On 11/17/2015 2:59 PM, Ed Huntress wrote:
On Tue, 17 Nov 2015 12:54:25 -0500, Tom Gardner
wrote:

I sharpen my knives by hand but many people have asked me about getting
an electric knife sharpener, especially as a Christmas gift for someone.
I have no experience, any suggestions? A lot of the foodie people
have descent cutlery but can only touch them up a bit. People ask about
sharpening serrated blades too. The only way I know is the hard way.
'Tis the season!

Most of the electric ones have one big problem: they grind a hollow
from the heel of the knife out toward the belly. If the knife has a
bolster or a ricasso (many kitchen knives do), it gets worse.

Knives I inherited from my mother have that hollow. On a chopper, it
makes the knife completely useless. I use bench stones on my own
knives to avoid it.

Good luck. If you find a good electric sharpener that doesn't grind
that hollow, let us know.



I once tried to teach my brother how to sharpen a knife from butter
knife to scalpel. He didn't have the patience or the "feel". you'd be
surprised that people just buy new knives when they can't cut stuff
anymore. A parade of cheap knives rather than a few good ones well
cared for. I wonder why I have to carve everything when I'm a guest...I
know to bring my knives! Probably the only reason I get invited
anywhere for holidays.