Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Like others, I am giving this a five star rating for its usefulness and value. There are a few things you should know to get the most from this nifty little gadget. The suction cup grips well on smooth surfaces: granite, glass, smooth tile or formica. Tip 1: It grips even better if you spritz a little liquid on the rubber suction cup first! You can use spray cleaner which is always handy in most kitchens. Spritz it then stick it. As an experiment, I adhered ours to a window and it stayed firmly on that vertical surface for three days! You CAN use this in the vertical position, BUT you should know a couple of tricks. If you wet the suction cup with tap water, there will still be microscopic bugs in the air, in the water and on your hands. If you then leave the sharpener attached to a window or the side of your fridge long enough, eventually mold will form. Tip 2- You can stop mold by using rubbing alcohol to clean the rubber base AND the surface to which it is attached. By then using spray cleaner (with ammonia) or a disinfectant spray (instead of water) for increasing suction holding power, you will kill any contaminating critters. That way, you can keep your sharpener handy but out of the way for easy use whenever you need it! HOW IT WORKS… This operates on a different principle than sharpening stones. Stones and most traditional methods ABRADE metal by friction. This uses small carbide edges that SHAVE metal instead. Since carbide is MUCH harder than steel, it literally cuts or “shaves” the edge. That is an advantage to those without sharpening skills, expensive stones or patience. This method does have some potential downsides, all of which you can overcome with a little knowledge. You must understand that scraping or shaving the edge always produces microscopic fractures along the edge. The effect is like a super-small serration. That makes knives slice through tomato skins more easily because these tiny serrated “teeth” grab the skin like a saw blade. That’s a good thing for most kitchen tasks, but it is horrifying to some knife aficionados and sharpening experts. Why? This carbide “scraping” or “shaving” action removes too much metal for a purist’s liking. Also, unless the carbide’s edge is very sharp, AND your technique is sound, you can actually ruin a knife edge in a split second of inattention. MANY Modern pro knives have adopted the more acute 15 degree angle of Eastern knives instead of the traditional 25 or 30 degree angle of Western chef’s knives. Since this is factory set to the older wide angle, it is NOT recommended for Japanese knives or any modern high-quality knife with acute cutting angles. THAT is the crucial clue! Tip 4: DO NOT USE THIS on hand-made $300 knives! For those expensive professional tools you should either learn to sharpen with traditional stones and methods, get a quality electric sharpener (Chef's Choice 15 Trizor XV EdgeSelect Electric Knife Sharpener with 15 degree angle settings) OR send your knives out to a professional service for sharpening. For most users, the wide edge-angle is OK, especially for everyday kitchen and work knives. What we lose in acute angled edges, we gain through the microscopic serrations of this carbide “scraping” method. Normally, a wider angle produces a more durable edge. So even though they might not cut as easily, long lasting edges are good for rough chopping and in commercial kitchens where they must process hundreds of potatoes, carrots or chicken parts per shift. Normally, a finer more acute cutting angle provides smoother cleaner cuts. That’s better for fine knives that sushi chefs use. Acute cutting angles are also better for decorative cuts with difficult things like onions, carrots and fancy “Frenched” fruits and vegetables. Those are the “normal” considerations. However, when sharpened to a 25 or 30 degree angle with carbide scraping, those wide angles are NOT more durable! That’s because the edge has those microscopic serrations which bend over easily. That means any knife sharpened with this type of tool will require more frequent sharpening. It also means your freshly sharpened kitchen knife will deposit microscopic chunks of steel into your food. Before you panic about that, think about technique! There are ways around all these problems! Some users LOVE this type of tool because it is practically foolproof. I agree. It is. So long as you do NOT press too hard and use progressively lighter and lighter strokes, the carbide scraping method will not leave hundreds of miniature steel chunks in food for your family to ingest. Tip 5: Technique! Start by pressing lightly for the first few strokes, then slightly “de-weight” the knife as you sharpen. Make final super-gentle strokes with only the lightest, softest pressure. That reduces the tendency of carbide scraping to tear the edge violently. Tip 6: FURTHER… If you follow up with a gentle honing, (using a steel) that will remove almost all the potentially deciduous metal chunks. Remember! A so-called “sharpening steel” does NOT sharpen! It only repairs and straightens microscopic inclusions on the edges. In this application, the steel does double duty by not only refining and repairing the (intentionally) rough edge, but also by removing the “burr” left by the cutting action of carbide. Tip 7: Use a small drop of oil on the sharpener’s carbide blades, AND apply a little oil to your knife BEFORE you sharpen! Olive oil is OK. The Carbide scraping method this tool employs will still work perfectly with lubrication. If you’ve ever seen how CNC machines use carbide cutting tools with copious cooling / lubricating liquids, you know they still cut despite the constant shower of coolant. The crucial difference with a small hand-operated sharpener like this is, the oil prevents excess friction which tears the fragile knife edge. It is that tearing action that causes more inclusions. Avoid the tearing action with a little oil, and the sharpener actually sharpens instead of scraping your knife’s edge to bits. Tip 8: You can use a scraping method like this to establish a good cutting edge, then refine that edge with traditional strops. Stropping compound is cheap. So is leather or MDF board to put the compounds on. I use a 4” x 12” MDF board with leather adhered to both sides; One side with green ( fine) compound; the other with white ( super fine) compound. Stropping only requires an extra minute or less. It’s worth it! You get all the advantages of this fast and foolproof carbide scraper, PLUS the refined polished edge that not only lasts longer, but keeps metal out of your food. Pliant leather automatically produces a micro-bevel or rather a “micro curved bevel.” THAT is what makes your edges long lasting AND super sharp. Tip 9: Obviously… we must ALWAYS CLEAN a freshly sharpened knife before use on food! You knew that, right? Please tell me you knew that! No one wants industrial diamonds or silicon / aluminum carbide in their food. In conclusion, this thing is GREAT for less expensive knives, especially stainless steel kitchen knives that get used for many rough or big jobs. Those “daily-user” knives are usually less than $40 bucks; the kind everyone has… the kind that always benefits from a good sharpening! With this type of sharpener, anyone can get cheap wide angle knives to cut almost as well as expensive narrow angle knives, at least for a short while. It does not require expert technique or long practice. You can do it well the first time. You can get fairly good results with this sharpener even without this information. I only offer it to add something useful to the other five star reviews. Last point: THIS particular sharpener is good because it automatically uses one versatile cutting angle. That is what makes it (virtually) foolproof. There are other manual carbide sharpeners available that do the same thing, but a different angles. Also, there are hand held scrapers that allow a knowledgeable user to adapt to ANY cutting edge geometry. You do not need to be a sharpening geek (like me) to understand and use this inexpensive little tool. In fact, I got this exclusively for family members who do not know or care about sharpening. When I must cook at my in-law’s house for holiday dinners, I bring this instead of my precious chef’s knives. In a few minutes, I can sharpen several of their criminally mistreated kitchen knives without fuss or mess. That makes me seem like a double hero. (both chef and sharpener) If you have a drawer full of decent but dull knives, this is a good investment! Demonstrate this on your friend’s and relative’s knives, they will love getting these as presents. Use this information and my tips, you can get nearly professional quality edges!