Reddit reviews Victorinox Swiss Army Cutlery Handheld Manual Knife Sharpener, Finger Guard, Carbide Metal Plates, Multicolor (Grey/Black)

I did a ton of research on knife sharpeners a few years ago. People on the internet basically only ever recommend whetstones, and will link you endless videos of people with huge, super-expensive knife collections explaining how you should only use a whetstone and manually sharpen your knives. And sure, whetstones are cheap and you can put a great edge on anything with enough effort.

If you want an actual knife sharpener, that's totally fine. People have been using them with great success for years, and frankly you can ignore most of the stupid anti-sharpener BS floating around the internet. ATK's favorite manual sharpener is this one for $43, but their favorite under $30 is this one.

Honestly, my recommendation would be to get a halfway decent knife, nothing too fancy, (e.g an Opinel or the likes, something with a decent steel) and one of these:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001X5A998?sa-no-redirect=1&pldnSite=1


Saying this, most enthusiasts will start frothing at the mouth now and start shouting about how this method ruins a perfectly good knive, yada yada yada, but I have found that, in an average kitchen, this method works perfectly fine, to get knives sharp again, can be done once a week, and, after having witnessed both a butcher and a fish-salesman sharpen their knives this way, I have become a firm believer in this method. It gets your knives sharp enough very fast.

Con: No internet-macho credits for you.

For knives, the same rules apply. With even more emphasis in the safety aspect of it. A lot of people think that with sharper knives, you'll cut yourself more while cooking, but the truth is the exact opposite. Since the cook should let the knife do the cutting. If you're using strength, your knife is either dull or bad. Which is why you should buy good knives (and an okay whetstone) learn how to hone them and do so every 3 uses (I personally sharpen my knives before using and after washing).

Some people will tell you to buy Shun, others will tell you to buy Miyabi or Yaxell (personal favorite). But you don't need these, these are overkill and most chefs don't even use them on a professional kitchen (they might do so in events, but in a normal kitchen you wouldn't want to wear such an expensive knife)

So, all in all you could either go the cheaper way and buy Victorinox, which is a GOOD knife, nothing amazing about it, but reliable and that will get the job done. Also, it is very easy to sharpen.

If you want the mid-range price I'd say either Global, Henckels(If you chose Henckels, choose the forged, not the standard piece) or Wüsthof. I like all three, all of them will last you upwards to 20 years if you properly maintain and wash them buy hand (very important, a great deal of the damage done to knifes is while washing).

A good knife is a companion for the rest of your life in the kitchen. And these three are the best for heavy and professional use. Though the more expensive ones cut better, the wear on them is not worth it for a professional cook.

And lastly, don't buy a kit with 8 to 12 knifes. You won't use that. That is a piece of decoration, on which you'd be wasting money. You only NEED 1 good knife. It is best to have two or three, but no more.

Start with one, I think the best model to start off is the Chef's 8 inch. In either brand. If you enjoy it, go ahead to the chef's 8 inch and the utility and that's it!

Also, don't rule out Victorinox if you're just getting started, they make very good knifes for starters, and you don't need to worry much when sharpening them, since they sell a tool which can re-cut its edge to the proper shape, so if you mess up, you can actually "Reset to factory settings"

I'll link here the 8 inch chefs of the knifes I mentioned. You might find them small at first but even I rarely need to take out my 10inch or the 12 inch.

Global: https://amzn.com/B00005OL44

Henckels (forged): https://amzn.com/B00004RFKS

Wüsthof: https://amzn.com/B00009ZK08

Victorinox (weirdly, the bettex one [Fibrox] was 4 cents cheaper then the most basic. I am linking both, but i don't know if you can "reset" the blade of the better one)

Victorinox Fibrox: https://amzn.com/B008M5U1C2

Victorinox basic: https://amzn.com/B0061SWV8Y

Victorinox tool (this is not a sharpener, this literally CUTS the blade back into shape): https://amzn.com/B001X5A998

Hmm, when we lived in Ann Arbor, there was a guy at the farmer's market that sharpened knives. However, I haven't seen anyone doing that at the Allen Street market yet.

We have a pre-angled sharpener that works well. We have this one

Eh, well, what about those of us who aren't very serious at all? My main knife is Victorinox 5.2063.20, a $40 chef's knife. I sharpen it with one of these simple sharpeners. It does its job, it's very easy and it takes about 30 seconds twice a week. Even if after, let's say, 3 years the knife is busted, would you really say that I'd be better off with that contraption: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n97hZbHtY2I ? Believe me, I've tried. I's a fine tool for sharpening my Leatherman before camping every couple of months. But for everyday use? Nah...

For the record, I agree that OP's knifes should be sharpened on some more serious device first. These simple sharpeners are only suitable for regular maintenance.

Hope I don't get a lot of heat, but I have one of these and it works out pretty well, it doesn't remove practically anything from the blade but the sharpness drops pretty quickly. There are also cheaper versions with similar sharpening stones (it has 2 tiny stones in a V shape).