RPCookin
Executive Chef
Well, I broke down and bought a Chef's Choice sharpener from EdgeCraft. I'm not patient enough to learn how to use some of those other systems (an I'm also a bit of a klutz with my hands), and this one is virtually foolproof, even if more expensive than most. My Wustoff 6" chef was getting too dull for the steel to have any effect, so I had to do something.
It took all of 30 seconds to put a perfect edge on the knife, and it does not require using a steel to keep it sharp. In fact, the instructions say that a steel will not have any effect on a blade after running it through the 3rd stage on the sharpener ( I haven't tested it, but I figure they know what they are talking about). The knife slices a tomato paper thin, slice after slice, and doesn't even seem to dull itself against the cutting board. I also tried it on one of my wife's Cutco blades (8" chef, not one of their double D serrated blades)... worked fine on that too.
According to the instructions, you only need to use the 3rd (honing) stage most of the time once you have the knife properly sharpened through all 3 stages, and if that doesn't do the job, then you only need to hit the 2nd stage once to prep it again for honing. The 1st stage is rarely used after the 1st sharpening. Used properly it removes no more steel than is required to just keep the knife sharp.
It took all of 30 seconds to put a perfect edge on the knife, and it does not require using a steel to keep it sharp. In fact, the instructions say that a steel will not have any effect on a blade after running it through the 3rd stage on the sharpener ( I haven't tested it, but I figure they know what they are talking about). The knife slices a tomato paper thin, slice after slice, and doesn't even seem to dull itself against the cutting board. I also tried it on one of my wife's Cutco blades (8" chef, not one of their double D serrated blades)... worked fine on that too.
According to the instructions, you only need to use the 3rd (honing) stage most of the time once you have the knife properly sharpened through all 3 stages, and if that doesn't do the job, then you only need to hit the 2nd stage once to prep it again for honing. The 1st stage is rarely used after the 1st sharpening. Used properly it removes no more steel than is required to just keep the knife sharp.