Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I salivated over getting a Chef's Choice electric sharpener for at least 10 years and I am glad I did not take the plunge. I was at my sister's home on Saturday and tested her Chef's Choice sharpener. I can only say that I would never ever let this machine get close to my expensive kitchen knives. This machine, in my opinion, is designed for the vast majority of folks, who have not a clue what a razor-sharp knife is or how to keep it razor-sharp using just a steel. This sharpener may be okay for sharpening mediocre knives but it's a definite no-no for fine cutlery. Let me list the problems with this sharpener: 1. It will ruin your expensive Henckel's or Wusthof's finish. It grinds a highly conspicuous 1/8" to 1/4" wide set of bevels measured from the knife edge, using the rough diamond wheels, leaving very rough marks behind. The results are so ugly, you'll swear at yourself for being so stupid for testing your fine knives on this machine. The diamond wheels are coarse and rough. Gone will be the once beautiful satin/mirror finish on your knife's original edge. 2. Even with the 2nd stage fine-grit hone, the resulting knife edge is still VERY rough by my standards. Again, you will have to know what a truly razor-sharp knife is in order to put this into perspective. If you are one of the vast majority of folks who do not know what is a razor sharp knife, then you'll likely be very satisfied with the result that the Chef's Choice can give you. But once you know what razor-edged sharp cutlery is, you'll never let this machine touch your knives again. Keeping knives sharp is no magic. First you need to treat your knives well by not letting the fragile sharp edge touch hard objects such as dinner plates, tile or stone countertop, silverware, kitchen sink, dish washer rack, etc. Learn to handwash your sharp knives. Use your knives only on a cutting board. Then learn to keep your knives razor sharp by using a steel on a regular basis. If you really need help, then a diamond-embedded honing steel followed by using a regular steel is still a much better solution to restoring a very dull edge than using a Chef's Choice. Bottomline is this is basically just a glorified bench grinder on the countertop. Your choice to purchase it or not will depend on your need and your knife collection. For dirt-cheap knives that are sold at supermarkets or on TV, the machine may be a godsend. For fine cutlery, avoid it entirely.