Can we talk about that expensive knife sharpener I bought?

I dropped about $300 on a high-end electric sharpener for my station knives last month. It was supposed to be foolproof, but it totally wrecked the edge on my favorite chef's knife, leaving a weird, uneven bevel. I'm back to using my old whetstone, feeling like a chump. Has anyone else had a sharpener totally fail on them, or found one that actually works as advertised?

3 comments

3 Comments

alex_wilson791mo ago

Man, that really stinks. Did you check if the angle guide was actually set right for your knife? I had a similar thing happen and it turned out the plastic guard was off by a few degrees, which is enough to ruin the edge. Those electric ones can be really unforgiving if everything isn't perfect. Honestly, going back to the stone is probably the smart move, even if it feels like a step back. You get way more control and can fix the bevel yourself.

clark.alex1mo ago

Is it even a real sharpening session if you don't have to spend an hour fixing the bevel the machine messed up? That plastic guide is a liar, I swear. My electric sharpener now just gathers dust because the 'time saver' actually meant 'time spent redoing everything'. Stones are frustrating at first, but at least the mistakes are your own.

taylor.sean1mo ago

Yeah, @clark.alex, that plastic guide is the worst. I had to take a permanent marker and draw my own angle lines on mine because it was so off. Once you get the muscle memory down on a stone, you'll never want to go back to that electric headache.