Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I've been sharpening knives for over 40 years using good stones and honing steel rods. But I hate doing it. It's laborious, and there are other things I'd rather do. But I can always get a very sharp knife. Unfortunately, my wife does not know how to sharpen or hone a knife, nor does she care to learn. She dulls them and expects that I will sharpen them. I wanted something both of us could use, that would make life easier when it comes to knife sharpening. My knives range in quality from very high quality to low quality, but regardless I want them sharp! So I started buying a lot of different hand-held knife sharpening gadgets. They all suck. Don't bother. Next I spent hours reviewing electric knife sharpeners - narrowing my choices down to two; (1) Chef's Choice 120 Diamond Hone 3-Stage Professional Knife Sharpener for $120.00, or (2) the Presto 08810 Professional 3-Stage Electric Knife Sharpener for $43.00 (that's what I paid). I watched a lot of videos and actually saw the Chef's choice demonstrated live at a show; even had the guy try it on my own pocket knife. For $120, I was unimpressed with the Chef's Choice. Don't bother. So instead, I bought the Presto 08810 Professional 3-Stage Electric Knife Sharpener for $43.00. As with all knife sharpening systems, technique is needed, so read the instructions. Done right, you can get an amazing edge with very few passes; very sharp. I try not to over-sharpen. When it's sharp, I stop - mission accomplished. Continuing to make more passes after the knife has reached sharpness can possibly dull the blade. I only repeat if sharpness was not achieved after proceeding through the stages the first time. For my first try with the Presto 08810, I used a very crappy, very dull kitchen knife. It was so dull, I knew I needed to start with the coarse Stage 1. The directions said to make "three" alternating passes each side. I stopped after only "one." I already had a nice edge after just one pass each side. Don't over do it if you don't need to. Once you have a good edge, stop and move on. I test my knives by cutting into the edge of a piece of paper. The instructions say to test on vegetables. Paper is cheaper, especially when sharpening many knives in a session. If you do test sharpness on vegetables, you must clean the knife before putting back into the sharpener or you will ruin the sharpening wheels. I proceeded to Stage 2, making only about two passes, and also two on Stage 3. After only a couple of swipes, the knife was already super sharp. It sliced clean through a full sheet of paper like it was nothing. It was razor sharp. Wow! All this time I've been sharpening by hand (the hard way). I felt like a dope. The Presto 08810 is my new quick and easy sharpening tool. Granted, very expensive professional belt drive sharpening systems with leather stropping can probably achieve surgical scalpel sharpness, but who cares? Or who wants the cost and complexity of such machines for their average daily use? I'm not "shaving" with my knives, nor performing surgery. The Presto 08810 made my knives super sharp (VERY sharp). More than enough for the kitchen. [My Recommendations] Wipe your knife blade clean of any metal tiny filings after a couple of passes, and absolutely before proceeding to the next sharpening stage. This will keep the blade guides clean and free of any particles that could scratch your blade. That being said, I sharpened a bunch of knifes, and not one knife was ever scratched or marred (like the Chef's Choice is known to do). For most knives, I even recommending skipping "coarse" Stage 1. You can re-sharpen, or touch-up knives using only the "fine" Stage 3, or by sharpening in Stage 2 and finishing in Stage 3. I only used all three stages, starting in "coarse" Stage 1, for knives that had completely lost their edge. For those with small pocket knives and sport knives... yes, it sharpened mine. The smallest knife I sharpened so far was a 2.5" (9 cm) blade on a pocket knife. Because of the thickness of the handle, the Presto 08810 could not reach the final quarter inch (0.25" or 0.5 cm) of the blade, near the hilt/handle. But I was Ok with that. It was better than I expected. This was my exact same pocket knife used by the guy in the demonstration on the Chef's Choice. I can tell you for a fact, the Presto 08810 sharpened my knife better. I also sharpened my USMC KA-Bar knife with a black painted blade (gutsy, I know). Not a scratch in the paint. But remember I tend to wipe off the metal filings with each pass, just to be careful. I don't plan to do that again, as I suspect the blade guides will ultimately wear or scratch the paint if subjected to frequent passes. I just wanted to give it a try at least once. As for my stainless kitchen cutlery, no worries, all my knives were just fine. No marks, no scratches. Just sharp! Although it didn't happen to me yet, I do see the potential that possible scratching or marring of the blades could occur, depending on the knife, not resting the blade against the blade guides, or simply a build-up of filings on the blade guides. If it does happen to my kitchen knives, I'm not that overly concerned. They're just tools to me, not decorations. As long as they're usable and sharp, I'm Ok. So far, after sharpening many knives, it hasn't been a problem. [Summary] I'm so glad I didn't spend $120 on a Chef's Choice 3-Stage. What a waste that would have been. Save your money. I paid $43 (on sale) on Amazon for the Presto 08810 (3-Stage) knife sharpener, and it works just as good, if not better, as I discovered. I've seen the Presto 08810 for as high as $48, and usually for $45. Check also on eBay if Amazon is too high. But either way, it's cheaper than the expensive Chef's Choice.