"AcuSharp" Knife and Tool Sharpener

[junquecol]

My skills at sharpening kitchen knives are second to none, but just before the fair, I was in United Restaurant Equipment (in Raleigh.) On the counter, they had a display of knife sharpeners, with their logo printed on them. Recently, I had picked up some knives at Habitat ReUse store in Pittsboro, all of which could stand a good sharpening. ( One of the knives is a Grohman, which sells new for almost $100. I paid $0.75 for it.) I thought about buying the sharpener, when salesman said "Buy it, and if you aren't happy bring it back for a refund." Lets say I'm a very happy customer. Sharpener contains a couple of carbide teeth that sharpen knife in nothing flat. A couple strokes, and a "DREXTER" 7" boning knife will slice a cardboard box like it was hot butter instead of cardboard. Costs less than $15, and makes a great Christmas gift for either yourself or someone else.

 

[JackLeg]

I keep two of them handy in the kitchen for "touch ups." Best sharpener I've ever found! :icon_thum

 

[Mark Gottesman]

First off, congrats on finding a sharpener that you like and works for you. Please send me all your nasty old sharpening gear. I do this to help keep your shop uncluttered.:gar-La; I'll even cover shipping.


However, I do have some reservations with the Acusharp. These sort of pull sharpeners will "sharpen" a dull knife, but at best leave a jagged edge that is more a saw than anything else. Try cutting a cigarette paper with one.


Beyond that, they shorten the life of a knife by removing far more metal than is needed relative to an abrasive sharpener plus continued use will yield a pronounced hollow on the back half of the blade.


The way the tool works you exert more pressure as you start the stroke and less as you get close to the body. You can reduce this by changing direction, but it seems to happen anyway. Look at the old kitchen knives that were sharpened on the ancestor of the Acusharp.


I do find them useful for garden implements like a machete.

Good find on the knifes. I recently found a set of Calphalon Damascus blades for $8.00 at Goodwill. I never heard of Gomman. Maybe Grohmann?

 

[DWSmith]

I agree 100% with what Mark said. Using a pull-through "sharpener" is the same as using a bench grinder to "sharpen". Just won't work properly or leave a smooth edge. The carbide teeth scrapes metal off shortening the life of the knife and produces a saw tooth like edge which will tear up a cutting board and will quickly dull. The knife people I know wouldn't allow one any where near their knives and neither will I. I use natural stones for sharpening and then follow up with a strop coated with 60,000 grit chromium oxide. My edges will slice through cigarette paper with ease.

 

[Mike Davis]

I have nothing more to add. My work is done.

 

[junquecol]

Lord, please forgive me as I have sinned against the sharpening GURU's / GODS!

 

[nn4jw]

I have two sets of knives in our kitchen, J. A. Henckles I use and a bunch of those white handled Tramontina knives from Sam's for my wife. That's because my wife has never understood the value of a set of high quality carefully sharpened and maintained knives. She says my knives are too sharp and doesn't understand why I won't let her touch them after watching her abuse every knife she's ever used. So, that's why we have his and hers knives.

Now I said all that to say that we use an Accu-sharp on all the Tramontina knives followed up by a steel and frankly it takes almost no time to get a perfectly serviceable edge on those knives. I'm not going to waste my time on those particular knives using stones and such since my wife is just going to abuse them anyway. After doing that for a couple of years I cannot see any distortion in the edges. I have seen that type of distortion after years of using those steel wheel sharpeners mentioned earlier. My grandparents had knives about 50% gone using those things.

So, my wife is happy that I keep her knives sharp and I'm happy not to spend much time doing so.

Now, my knives I sharpen much more carefully on water stones and you can shave with them. But it takes a lot more time to get them that way.

 

[junquecol]

First, I don't smoke joints or roll my own, so I have no need to cut cirgarette paper. Second, go to Dexter's web site and under FAQ's and look at video on sharpening. All methods render a microscopic feather edge. Thirdly, all my mom's knives and some of mine (after 40+ years) exhibit the hollowing of the blades along with the DEXTERS that I have that came from a butcher shop. None of which were EVER sharpened on a "scraper" type sharpener, so go figure. Lastly my knives, like all my tools were made to WORK, not be WORSHIPED! Mine cut vegetables, meat, string, cardboard, etc. Things knives were made to do.

 

[Gotcha6]

I'd think if I could buy knives for $0.75 each at the Thrift stores it wouldn't matter how they were sharpened. Also, unless I'm doing surgery in my kitchen or cutting sushi (NOT!!!) I don't usually need to be as precise with my knives as all that. I've never found the sharpness of the knife to affect the flavor of the meat. Some of the kitchen knives we use have been in our home since we were married (39 years, 5 months, 7 days, 16 hours)..... We usually lose a knife before we wear one out, and I've found the surface you cut on has much to do with the longevity of the edge in a kitchen environment.
Having said all this, "Different strokes for different folks." is the phase of the day. :icon_thum

 

[DWSmith]

The subject of kitchen knives and their sharpening seems to have caused a lot of furor.

My position. I enjoy sharp tools and a kitchen knife is one of those tools. My edges in the shop cut through wood cleanly and easily as compared to dull edges, I spend a lot of dollars on good blades so they will last a long time and make my work easier. Is is the same with kitchen knives, I enjoy a great tool and the edge is most important to making it work efficiently and easily. Personally I wouldn't buy a cheap knife or waste my time sharpening a cheap knife no more than I would waste my time on a yard sale saw blade.

I have two Japanese type kitchen knives I use all the time, a 10" chefs knife, carbon steel clad with a stainless steel wrap and a carbon steel nakiri I use for veggies. Both are deadly sharp and have custom handles. A custom parer is on the way soon and will be just as sharp and just as good looking. As stated by another, they will not make my food taste better but they will make the journey to supper easier and less frustrating.

I use a sharpener in PA who knows how to put the "scary" sharp edge on a knife and I maintain it with a strop so when it is taken down for use I know its abilities and can work quickly. All of the professional chefs I know use those edges and have their own personal collection of knives they covet and pamper.

So, if someone wants to grind away their edges, then so be it. As for me I will take the time necessary to maintain the edge I require.

 

[WoodWrangler]

I recently purchased an AccuSharp handheld sharpener along with a $30 Dexter fillet knife ... and I'll chime in to say the AccuSharp is a nice little inexpensive sharpener ... and it works like a charm. I took my old fillet knife to it and now it sharpens better than new too. In a time-to-value things, and ease of use, the AccuSharp gets thumbs up from me.

 

[smallboat]

I tend to avoid these contentious threads but I'll throw in my $.02 from the perspective of one whose reach frequently exceeds his grasp.

Work with what works for you and invest the time to get better at the things that matter to you.



First I like sharp tools. Using a sharp chisel and plane have been revelations to me and the way I work.

Second I'm not that good at sharpening. I enjoy seeing the seemingly effortless techniques of folks with a lot more experience than me, but I aint there-yet.

Third- I don't own any pedigreed tools, hand, power or kitchen. I buy what I can afford to do the job I need to do and I work with it. The only value I have in tools is sentimental when they've been handed down a few generations. I hope to continue that.
Sharpening is one area I can usually improve the condition of the tools I can afford to acquire and is good way to insure their longevity.

With all that said, I know from experience that I can do just as much damage with stones as I can with one of those handy sharpeners. (By the way, among the hand me downs is a bone handled version of the one in Mark G's second photo) I've gotten pretty good at a straight edge, but trying to maintain a constant bevel around the curved edge of a kitchen knife drives me nuts. With practice I know I'll get better, but in the mean time rest assured I'm altering the shape every time I work on it. It may not end up shaped like Mark's first photo, but only because the damage is being done in a different spot.

I guess sharpening tools are like most others. I the wrong hands even the best tools can wreak havoc. I the right hands almost anything can be made to work after a fashion. I've enjoyed investing the time to acquire a skill that bears fruit every time I use it. With time I hope to continue to improve.

Maybe by the time I get around to some of those LN or LV tools I'll know how to take proper care of them. For now Grandpa's planes and chisels are happy and so am I.

 

[junquecol]

There is nothing contentious about this thread:no:. I respect the other posters right to be wrong:rotflm:.
If something works for you, then go with it. Reminds me of when I kept bees (50+ hives.) The only thing you could get two beekeepers to agree on, is what a third did wrong, but not how to do it right.

 

[Jeff]

The devil is in the details. Carbon steel (like an Old Hickory knife) sharpens easily for most task but wears quickly. They're cheap and expendable too so I have about 4 of them in various stages of destruction.

Try sharpening a stainless steel blade (like a CUTCO) with a stone and strop or a butcher's steel. You'll be hungry before you get it sharp imo.

One man's sharp blade is another's dull machete!