Knife sharpener....spec me?

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Soldato
Joined
28 Jul 2003
Posts
5,801
Location
South Wales
My diamond coated knife sharpener is getting very dull now, lasted me 12 years or so but need a new knife sharpener.

tried looking at reviews and bought a cheap “any sharp” which came today and has likely caused more damage to my knives than good.

any recommendation for a decent knife sharpener?
 
Probably better out there but I've been using a "Lansky Blade Medic Knife Sharpener" and getting decent results over any of the cheap tat I've previously had.
 
I bought the anysharp a few weeks ago and it's got my knives back to razor sharp although you do need to make sure your knives are sharpened at the most common angle which is 20 degrees iirc knives like Global aren't and you can just make them worse using something like this.
 
Just learn how to use a whetstone and steel. Get a combination 1000/3000 or something. Whatstones sharpen, steels refine the edge (they don't sharpen).

They're really easy to use. This looks like a pretty good overview:

 
I like the Global Minosharp Waterwheel sharpeners. Literally 7 strokes through the coarse wheel, 7 strokes through the fine wheel and you’re done. The advice on learning to use a whetstone is the best outcome long-term, although you can ruin a knife while you’re learning, and the Minosharp isn’t crazy expensive (currently £25 for the two wheel, £62 for the 3-wheel).

Two wheel - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Minosharp-...rds=Minosharp&qid=1607760071&s=kitchen&sr=1-2

Three wheel - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Minosharp-...arp+3&qid=1607760169&s=kitchen&sr=1-3-catcorr

I was taught to sharpen knives with Steels, whetstones and mechanical grinders and yes, if I want the ultimate edge I’ll get out my whetstone kit, but the Minosharps are literally a case of run it under the tap to get some water in, stroke the blade lightly through the slots and you’re done.
 
One is coarse, fine. The other is coarse, fine, ultra-fine. The two-wheel is more than adequate, I’ve got both and you only need the ultra-fine if you want to do transparent Sushi, tomato-art or something like that.
 
If you haven’t placed the order already there are two issues with the Minosharp that you should be aware of before you buy.

1. It will sharpen your knives to the Japanese Industrial standard of 17/34 degrees with a dual bevelled edge. So if you have older Wüsthoff knives which are 20/40 degree knives then the first time you sharpen those knives you will need to completely recut the edge angle which could take 40-50 passes through the coarse wheel. You only have to do this once.

2. It is designed for Santoku and larger blades with hanging handles so if you are trying to sharpen a small blade with a straight handle the handle will hit the water wheel guide and you end up with an unsharpened section near the handle. This doesn’t occur with bigger knives but paring knives and Swiss Army knives will have a blunt section at the end near the handle.
 
tom_e said:
I bought the anysharp a few weeks ago and it's got my knives back to razor sharp although you do need to make sure your knives are sharpened at the most common angle which is 20 degrees iirc knives like Global aren't and you can just make them worse using something like this.
Click to expand...

This is correct up to the point where you reshape the blade to 20/40 degrees and then you will have a sharp blade. But it could be a LOT of passes through the sharpener to sharpen the knife the first time. Once you’ve recut the edges (these knife sharpeners always bevel the edge) you will have a sharp knife again. Initially though you are correct, a 20/40 older European cutting angle will initially blunt a 17/34 Japanese blade. The newer European blades are also now supplied cut to 17/34 because it’s just easier in the Chinese factories that make them.
 
WJA96 said:
This is correct up to the point where you reshape the blade to 20/40 degrees and then you will have a sharp blade. But it could be a LOT of passes through the sharpener to sharpen the knife the first time. Once you’ve recut the edges (these knife sharpeners always bevel the edge) you will have a sharp knife again. Initially though you are correct, a 20/40 older European cutting angle will initially blunt a 17/34 Japanese blade. The newer European blades are also now supplied cut to 17/34 because it’s just easier in the Chinese factories that make them.
Click to expand...

This is very true. I bought wrong sharpener for my knives and as soon as I realised I just threw it out and bought the right one.
 
tom_e said:
I bought the anysharp a few weeks ago and it's got my knives back to razor sharp although you do need to make sure your knives are sharpened at the most common angle which is 20 degrees iirc knives like Global aren't and you can just make them worse using something like this.
Click to expand...

tried one of these last week, it just seems to muller my knives
 
I prefer a Lansky sharpening set, personally, as I can do all my main bladed items, from large kitchen knives at 17º, to small Swiss Army and pocket folders, to some axes and woodworking tools.
I have the 5-stone set, which is usually £35-45.
 
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