Chef's Choice 316000 Asian Electric Knife Sharpener, Black, 2-Stage

I only have Japanese knives, mostly Tojiro and Global, with a Kai Shun in the mix. Apart from their specific profile and edges, part of the trouble with these knifes is that because they are very hard (at least Rockwell 61) they are also very difficult to sharpen well (the benefit being that they keep their edge for longer). I have tried several methods for sharpening them: specialised ceramic stones, traditional and ceramic steel, even a special Tojiro sharpener. I got OK results only and with a lot of effort. The Chef's Choice sharpener is different: you do need to re-hone (in slots 1) the Tojiro knives for a while as I believe that their angle is slightly different (16° instead of 15°) but once you've done that and done the polishing in slots 2, you do get razor sharp edges with comparatively very little effort. Global knives are dead easy to sharpen and in most cases do not need re-honing. The sharpener itself is very solidly made and quite heavy, which means that it does not move. it does not seem to wear out the blades (which is why I stayed well clear off popular sharpeners with a V cut: they work, but they also damage your knives very quickly). The diamond abrasives do the trick even on the Tojiro and the Kai Shun. I leave the sharpener plugged in in my utility room, this way when a knife needs sharpening it's done literally in under 30s (once they have been re-honed, maintenance is only a matter for 3 x 3-5s pulls on each side in slots 2, depending on the length of the blade, and then about 3 quick pulls. Obviously for one edge blades you only use one of the two slots for each stage. Try it, you won't regret it!

I've only had this less than a day and have used it to sharpen some knives. I have to admit I was a bit dubious that it would produce a good edge, but I was very surprised with the results. My Henckels knives are now sharper than when new and sharper that I managed with manual sharpening. While the finished edge is not a mirror polish as can be achieved by manual sharpening I could care less as I now have very sharp knives and it only took a few seconds sharpening to achieve a better than new edge. This sharpener does cost more than a set of good quality knives, but its well worth it considering the speed and ease with which this unit can put a keen edge back on your knives. This particular model 316 was available at a good price in comparison to other models in the Chef's Choice range and is perfect for my needs. So glad I didn't go for a cheaper brand as this one is perfect.

Only just got this so can't comment on how it will fair over time. Practiced on a couple of old knives to see how it worked and was easy to use. Sharpened up my I O Shen knives in slot 2 and it has improved the sharpness back to how I remember them being when they where new with no obvious damage to the blade edge. It has however made very light scratches all the way down both sides of the blades. They are being made by the plastic guides and not by the grinding wheels, the scratches are very light but over time I imagine they will get worse. After thinking about how much the marks bothered me I've decided to stick with it as the sharpness they give is good. My knives will get scratched over time with use anyway so I'm going to have to live with that.

Bought these knives about 2 days ago and purchased this for the perfect pairing (in theory) although the knives are still sharp I wanted to give this a go so got home from work and read the instructions. After giving it a shot the knife is still perfectly sharp… But has also been damaged!

This product is expensive, but it does a very good job. Unless your knives are already ground to 15 deg (most western knives are ground to 20deg) you will need to "regrind" in stage 1 before you can sharpen with stage 2. A good tip is to colour the cutting edge with a Sharpie and grind in stage 1 until all the Sharpie has been ground off. Your knife is now ground at 15 deg and ready for sharpening in Stage 2. Unless you have lots of knives you need to keep "scary sharp" this is probably not worth the money for you. If you do have lots of knives, especially if many are Japanese, and you believe that it is easier to cut yourself with a blunt knife than it is with a razor sharp one, then this is probably worth a look if you don't want to become a fully paid up member of the "extreme sharpening cult".

I really do like this , get knifes very sharp . problem is , slot 1 sharpens really well , you can feel and hear it working , slot 2 however really doesnt fine the blade down enough , can hardly hear anything when passing knife through , and im sure the knife gets duller once i pass it through the second slot , sooo , i pass it through the first one then whetstone it after , that does the trick . hence the three stars hope this helps

I have mainly Global knives and this is so much easier than using a whetstone even with the sharpening guides. A perfect 15 degree sharpening angle and with the ability to hone the knife as well as a basic sharpen means that I keep a very sharp edge on the blades for longer than just using a ceramic "steel"

As recommended by America's Test Kitchen [...] Make sure if your buying this - its for newest of western so called Hybrid knives or for Asian sourced knives with a 15 degree blade angle. If your using older European knives or a mixture there is a selectable 15/20 version available I bought this for a friend wedding and whilst they sing its praises, I not used it personally so can only report what they say - which is that these are bloody wonderful, a absolute cinch to use, and they say that they work wonderfully with their lovely Victornox blades that they had also been given for their wedding.

Un muy buen afilador. Solamente he afilado 3 cuchillos de cocina. Los tres tenían filo de 20 grados, pero han pasado a 15 y se nota. Todavía no tuve que afilar los SHAN ZU con acero VG10, que imagino que le costará un poco más dado que es un acero muy duro. Lo bueno es que he afilado un pequeño cuchillo de esos de promoción de Carrefour que la verdad no cortaba nada, y ahora se puede usar... y cuidado con el filo! La unica contra es que el enchufe que trajo este fue el de Reino Unido. Tendrás que comprar un adaptador (no son muy comunes en España) o cambiar el enchufe.

Outstanding product. Restored our knives. Best yet, they have remained so sharp that I haven’t sharpened them since! That’s over 6 weeks and they are still sharp!

The best helper in the kitchen!!! I'm so happy to have this thing on hand. I cook all the time, and my knives have to be perfect for me!!! It's about uniformity and the quality of the finished dish. The sharpener works flawlessly, sharpening any size knife. I recommend it.

Excellent product

Il Chef Choice 316 affila, bene, i coltelli europei e giapponesi con il filo a 15 gradi. La stragrande maggioranza dei coltelli occidentali da cucina è affilata a 20 gradi. È per esempio adattissimo ai Wusthof (che sono.a 14 gradi, ma la differenza con 15 è inavvertibile) e ai Global. Più cautela con i coltelli giapponesi che usano acciaio vg10 o simili acciai inox molto duri, e con quelli in acciaio al carbonio. Per questi suggerisco di ricorrere alle pietre ad acqua. Volendo usare il Chef's Choice 316 bisogna essere coscienti che la lama potrebbe scaldarsi, e perdere la tempra, o il filo presentare microfratture che sul momento non si sentono ma si presentano usando il coltello dopo l'affilatura. Nella mia esperienza in questi casi è meglio usare il Chef's Choice passando la lama con lentezza, sia nel primo che nel secondo stadio, evitando passaggi veloci. Il coltello esce dal trattamento con un buon filo, ma per renderlo davvero tagliente è bene prevedere una rifinitura alla pietra o con un affilatore manuale tipo spyderco. Al contrario di quanto sembra trasparire dalle descrizioni, questo come qualunque affilatore elettrico è inappropriato per i coltelli giapponesi tradizionali con l'affilatura su un solo lato, come gli yanagiba (i deba sono esclusi a priori per il loro spessore eccessivo, ma anche molti yanagiba, specie se lunghi). Si rovinerebbe inevitabilmente la geometria della lama. In conclusione, è un prodotto con un utilizzo specifico, e nel suo campo fa un ottimo lavoro. Ben progettato e realizzato, promette di durare a lungo.