Professional Knife Sharpener

Posted by Peggy Lane
5
Jan 16, 2019
639 Views

Safety is key in the kitchen and the first place to start is your cutlery. Here is where Professional knife sharpeners will show to be very important to your safety in and around the kitchen.  Simply put, dull knives are more dangerous than a well-sharpened one, and will take more effort because to do your slicing, etc. because it is not honed and sharpened.  More than likely, you already know that, but how often do you wonder why your knives do not stay sharp?


As you start to cut into that tomato, you probably have thought…"my knives are worthless". Granted, the sharpness of a knife blade does start with the quality of the knife, but did you know that it is more of an issue of how you sharpen your knives? This is why it is extremely important that you keep your knives properly conditioned, and the best way possible is with the use of Professional knife sharpeners, like Chefs Choice models.


Luckily, there has been advancements in cutlery sharpeners. Traditionally-used sharpeners included sharpening stones and manual hand-held versions.  In extreme cases, many found their grinder sitting in the garage to the job…yikes!


Experts in the culinary arts, gourmet and top chefs all agree that cutlery should be properly conditioned often, at least monthly.  Not only will conditioning knives keep them sharp, they will be easier to maintain and will take less effort to sharpen each time. This recommendation is not just for fellow chefs, it is for all those Hell's Kitchen followers.

Now the question arises…just what exactly is Professional knife sharpeners knife conditioning?

Conditioning a knife is a just a fancy term for properly sharpening the cutting angle of both sides of a knife. Though there are differences in Professional knife sharpeners, most will have what is called a 'conditioning wheel', which will abrade, or wear-down, the knife edge to achieve proper cutting angles.  Make certain to focus on Professional knife sharpeners that have a conditioning wheel versus others; they will cost more, but will be well worth the investment.

The conditioning process is only the beginning.  Next will come 'honing'; most people mistakenly assume that the steel rod that comes with your cutlery set is there to sharpen your knives. Honing is actually the process of straightening the blade, making it more efficient. This leaves a 'burr'. The final part of properly sharpening a knife is called 'strop'; this is basically removing the burr and creating a final cutting surface.

As you can see, there is more to sharpening a knife than one may think initially.  This is where an Professional knife sharpener comes in extremely useful. This will allow you to always have a sharp knife, without the cumbersome process as traditional knife sharpening.

What to consider when searching for Professional knife sharpeners.Quality - remember that you get what you pay for.Warranty - most, if not all, top-of-the-line models come with at least a manufacturers one-year warranty.

Multi-stage sharpening - as we discussed in this article…sharpen, steel, hone, strop, polishing.

Sharpening surface - here, you will have a choice when it comes to Professional knife sharpeners, including diamond, ceramic, etc.What is your task - do you need something that will cut serrated blades, how about cleavers, butcher knives, curved, etc?

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