Anolon Advance Universal Knife Sharpener £12.60 @ Debenhams + 4% Quidco

Astec123

Sorry but I don't see the point of something like this when a £2-3 steel will do the best job around and give the best overall cut.

Shambles

Astec123:
Sorry but I don't see the point of something like this when a £2-3 steel will do the best job around and give the best overall cut.

Agreed. This is an expensive alternative to so many better ways of sharpening knives

minimal_fuss

where can i get a normal cheap steel atm? nowhere seems to stock them anymore?!

nihcaj

Astec123:
Sorry but I don't see the point of something like this when a £2-3 steel will do the best job around and give the best overall cut.

It's a mystery to me how a steel will sharpen a knife - it might well, with a bit of practice keep a well sharpened knife at or close to it's optimum sharpness, but it will still need a good bit of work with a stone or diamond sharpener to get it there in the first place, possibly even after a grinding to get the angles right!
Most steels people have are viciously coarse too, the idea behind it all is it should just hone the edge and remove small knicks keeping the edge as it was first sharpened.

I am dab hand with a steel, but I never was a true "star" with the initial sharpening, and that's even after years of working in Meat Inspection - it just takes natural ability and a lot of practice to do a good job quickly.

The type of sharpener in this post is a type I have tried before at home, and find the ceramic disc type a total waste of time, and went back to using a stone, and having all the mess and bother that entails. I have used diamond sharpeners, with some limited success, (still prefer an oilstone!) but the ONLY gadget I have any sucess with is one of these: http://www.amazon.co.uk/AnySharp-ANY.../dp/B001DXVL6K

NOT recommended for ultra expensive knives, as it takes a fair bit of metal off in the process, but it produces a decent edge, in seconds, most importantly in the hands of an UNSKILLED user, and will hold the edge when using a steel too, at least for a short while, although I generally don't bother and give it a stroke or two on the sharpener instead. Others in the household can use it too, so I am less likely to pull out a dangerously blunt knife now :-)

The only knife I have NOT found it too good with is an odd layered Damascus steel type chef's knife I acquired which is VERY hard, and just doesn't "cut" so well with the sharpener.

Astec123

:
It's a mystery to me how a steel will sharpen a knife - it might well, with a bit of practice keep a well sharpened knife at or close to it's optimum sharpness, but it will still need a good bit of work with a stone or diamond sharpener to get it there in the first place, possibly even after a grinding to get the angles right!
Most steels people have are viciously coarse too, the idea behind it all is it should just hone the edge and remove small knicks keeping the edge as it was first sharpened.

It is just practice. I used to work as a butcher. Just regular use keeps a knife sharp.

http://www.hub-uk.com/cooking/tipsknives.htm

That is a good place to get the how to do it right. At the end of the day you stick to what you find works best, and I feel the cheap and old fashioned way works best.

:
where can i get a normal cheap steel atm? nowhere seems to stock them anymore?!

Wilkinson's do them.

nihcaj

Astec123:
It is just practice. I used to work as a butcher. Just regular use keeps a knife sharp.

http://www.hub-uk.com/cooking/tipsknives.htm

That is a good place to get the how to do it right.

Indeed.... and it agrees with me : "A steel is only useful when the knife is already sharp."
Couldn't agree more!

Mascherano

nihcaj:
It's a mystery to me how a steel will sharpen a knife - it might well, with a bit of practice keep a well sharpened knife at or close to it's optimum sharpness, but it will still need a good bit of work with a stone or diamond sharpener to get it there in the first place, possibly even after a grinding to get the angles right!
Most steels people have are viciously coarse too, the idea behind it all is it should just hone the edge and remove small knicks keeping the edge as it was first sharpened.

I am dab hand with a steel, but I never was a true "star" with the initial sharpening, and that's even after years of working in Meat Inspection - it just takes natural ability and a lot of practice to do a good job quickly.

The type of sharpener in this post is a type I have tried before at home, and find the ceramic disc type a total waste of time, and went back to using a stone, and having all the mess and bother that entails. I have used diamond sharpeners, with some limited success, (still prefer an oilstone!) but the ONLY gadget I have any sucess with is one of these: http://www.amazon.co.uk/AnySharp-ANY.../dp/B001DXVL6K

NOT recommended for ultra expensive knives, as it takes a fair bit of metal off in the process, but it produces a decent edge, in seconds, most importantly in the hands of an UNSKILLED user, and will hold the edge when using a steel too, at least for a short while, although I generally don't bother and give it a stroke or two on the sharpener instead. Others in the household can use it too, so I am less likely to pull out a dangerously blunt knife now :-)

The only knife I have NOT found it too good with is an odd layered Damascus steel type chef's knife I acquired which is VERY hard, and just doesn't "cut" so well with the sharpener.

Great post! Answered a lot of questions I had about sharpening knives!

Lorenzo · *Last edited by Lorenzo : 19-07-2009 at 19:39.*

This may be an expensive option but it's not really about whether the option is the greatest one but rather that this is a good deal that's on sale at the moment. There is obviously a market I'm sure for items like this as if there wasn't they wouldn't be on sale and I'm sure not everyone, even after reading a webpage about how to use a regular steel would be confident in using one. This is currently a good deal and in comparison to prices at other online shops it works out to be a decent saving.

nihcaj

Lorenzo:
This may be an expensive option but it's not really about whether the option is the greatest one but rather that this is a good deal that's on sale at the moment. There is obviously a market I'm sure for items like this as if there wasn't they wouldn't be on sale and I'm sure not everyone, even after reading a webpage about how to use a regular steel would be confident in using one. This is currently a good deal and in comparison to prices at other online shops it works out to be a decent saving.

Then you are missing the point.

It's not a good deal, at any price because they are not very good, and better alternative gadgets exist for less money anyway, that require no particular skill, as I mentioned. MANY very poor pieces of equipment are on sale in every area of retailing, there is nothing unusual about selling poor kit, at high or low price, but a saving on that item is not a saving at all just because it is cheaper than the price someone else is selling it for, as not buying it at all would be a far bigger saving and a wiser course of action!

Astec123 · *Last edited by Astec123 : 19-07-2009 at 22:04.*

nihcaj:
Indeed.... and it agrees with me : "A steel is only useful when the knife is already sharp."
Couldn't agree more!

Yes and any body with any sense keeps knives sharp on a day to day basis as what is the point in sharpening it and letting it go till it is dead to resharpen. So if you cant manage to bother to maintain your equipment then there really isn't much point investing any more money in it.

At the end of the day the point of saving money is a thing you need to day to day, not when it suits, so it's just spending money in one way to save it another. I would rather the cheap and simple alternative that works every time and doesnt break down ie no moving parts to eventually wear down and break.

By the way I used to work as a butcher some years ago so I have enjoyed/endured all manner of "devices" for keeping knives sharp. Nothing better than a steel and if it does get a bit too blunt nab the ole stone and give it some elbow.

nihcaj

Astec123:
I have enjoyed/endured all manner of "devices" for keeping knives sharp. Nothing better than a steel and if it does get a bit too blunt nab the ole stone and give it some elbow.

Very convenient when the stone is at hand and ready to use, as in a working environment, but the common problem is that in domestic situations, others use the knives too, and apart from other family members not being able to use a steel, the abuse a knife can be put through gives is a bit of a differnt angle on how to approach keeping a sharp knife going!
A knife that you could shave with soon becomes blunt enough to sit on, in the hands of the unskilled

Anolon Advance Universal Knife Sharpener £12.60 @ Debenhams + 4% Quidco

HUKD Tools and API

About HotUKDeals

HUKD Blogs