It can be tricky to keep up with all the different Chef's Choice electric sharpeners. Read our reviews of the various choices and your head might start to spin.

The long and short of it is this... If you've got exclusively Asian knives, the 316 is probably for you. If you've got exclusively European knives, check out the model 110, model 120 or model 130. Got a mix of both? Then you'll want the model 1520.

Got all that? Okay, let's talk about the 316. The 316 is designed to sharpen Asian knives exclusively, since its angle of attack is an aggressive 15 degrees. This closely represents how Japanese knives are typically sharpened, but is steeper than for European knives.

It will handle both single-bevel and double-bevel knives, which is good news since some of the thinnest, sharpest Japanese knives are single-beveled, but the majority of them are double-beveled.

This sharpener will not handle thick Japanese knives, like the Deba knife. For that, take a small step up and seek out the 315S. That model has an adjustable internal spring that allows it to accomodate thicker blades.

The other thing this model doesn't do is provide a very-fine final stage for that mirror polished, razor-sharp edge. If you want the sharpest edges possible on your Asian knives, step up to the previously-mentioned 1520.

Bottom line? Chef's Choice makes excellent electric sharpeners -- some of the only ones out there that are even worth buying. The 316 is a perfect member of their lineup and does a credible job on Asian Knives.

More Info on this Chef's Choice Asian Knife Sharpener:

• Click here to find this sharpener at Amazon.com

Find this sharpener on eBay:

CHEFS CHOICE DIAMOND HONE ASIAN KNIFE SHARPENER NEW 316 US $79.99   Auction Ends: 27d 13h 26m Make it yours...

Chefs Choice Diamond Knife Sharpener For Asian Knives US $79.95   Auction Ends: 13h 38m Make it yours...

Chefs Choice Electric Asian Knife Sharpener 316 US $60.00   Auction Ends: 18d 17h 32m Make it yours...

Most knife buffs turn up their noses at electric sharpeners, and for good reason. There are enough crummy ones out there that it's usually good advice to just avoid them altogether. The worst of them will chew up your edges, taking off a good chunk of metal while leaving them jagged and dull.

But, there are exceptions. Chef's Choice makes excellent sharpeners that are well-respected, even by the pros. And, if you're not willing to take up manual sharpening as a new hobby, a Chef's Choice electric model can be a convenient solution.

Chef's Choice (aka EdgeCraft) makes a few models that are appropriate for Asian knives. The 1520 is a very interesting model for one good reason -- it allows you to choose your angle of sharpening.

Got a mixed bag of knives in your kitchen, some European and some Japanese? The 1520 is for you. You can set it to sharpen at a 20 degree angle for your European and a more aggressive, sharper 15 degree angle for your Japanese knives.

Don't need that kind of versatility? Or maybe you've moved your kitchen exclusively to Asian knives? You may be able to save some money and go with the Chef's Choice 316 instead.

The Chef's Choice Asian Sharpeners will resharpen both single-bevel and double-bevel edges.

The one thing it doesn't have is an aggressive pre-sharpening stage intended for reworking badly conditioned knives. Those types of stages are usually to be avoided anyway, since they can remove quite a bit of metal. If you've got one of those knives, you probably want to send it to a pro to get it back in working shape.

Then use the 1520 for your normal, everday maintenance.

More Info on this Chef's Choice Asian Knife Sharpener:

• Click here to find this sharpener at Amazon.com

Find this sharpener on eBay:

CHEFS CHOICE 1520 CHEFS ANGLE SELECT KNIFE SHARPENER US $136.99   Auction Ends: 9d 20h 24m Make it yours...

Chefs Choice 1520 Angel Select Knife Sharpener Diamond US $169.99   Auction Ends: 27d 23h 37m Make it yours...

CHEFS CHOICE 1520 SELECT ELECTRIC KNIFE SHARPENER NIB US $120.95   Auction Ends: 6d 9h 9m Make it yours...

Messermeister's one of those brands that gets lost in the mix of the big-name German Cutlery makers. Wusthof and Henckels you hear about, Messermeister not so much.

That's mostly becuase they've kept a lower profile, but their products are excellent. See our review of their San Moritz Elite Knife Set and you'll see what we mean.

In the meantime, they've quietly created a kitchen shears that rivals their more well-know cousins. Compare these shears to the Wusthof shears and you'll come away impressed.

Sporting the same come-apart design for easy cleaning, these knives also feature a jar-opening clench tool, a finger-protecting plastic nub between the grips, and Solingen German-made stainless steel.

But they go one better by adding in an offset design, bone and twig cutter, screwdriver and nut cracker. Oh, and did we mention that Cook's Illustrated them their favorite kitchen shears? All that for twenty bucks.

Handles are santoprene for a non-slip grip. Blades are pre-sharpened and measure 8.5 inches.

More Info on these Messermeister Shears:

• Click here to find this Knife at Amazon.com

Find this knife on eBay:

Messermeister Take Apart Utility Shear MEDN 1070 US $18.50   Auction Ends: 13d 23h 33m Make it yours...

MESSERMEISTER DN 2070 TAKE A PART KITCHEN SHEARS SHARP US $17.95   Auction Ends: 26d 14h 42m Make it yours...

If you're a junkie for sharp edges, as I am, you've probably tried nearly every tool or technique chasing the perfect edge.

The Lansky is one of the few products I've used which has withstood the test of time. Using a design which features a simple fixture into which the knife is clamped and stones guided by rods at preset angles, the Lansky offers tremendous precision that even the most advanced freehand sharpeners would find hard to match.

The preset angles take all the guesswork out of sharpening. Even a relative newbie can confidently return a dull knife to sharpness with a minimum of fuss. Although I'm primarily a dedicated freehand sharpener, I use mine on occasion for resetting bevels and other special sharpening tasks where absolute precision is the key to success. I'm still consistently impressed with the performance.

It's an excellent tool to have in your sharpening kit and one which is easy on the wallet compared to the cost associated with assembling a full kit of waterstones. The kit comes with four standard stones (coarse, medium, fine, ultra fine) and one triangular stone designed for use on serrated knives. Running up through the four grits, it's easy to produce a refined edge. For someone looking for an edge with a higher level of polish and refinement, the optional sapphire honing stone is highly recommended, providing a finish comparable to lower grit polishing waterstones.

The multiple preset angles built into the fixture provide a wealth of precision options for fine tuning and customizing edges. Generally speaking, the system works best on shorter knives, as it is necessary to move the clamp along the spine of longer knives in order to sharpen different sections of the blade. Although somewhat inconvenient, this doesn't affect the performance of the system one way or the other.

The results are well worth the effort.

More Info on this Lansky Knife Sharpener:

• Click here to find this Sharpener at Amazon.com

Find this sharpener on eBay:

LANSKY DELUXE 5 STONE KNIFE SHARPENING SYSTEM SHARPENER US $39.99   Auction Ends: 25d 12h 51m Make it yours...

NEW LANSKY DELUXE DIAMOND KNIFE SHARPENING SYSTEM LKDMD US $67.95   Auction Ends: 13d 20h 53m Make it yours...

Lansky Deluxe Knife Knives Sharpener Sharpening System US $42.99   Auction Ends: 10d 8h 38m Make it yours...

These are the best-selling steak knives on Amazon. They're lightweight, sharp, and inexpensive. People should be lining up to buy them, right? Not so fast...

I'm not a big fan of Henckels knives. Poke around on CooksDen a bit and you'll start to see a theme emerge. Once high-end Japanese knife makers started introducing their premium steel knives to the market, Henckels kind of got left in the dust.

Their solution? Go down-scale. The introduction of their Eversharp line is a testament to that. Problem is, there are other makers down at that end of the market who are producing excellent quality knives without worrying about withholding high-end features.

That's a lot of mumbo-jumbo to say that you can do better than these knives. Yes, they're popular. Yes, they're inexpensive. But you know what? There are other knives out there that are just as inexpensive that use better materials, will hold a sharper edge longer and look just as good.

Specifically, we recommend the Forschner Steak Knives as our favorite low-cost steak option. Check out our review of that one and you'll see what we mean.

If you do get the Henckels, you'll probably be fine. Henckels has been making knives forever, and it's not like they don't know what they're doing. It's just that I think you can do better.

More Info on this Henckels Steak Knife Set:

• Click here to find this Knife Set at Amazon.com

If you hang around Williams-Sonoma, you're sure to know about the Shun Classic Santoku knife. If you hang around professional kitchens for a while, you'll get to know some lesser-known Japanese brands that are just as good.

Kanetsune makes their knives with similar materials as the Shun -- it's got a 33-layer Damascus-patterned blade with a core of VG-10 wrapped by stainless steel. This gives it the best of all worlds -- a hard and sharp edge with a corrosion-resistant exterior.

Like the Shuns, they also look mighty fine as well. That Damascus styling is so gorgeous, there's no doubt you'll want to display them in your kitchen.

The handles are a bit more pedestrian than the Shun, and the pricetag is similar, so it's not like you're getting a steal here. But they really are exceptional knives in their own right.

Kanetsune is well-known for making all kinds of high-quality knives, but they fly under the radar a bit when it comes to kitchen knives.

They also make a Gyuto, which has more of a traditional Chef's knife shape. You might want to consider that one if you want to be able to rock your knife while chopping or if you want something a bit larger.

More Info on this Kanetsune Santoku Knife:

• Click here to find this Santoku at Amazon.com

A side dish from the Dark Side:
Sculpt Jar Jar Binks out of a root vegetable.

Like just about every other kid growing up in the late twentieth century, I could never get enough of Star Wars. So it's no surprise that a grown-up Jedi-wannabe with a knack for the culinary arts would turn to Star Wars food carvings for entertainment.
Read the rest of this entry »

There are a lot of ways you can go with sharpening your kitchen knives.

Want to take up a new hobby? Invest in a high-end whetstone, get yourself some training and get yourself some of the best edges you've ever had.

Want to get great edges but have neither the time nor the inclination to do it the hard way? Get yourself one of the best electric sharpeners by checking out Chef's Choice.

Got some cheap knives and just want a quick and dirty solution? The Presto Pro is not a high-end tool, but it will do that type of job without too much trouble.

Note that I still haven't mentioned the Wusthof 2 Stage Pull-Through Sharpener. That's because I'm not really a fan of these types of sharpeners. They don't do a great job and they leave too much to chance.

If you've got high-end knives (like those from Wusthof), you should learn to sharpen your knives, get them professionally sharpened, or invest in a good electric sharpener.

More Info on this Wusthof Knife Sharpener:

• Click here to find this Sharpener at Amazon.com

Find this sharpener on eBay:

WUSTHOF 2 Stage Knife Life Scissors Sharpener NEW US $24.99   Auction Ends: 17d 18h 42m Make it yours...

This baby sounds impressive -- it uses titanium! If it's good for golf balls and aircraft carriers, it must make a heck of a kitchen knife, right?

Well... Yes and No. First off, know that the knife's edge is not made of titanium. It's the shiny blue component that is a titanium alloy -- that's what gives it its blue tint.

The core of the knife -- and its edge -- is made of an unnamed "high carbon steel". That's probably for the best since titanium, while strong and lightweight, is not typically hard and sharp enough for a knife edge.

As far as the blue coating goes, its intended effect is to keep food from sticking to the knife, to provide corrosion resistance and to prevent a metallic taste from transferring from knife to food. Titanium, like ceramic, does a good job at those tasks.

So here's the real problem... It's not a bad knife, but you're paying for the fancy titanium coating as if it's really something special. When, in fact, you could get a Shun Classic Chef's knife for less money. And that knife really IS something special.

More Info on this Kasumi Titanium Knife:

• Click here to find this Knife at Amazon.com

Find this knife on eBay:

Chroma Kasumi Titanium 7 Santoku Knife Blue US $149.95   Auction Ends: 14d 23h 29m Make it yours...

Chroma Kasumi Titanium 7 3 4 Carving Knife Blue US $149.95   Auction Ends: 20d 19h 41m Make it yours...

Chroma Kasumi Titanium 7 3 4 Chef Knife Blue US $159.95   Auction Ends: 20d 19h 41m Make it yours...

I got a kick out of this story.

Basically, Master Bladesmith Takamura will be partnering with Gordon Ramsay to produce, market and sell 1,000 high-end Chef's knives.

It's good news for blade fans - the Takamura family has been quietly producing excellent-quality blades for 700 years! And Gordon Ramsay is no celebrity poseur either. You might not like his somewhat-abrasive personality, but his pursuit of excellence is admirable and his show "Kitchen Nightmares" is always entertaining.

What gives me a chuckle is the thought of the two of them actually collaborating on this project. I'm guessing that Takamura-san would be just a little bit offended by Mr. Ramsay's brashness.

Hopefully the blades won't suffer!