Electric Knives Reviews

May 27 Update:
As I suspected, this was a case of me not knowing how to use the product when first purchased. Well, I've practiced and learned, and this is the real deal. Sharpens everything...even my old Swiss Army pocket knife. Just be careful: Items get so sharp that cut fingers become routine.

Raised my rating to 4 stars. Would be 5 but I still find the unit kind of pricey. But hey: It does all it's supposed to, and does it well, and that's the real key!


Original Review:
First, this ain't a cheap sharpener. Check out the price yourself. I used it one time....sharpened some new just out of the box knives, as well as an old Henkels I own. Maybe it's my own ineptitude, but I see no difference in either. The new knives were part of a set, and the just-sharpened ones seemed no sharper than those I didn't sharpen. And my old Henkels is still very dull, and likely ready for the scrap heap. So yes, so far I am disappointed.

Is it me, not knowing how to use this sharpener? Maybe. But so far, I feel this has been a big waste of money. Hell, buy a steel sharpening tool...a lot cheaper, and gets the job done better.

I was a little nervous about spending this much on a sharpener. Now that I have had it a few days I wish I had bought it sooner. If you understand the basics of sharpening this tool is VERY easy to use. If not, it might take a little practice to get the hang of it.

The instruction are pretty good and clear.

I have sharpened everything from good quality kitchen knives to tag sale pocket knives. When this machine is done with them you could shave with em. Amazing.

I can see one pitfall for people who don't understand sharpening (or who have weak eyesight). If you have a blade with a deeper grind angle than this machine uses you first have to re-shape the edge (on the coarse wheel). If you don't, you are simply adding a second bevel behind the old one and leaving the cutting edge alone. This may be why some people have problems. On one cheap knife I had I first had to really grind on the first stage wheel to pull an entire new bevel. Once I did it was no problem.

I took my knives to Chesapeake Knife & Tool to have them sharpened and they destroyed the edge. I saw that Cooks Illustrated recommended Chef's Choice sharpeners and decided to give it a try. It took about an hour but I was able to restore the edge and now my knives are just like new.

Takes orders and does not have them in stock. Will have to wait 2 mths to get me order.

Takes orders and does not have them in stock. Will have to wait 2 mths to get me order.

Works well on bread and meats. easy to clean and disassemble. Stores easily in kitchen cabinet drawer.

When I bought my Henckels (not the el cheapo Henckels International, mind you) knives I was looking for a sharpening steel but ended up with the pull-through gadget they call a "sharpener". Someone's already pointed out the difference, that the device is a "honer" that merely sets the blade straight. It returns usability but doesn't actually SHARPEN, i.e, shave off metal and recreate the edge. After reality set in that I could keep running my knives in this honer until I was blue in the face and never increase the sharpness but merely prolong it, I decided to look for a way to really sharpen a knife.

Local and mail-order services didn't appeal to me because I didn't want the knives out of my hands or tested on stuff I wouldn't cut in my kitchen. So I went looking for sharpeners I could use in the home.

- As I read opinions, the whetstone seems to be the best possible way. The electrical sharpeners are about the only alternative that actually re-create an edge, so I thought if the best of them doesn't satisfy me I'll have to go with a whetstone. And I bought this machine.

- As one reviewer pointed out on a slightly different model, READ THE INSTRUCTIONS. If you think you'll simply get an edge by running the blades through the six grooves in order, you will be sorely disappointed.

- The first and second pairs of grooves are for different knives and the third works with the first, maybe the second too. And that's not all.

- You have to run the knife, test for a good burr on the new edge, and polish the edge straight to get your razor sharpness.

- Don't forget to wash the knives, before and after the sharpening. You don't want food or moisture in the sharpener, or microscopic metal in your cut food.

- Big question: is it razor sharp? Yes, but under some conditions. I tried this with five knives: Four Henckels five-star blades, and one some-other brand blade. On one Henckels santoku, I made do with a minimum burr and got a sharp blade, but it wasn't razor sharp. This will be done over. The other brand blade got a nice burr and everything, but never got razor sharp, though it was sharper than it had ever been. The three other Henckels knives, they are as close to razor sharp as anything.

- What do I consider razor sharp? I ran an edge across a small part of my arm and it took off all the hair. THIS IS NOT SAFE - I have shaved with a straight razor so I didn't cut myself. DON'T DO THIS, read on: I used the same blade to cut a slice off a vine ripened ripe tomato without using a chopping board, and established this test: The slice comes off with no skin left on the end of the slice where the knife finishes the cut. That is razor sharp. Vine-ripened, ripe tomatoes tend to have a skin that is almost like plastic wrap - thin and very resilient to the sharpest blade.

- None of my newly bought knives were able to pass the hand-held ripe tomato or hair-on-arm test when they were new. So the sharpness is better than the factory blade.

- The second groove can put a microscopic serration on the edge for better cutting in some situations. Or sharpen a serrated edge. I haven't tried this yet, will update the review when I do. But I'm very happy with this product.

- Criticism that won't take away a star: Reading the manual in this age of short-attention can be painful because the text is small and the lines too long. Paragraph breaks are scant. More pictures, narrower columns and some white space couldn't hurt, especially here where reading the manual is a requirement (not just an overload of warnings or obvious, unnecessary direction)

- All this seems long and tedious the way I describe it, but once you've read the manual, you will have your knives sharp in minutes. So sharp you may be tempted to try to work on the factory edge of a newly bought knife. Just remember, it's important to start with a reasonably good quality knife whose metal can stand up to a fine edge.

This sharpener does an absolutely GREAT job sharpening any knife. All of my knives are now sharper then when they were new, even sharp enough to shave with. No regrets from this buyer!

For an electric sharpener, this one is nice. I've used it on five knives now, and all of them are sharp enough to slice a tomato without any pressure from me (just run the knife across the surface under its own weight). So I'm happy. I know that on reviews of the previous models some people complained that the sharpener didn't get their knives razor sharp. This one doesn't either. But it gets them plenty sharp enough for cooking! And much sharper than the knife vendor here in town does...

The only serious negative is that I'm not very impressed with the manual. While it does give instructions on how to sharpen your knives, I didn't think it did a good job of explaining the different types of edges this sharpener can create.

I had an old Black & Decker SpaceMaker which broke after about 10 years of daily use. I bought this product as a replacement. It looks sleek, takes up very little space, but has one tiny flaw.....it doesn't open cans. In order to open a can you have to tilt the can just right under the "locater post" and even then the one I have opens a can maybe only 1 out of 20 tries. Maybe I got a lemon, but in any event, its not even worth returning it after considering shipping, etc. I'll just buy another brand and eat this one. Do yourself a favor - pass on this product.

I've never had problems getting this can opener to work right, and use it quite often. The blade is removable to wash, but they made it really tough to remove (I suppose that's better than it falling off way to easily, but it's complicated enough that I do it very infrequently because of the hassle).

It is a very slick can opener and works beautifully. It took a few minutes to install but wasn't dificult.

When the knife 1st touches the surface of the food you are going to cut, it it takes more effort to get started. I primarly use my knife for carving rib-roast.

This is my first electric knife, and I'm glad I read the reviews here on it before buying it. Works like a charm, easy to clean and operate, and makes slicing our homemade bread very easy.

More powerful than other electric knives I've used. Cuts easily through cold meats. Well designed and comfortable to use.

It took a little longer than the directions said it would, but this sharpener got my kitchen knives very sharp. I would recommend it.

I bought this at Target and didn't expect much. To my surprise the first knives I sharpened cut like butter through a thick orange peel right away. I did four more knives in succession, each one really dull, and they now are like new. I highly recommend this. It really beats the cheap, hand-held variety, especially if you have a drawer-full of old knives that need sharpening.

Its just what my husband wanted we look at the same model on line at JCPennys and it was 30.00 more and this was great because it was on sale. I am very skeptical about buying on line but Amazon has just been great with the secure sight now I love to shop amazon on line

You will not find a better device like this for under $35.00.

This is a great product, and you can get it, along with any other products on Amazon up to $500 Free! Participate in this special promotion and get a free $500 Amazon Gift Card at this web site: nocoststuff.biz/amazon

I looked for a while at different knife sharpeners. Most of them are too bulky and I did not have space to store them. And they were too expensive. This little one is compact and does the job very well. It took me about 15 minutes to sharpen all my knives - under a minute for each knife. Instructions are clear and easy to follow.

I've owned several electric knives, & this is the very worst one. Shame on Hamilton Beach for designing a product that requires you to press a bottom button up as you have to guide the knife down. Anyone w/a touch of arthritis is going to have a tough time. No matter how many times I tried, even though I always used a bread slicer as a guide, I could never slice a loaf evenly w/this knife. I thought the price was good, but it was wasted $$$, as I've had to replace this knife a month later. This time I bought a Presto--hard to find, but I know it works. My last Preso was used every day for the past decade.

I shopped at many places and saw many electric knives before I decided to buy this set. I am so glad I waited to make my purchase. The knife is beautiful, and it makes a clean smooth cut. I am impressed with the quality for the price. I loved getting the matching serving fork as an extra in the set. I have used this knife on brisket, ribs, and a prime rib and I am totally satisfied. I highly recommend this set to any and all in need of a beautiful set that works.

Product not received - order canceled...maybe vendor should update stock availability more often...Rating for transaction should have an alternative for 0

This knife works nicely. The blades have remained sharp after carving roasted chicken and turkey, roast beef, and yes even cakes over the past year.

The handle wipes off cleanly after use and doesn't suffer from the extreme electric motor vibration that so many electric knives have. The handle stays cool as well. I don't have anything bad to say about this item, it has been a true performer.

The only other reviewer gave this only two start because they said that meat getting in between the two blades rendered the knife useless for cutting meats. I am going to purchase this knife based on the following review from Cook's Illustrated and I quote word for word: "The Black & Decker EK800 Slice Right is every bit as good as its predecessor (the Ergo). It exeduted all tasks perfectly."