Cutlery Reviews

Let's face it, few of us today have the time or patience to sit on the steps of the porch honing away on an old 'Arkansas' stone until the blade of our knife is sharp enough to split a hair as grampa used to do when he was a young man. Still, anyone who owns a knife other than a ginsu blade will inevitably need to hone his edge. ... if you have a blade you care about, you are going to want a sharpener that can put a good edge on your knife and which requires a minimum of technical acuity and elbow grease to do so. Thus you will want to own this knife sharpener (well, actually, the larger ones made by this company are a better choice, I am sure, but this is the model I own so this is the one I'll review). Sharpening a knife well is not rocket science ..., but until these diamond encrusted sharpening tools came along it was a time consuming one. This is because the necessary fineness of the honing surface on the washetaw stone used to sharpen a steel blade required hundreds of strokes to create a fine edge. Using a more abrasive hone such as carborundum either damages the knife blade by deeply scoring it, or creates an edge that just won't stay sharp. These Diamond Steel sharpeners, on the other hand, do an excellent job of both supplying the aggressive bite necessary to create a sharp edge quickly and being fine enough so that, with just a little practice, one can create an edge in a few strokes that will last quite a long time. For die hard stone users, the trick is always to get the knife's edge at a precise and consistent angle with each sharpening stroke. This technique can not be mastered by most casual knife sharpeners The makers of the Diamond Sharpening Steel developed a soft oval shape that is very, very forgiving of a novice's foibles and allows even a casual user, who has not mastered the technique, to put a passable edge on a blade and with just a little practice he'll soon be able to put a wicked sharp hone on an edge. Even though I have not used the larger versions of this tool I recommend them because this one is a little short for the long comfortable strokes one wishes to make when honing a blade longer than six inches.

I cut meat for our local grocery store and know the importance of having a really sharp knife. I was told about the Diamond sharpening steel by a coworker that had gotten his at "Kiss The Cook" he paid $30 plus for his. Being on a tight budget right now due to rising gas prices I wasn't able to go and buy the one he was telling me about so I searched amazon. I found this sharpener/steel and decided to try it. This item arrived today and immediately got out my work knives. The were super sharp in no time and it didn't take much effort on my part at all. My arms will not get as sore now that I have the ability to keep my knives sharp. This sharpener is highly recommended.

I wanted to get a ceramic knife, and this was a nice inexpensive option. The size makes it an ideal utility knife, but it really isn't as sharp as it can be. Given the fragility of a ceramic blade, I am constantly in fear of this one chipping off the tip. Nonetheless, for acidic foods that can harm a metal blade, I reach of this one. They do need to get it sharper, though.

I bought this board in July, have barely used it (like < 10 times) and it's already falling apart 3 months later! It's splitting at the seams in 3 different places. Buy a plastic or solid wood board and save your money! Very disappointed.

been looking for a wood cutting board. this one is a good size at a good price.