Disclosure: TheCheefarcuut Knife Sharpening System used in this blog post was provided free to me by the Manufacturer to review and test. However, all opinions and experiences shared in this post are my own.
I have always been interested in the best ways to sharpen a knife. As an avid cook, a sharp knife is essential when preparing food. As we all know, a dull knife is not a safe knife (or maybe you are not aware!) Most cuts and injuries occur when using a knife that has not been sharpened. Cutting with a dull knife often requires significantly more force, which can lead to a higher risk of damage or injury.
I know the value of a sharp knife. At some point, the knives in my collection need a good sharpening. Keep your knives “tuned up” and you will be more efficient…work quicker… and provide a more appetizing dish for your guests.
What Is My First Step in Sharpening My Knives
If you are going to learn how to sharpen your knife, you need to obtain a good honing rod.
Using one of these is a quick way to straighten your knife edge. If you have watched any food shows, you have seen the Chef use one of these tools before using their knife. A honing tool does not sharpen your knife! Honing is a maintenance process to use between actual sharpening. What this tool does is remove any “burrs” on the knife edge and helps to straighten the knife so you can quickly get to cutting. (A burr is a small fold of metal that is on the side of the edge of your knife.) This can happen from normal use or during the process of sharpening your knife.
Eventually, honing the edge of your knife will not be enough. Depending on the quality and usage of your knife, at one point, it will need to be sharpened. At a minimum, you need to find a good honing rod that can be used between the sharpening of your knives.
What Kind of Sharpener Should I Use
The questions that you should ask yourself before purchasing a knife sharpener are: 1) How much cooking do you do? 2) How much knife work do you do? and 3) Can you spend an hour in a shop that sells knives and drool over potential new purchases! (I know, not really a requirement, but if you spend a substantial amount of time researching and adding knives to your collection, you should realize how important a sharp knife is.) Knowing these kinds of things can certainly point you in the right direction to what is the right sharpener for you.
Handheld Knife sharpeners
There are many kinds of handheld, inexpensive knife sharpeners on the market. If you don’t cook a lot, have a fear of pointy objects, and eat out most of the time, then this might be best for you. This kind of sharpener might just take care of your needs.
Electric Sharpeners
I have used electric knife sharpeners in the past. They worked well; however, I was always worried about grinding down my good knives too much. Probably the number one reason for getting one is the convenience. Plug it in and get to work. One of the negatives is that you do not have many choices in setting the angle of the edge. The electric sharpeners may have 1 or 2 choices, but if you are sharpening an Asian-style knife and not a Western-style knife, then you are out of luck. Some electric sharpeners have the ability to sharpen an Asian style knife, but again, angles are pre-set and may not be proper to sharpen the angle of a thin bladed Asian style knife. And I love my Asian-style knives!
Let’s Talk About the Cheefarcuut Knife Sharpener
The Cheefarcuut Knife Sharpener
This knife sharpener was provided to me to test and review. I have to admit, this sharpener intrigued me from the start. I liked having control over the whole sharpening process. The ability to set the perfect angle for my Asian-style knife was compelling. The manufacturer even provides a USB-Charging Digital 10–30° Angle Control device to help me find the angle that I wanted for each knife sharpened.
What is with the different stones?
The different stones in the system are used to sharpen your knives. The stone that comes with the system has a 400 and 1000-grit. The higher the grit number, the finer the edge of your knife is sharpened. The 400-grit stone is coarser and used first to do the major sharpening.
The one additional item in the system is the strop. The leather strop is used to polish and refine a blade after sharpening, straightening microscopic imperfections to create a razor-sharp, smooth, and mirror-like edge. It does not sharpen a dull blade, but is the final step in the sharpening process.
Check out the video below to see how it all works:
As you can tell, this system for sharpening knives is versatile. It even comes with an attachment to sharpen scissors. I have not had a chance yet to check that out. In summary if what you are looking for is a method to sharpen knives where you can have control over the angle, have the ability to sharpen your knives in the sink where you can keep your sharpening stone wet, and a method that allows you to sharpen your knives quickly with good results than you should check this system out and see if it is right for you.
Please leave any comments below. Let me know what your thoughts are. As always, thanks for Spending Time in My Kitchen!
