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Chefs Choice SharpenerThis is a comparison review of how the Chefs Choice sharpener stacks up. Again, our goal is to provide you an unbiased look at one of the industry;s top-selling electric knife sharpener brands. First, let us discuss the characteristics of the Chefs Choice sharpener. It only takes the Chefs Choice sharpener fifteen to thirty seconds to sharpen almost any blade. The quality is excellent; you will always get the highest-quality possible with this sharpener. There are two other main alternatives to an electric sharpener. The first is a sharpening stone, whereby, you manually hone and sharpen your blades and then there are sharpening services. You can send your knives out to a professional for sharpening. Now the later alternative sounds inviting, but at time and cost. You will find most professional knife sharpeners to cost somewhere between five and ten dollars per blade, yes, per blade! If you were to send out your kitchen knives, that could be $35 to $100 every time, and you should sharpen your knives at least once every six months or more frequently. This is where the initial cost of the Chefs Choice sharpener becomes worth the investment. What makes up a Chefs Choice sharpener, you ask? For example, model 120 uses one hundred percent diamond abrasives in the first two of three stages. The third step is a patented polishing process. Model 130 uses the diamond disks in the first stage, but has a steel disk in the second, and model 320, a two-stage sharpener, has a diamond first stage and then the polishing disk for stage 2. What is the ease of use of the Chefs Choice sharpener? Nothing is manual; there are even built-in springs that will hold your knife precisely in position, against the angle guides, eliminating any change of improper sharpening angles. How often should I use a sharpener? As earlier stated, at least once every six months, unless you have an electric sharpener. Having a Chefs Choice sharpener will allow you to sharpen your knives more frequently. This will keep your knives ready to use and sharp for every cut, but will also prolong the knife's useful life. This fact alone, will save you money. The need to send out your expensive knives is eliminated because of the professional approach the sharpener gives. This process eliminates all micro-sized metal burr's. The abrasives, because they are made of diamonds or steel, should never need replacement or repair. Should you ever need to have the sharpener repaired, the manufacturer will do so for a nominal fee. Another useful tip is that the Chefs Choice sharpener requires zero honing oils or other such lubricants. Cleaning of the sharpener is very easy. Supplied, you can take the manually-activated dressing pad to wipe out gunk left behind. Though the polishing disks do not break down, they do start to get gummed up, so you will need to also run the dressing pad over the polishing disks to clean them. About once per year, or more frequent, depending on your usage, you should remove and clean out the built-in clean-out cover. Ease of use and quality construction is what has made the Chefs Choice sharpener a top-seller for decades. |