On Sat, 15 Nov 2008 10:34:05 -0000, "Vortex3"
wrote:

One thing we need is a kitchen knife sharpener.

I would be predisposed to suggest an old fashioned "steel" but brief
research reveals several different technologies are out there....and there
is no obvious technical advantage to any one:

Traditional Steels do not sharpen knives but simply tidy the edge
formed when sharpening. (Diamond "steels" are somewhat different and
do have a sharpening action).

The best knife sharpener by far that I've found is the Edgecraft 420
http://www.edgecraft.com/page2b_m420.html

There is a larger picture of it at
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=380078973769&ssPageNam e=ADME:B:EF:US:1123
from a seller in the USA but there is a UK supplier somewhere. I've
bought mine at the London Model Engineering Exhibition where they
usually have a stand.

The handle and size makes it very easy to hold and allows for the
required "limp wrist" hold to get a good sharp edge. They also seem
to last for ages. I've got one which is 10 years old and as good as
new. Every so often you clean grot from the abrasive surface by
rubbing a bit of Pledge or washing up liquid over it and rinsing it..

As well as being an excellent knife sharpener you have the added
advantage of a medium and coarse diamond file as well as the fine for
sharpening chisels and other applications.