How good are the results from a knife sharpener like this?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I am looking for a knife sharpener for home use that controls the angle of the abrasive surface to the blade. I have a honing ceramic stone but you have to eyeball the angle and have to have a fair amount of skill to get good results. I am looking for something that is a little more foolproof. I have a Chef’s Choice electric sharpener and it does make knives sharp but it uses an orbital motion against the blade and if you look at the blade under magnification it just looks chewed up, and I suspect it removes too much material. I would like something that will give me results reasonably comparable to a professional sharpener but I don’t want to invest in hundreds of dollars of equipment that needs dedicated space to operate.

This sharpener has an adjustable angle, which I need for both Shun Japanese-style knives and for European knives like Sabatier and Wüstof. It has three grades of grit, which is probably fine for most uses. It appears to work by clamping the blade then using a pivoting bar or rod to hone the blade. (There are photos but no video.)

Here is my question. As the rod pivots, the direction of the stroke relative to the blade changes. At the center of the blade, where the rod is perpendicular to the blade edge, the stroke is parallel to the blade edge. As the rod moves along the blade the stroke changes to approach a right angle (although it never actually gets that far–I am using “approach” in the mathematical sense).

Is this an effective sharpening method? I would think the most effective method would move the sharpening surface at right angles to the blade at all points along the blade.

2

Compared to a Chef’s Choice electric, almost anything is an improvement. This looks to be a less expensive sharpener that works similarly to an Edge Pro sharpener, with the same benefits and liabilities. If you use it consistently, you’ll probably be happy with it, and the fact that the angle changes along the length of the blade will not be an issue. If, OTOH, the angle of the blade MUST be consistent from heel to tip, this would not be the sharpener for you. My only concern is what they call “medium grit (600)” is, IMO, actually pretty coarse. In my mind, medium grit is somewhere around 1000-1200, but as an old boss of mine might have said, that’s threading hairs.

3

Every blade under magnification looks like the Himalayas. That’s how they cut. Same as saws; coarse for rough cutting, more teeth/inch for finer cuts.

A hone does not sharpen a blade. It straightens out the bends from when you slice/cut foods.

The Chef’s Choice models are highly rated. The Professional at around $140 has won a number of comparisons. It is not the best choice for the more tapered Japanese style blades. See Food & Wine; BestKitchenPicks; Buyers guide…etc.

There’s a top rated KnifiMix for $69.

You can get a Smiths or Accusharp manual sharpener for under $20. Use often an the results are fine.