Home > Consumer Reviews > Chef's Choice M130 Professional Sharpening Station, White

I used to think I was pretty good at hand sharpening my kitchen knives---I've been doing it for about 35 years now with good tools. But, this Chef's Choice machine has put me to shame. Without qualification, the edges I've put on my good and not so good kitchen knives with this sharpener since I received it a few weeks ago are the best I've ever made on any knife at any time by any other method. I like using the 1-2-3 sequence to end up with the Ultimate Edge---these edges do everything: Tomatoes, citrus, meat-raw and cooked, high-fiber, low-fiber, you name it.

The knife sharpener is amazing. Everyone brings their knives to get sharpened! Great service - five stars to Amazon! So easy to shop now, no tired feet, just relax and take your time shopping!

Thisd is really an excellent product, and well worth the price. It is easy to use and produces knife edges that are incredibly sharp. I strongly recommend it for anyone who does any serious cooking.

I purchased this knife sharpener as part of my progression in becoming a better cook. Better cooking techniques, appliances, cookware, and cooking tools have all been addressed. But my cutlery was in woeful condition after 30 plus years of absolute abuse. You name the cutlery sin and I have committed it. With that said the knife sharpener did exactly what it was advertised to do, it rehabilitated all of my knifes. It took me several attempts to get it right, or mostly right because even though the sharpener is mostly bullet proof it still requires, IMO, a little skill/technique that requires practice. And although I am glad to have requested the knife sharpener for Christmas I now have my doubts as to whether this was really the smart move.

Why is that you ask. Well, I will tell you. There are three slots on the sharpener and if your knives are in pretty good shape they really only need slot #2 which is a sharpening steel slot. You don't even have to turn the sharpener on to use that slot. Slot #1 is only to be use when your knife is in really bad shape like mine were. Slot #3 is for serrated knives mostly. It is the only slot you can use on your serrated knives but I only have two such knives and they are still pretty sharp after much use. As I said slot #3 is mostly for serrated knife sharpening, but it can also be used to add a highly polished edge to your knife. My take on the instruction pamphlet is that his is for the real knife guru and it requires a very light touch and only one pass on the left and right--no more!

So basically, after I have rehabilitated my knives I will most likely not need slots 1 and 3 for a very long time perhaps years, given I no longer commit my previous knife sins like tossing knives in a drawer with other hardware and washing them in a dishwasher.

If I had chosen to purchase a new knife set like the R.H. Forschner by Victorinox 8-Piece Knife Block Set on Amazon I would have gotten an updated set of knives that are NFS approved, e.g., non-wooden handles which are not prone to harboring bacteria for basically the same price. Plus a new santoku knive, not included in the set above, which I currently do not have. The set even includes a sharpening steel.

I plan on sharpening my daughter's knives too, which makes me feel a little better about my choice. I now know I am going to buy a new knife set over the next year and I am feeling like i will never get the value out of the sharpener.

So, I would say think about how much you really use your knives and how often they will require a complete rehabilitation. If it isn't often I would just buy a new knife set, and perhaps one of those $30 manual sharpeners that make steeling a blade a simple task of pulling the blade through the device for us inexperienced steelers.

The warning that the "knives will be sharp so be carefull" should be an audio so when you open the box, it yells at you! The knives were sharpened
per instructions (a must read!)and within a few minutes, both my husband and I had cut ourselves! A little care and we are both cut free, but initially look out! This sharpener really does the job!