restaurant I've ever worked in has one of those, sadly. Most restaurants use very cheap knives made of relatively soft steel; primarily this is due to cost. It would cost a lot of money to outfit the place with all top quality German or Japanese steel! And it would just get ruined and/or stolen anyways. Also, most hourly cooks (and a good many executive chefs!) know next to nothing about sharpening a knife. For them, a soft blade and a carbide ripper will work well. No matter that the knives won't last as long, they're essentially disposable anyway.
Look at a knife that was sharpened with nothing but an AccuSharp sometime. Case in point- my brother has an old 10" chef knife branded by Edward Don that was used for over a decade in a restaurant. It was never sharpened on anything but an AccuSharp. I took it to my place to sharpen for him and was horrified- the edge was a chipped up mess. It took me 20 minutes of working with a 120 grit waterstone to grind the bevel into usable shape!
As you noted, eventually the AccuSharp will wear out. The cutting blades are tungsten carbide, extremely hard but not invulnerable. If running water over years can carve stone, then obviously running 52 Rockwell knives thru them will eventually wear them down. Obviously you could buy another one, but I really hope you don't! If you must use one, at least use it with very light pressure. And restrict it to your cheaper, softer knives.
If you want something extremely easy to use that will give you good results without chewing up your knives, I suggest an Edgemaker Pro. It utilizes aluminum oxide coated rods iirc but removes far less metal. A set of all 4 grits will cost you $30, and individual ones are about $10 ea. For $25 you can get the 3 grits most commonly used. I have half a dozen of them and keep a couple in the knife roll I take to work with me; I've used them to put a good edge on at least a couple hunded knives. As for durability...my dad has used one for 20 years and it still sharpens!
Nearly every restaurant I've ever worked in has one of those, sadly. Most restaurants use very cheap knives made of relatively soft steel; primarily this is due to cost. It would cost a lot of money to outfit the place with all top quality German or Japanese steel! And it would just get ruined and/or stolen anyways. Also, most hourly cooks (and a good many executive chefs!) know next to nothing about sharpening a knife. For them, a soft blade and a carbide ripper will work well. No matter that the knives won't last as long, they're essentially disposable anyway.
Look at a knife that was sharpened with nothing but an AccuSharp sometime. Case in point- my brother has an old 10" chef knife branded by Edward Don that was used for over a decade in a restaurant. It was never sharpened on anything but an AccuSharp. I took it to my place to sharpen for him and was horrified- the edge was a chipped up mess. It took me 20 minutes of working with a 120 grit waterstone to grind the bevel into usable shape!
As you noted, eventually the AccuSharp will wear out. The cutting blades are tungsten carbide, extremely hard but not invulnerable. If running water over years can carve stone, then obviously running 52 Rockwell knives thru them will eventually wear them down. Obviously you could buy another one, but I really hope you don't!
If you must use one, at least use it with very light pressure. And restrict it to your cheaper, softer knives.If you want something extremely easy to use that will give you good results without chewing up your knives, I suggest an Edgemaker Pro. It utilizes aluminum oxide coated rods iirc but removes far less metal. A set of all 4 grits will cost you $30, and individual ones are about $10 ea. For $25 you can get the 3 grits most commonly used. I have half a dozen of them and keep a couple in the knife roll I take to work with me; I've used them to put a good edge on at least a couple hunded knives. As for durability...my dad has used one for 20 years and it still sharpens!
Last edited:
DrThunder88
Senior Cook
I agree with Rob. The only metal object that touches my knives' edges is a steel.
I guess diamond hones are technically diamonds embedded in metal, but you know what I mean!
I guess diamond hones are technically diamonds embedded in metal, but you know what I mean!
Chief Longwind Of The North
Certified/Certifiable
There are many V-sharpeners out there. They are nothing new. I'm not fond of them either. The only V-sharpener I ever used was to sharpen broadhead blades in the field. But then again, you shoot broadheads into stuff that your knive will never touch, and they pretty much need replacing after so many shots anyway.
Suprizingly, when I need to touch up the edge of my multi-tool blades, the best hone I can get in the field is the smooth, mirror-polished shank of one of my multi-headed screwdrivers. I just run the sharp side adainst that for a few strokes and my blade become razor-sharp. Go figure.
As you can see, I'm not afraid of improvising.
The back-side edge of a ceramic plate is great in a pinch too.
My sharpener of choice is still a Smith's Arkansas Natural stone, wetted with water. After sharpening with that, I follow up with a Chicago Cutlery steel that I purchased about 28 years back. Those two tools keep my knives very sharp.
Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North
Suprizingly, when I need to touch up the edge of my multi-tool blades, the best hone I can get in the field is the smooth, mirror-polished shank of one of my multi-headed screwdrivers. I just run the sharp side adainst that for a few strokes and my blade become razor-sharp. Go figure.
As you can see, I'm not afraid of improvising.
The back-side edge of a ceramic plate is great in a pinch too.
My sharpener of choice is still a Smith's Arkansas Natural stone, wetted with water. After sharpening with that, I follow up with a Chicago Cutlery steel that I purchased about 28 years back. Those two tools keep my knives very sharp.
Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North
Rob Babcock
Head Chef
My 'weapon of choice' for sharpening is an Edge Pro Apex with waterstones. It will put an edge on a knife that I can't replicate freehand.
OP
OP
eatsOats
Senior Cook
I've been researching that product; pretty close to shelling out the money.
buzzard767
Sous Chef
You won't regret it.
Rob Babcock
Head Chef
If you opt for the Apex I think you'll be very, very happy. With a bit of practice on it you'll probably change your mind about what "sharp" is!
A bit of advice: there are some authorized resellers of the Apex that have better packages and cheaper prices than you'll get ordering right from Edgepro Inc.
