The nice folks at Smith’s Edge just released a line of knife sharpeners for the kitchen and they were kind enough to send me a few of the models. I am a big fan of sharpening, which I admit is a rather dorky, but still a useful pursuit. The manual sharpeners that they sent are all well designed. They are stable and don’t move around when you pull the knife through. Maintaining control is something that is rather important when you are playing around knives. Some of the manual sharpeners from other manufacturers are not as stable because they have a narrower base which causes them to tend to tip as you pull the knife through.

Anyhow, I recently did a run through of the different styles of sharpeners and their benefits. Which style of sharpener you choose depends on your cooking style, but all of sharpeners that I tried from Smith’s Edge work really well and I highly recommend them.

I wanted to get a second opinion though. After all, I did write a long article on the benefits of knife sharpening, so I may not be that balanced an individual. In order to get the opinion of people who don’t sharpen their knives… ever, I sent one of the sharpeners to my parents. My dad was kind enough to write a review. I have included a picture of the sharpener below.

First I have to say I love the idea of my son and daughter in law blogging about food, photographing the results and helping others attempt the recipe.

It also comes in very handy that the blog takes off and sample products roll in for them to critique.

I have never been very good about keeping knifes sharp. To much work, last on the list of things to do, forgotten items, etc. The truth is I can be lazy.

So the other day when the mail arrived, I found a box with a sharpener enclosed. Now I knew Luke was going to send me a sharpener to try, but I was totally shocked that it arrived that quickly. My first impression was that it was a bagel cutter as the shape was very similar.

It is the “Smith’s” knife and scissor sharpener. It has both the coarse and fine slots for sharpening knifes as well two separate slots for sharpening scissors.

Now, as stated earlier, most of our knives have a tough time slicing. Tables wiggle, muttering by users is common and ripen tomato’s have little fear.

So on to the test with my quality knives of Faberware, Ikea brand castoffs.

The slots are well marked for coarse or fine and I knew enough to use coarse first and finish with fine to remove any burrs. I thought five pulls through each would suffice.

To my amazement the knife came out sharp. Or at least much sharper then when I began. A few more pulls with the same knife and I was completely sold on the sharpener. It also has a plastic cover that folds down when you are using it and help keep knives from bouncing off the table when you pull them through.

I then moved on to the scissor sharpener and received the same results. I proceeded to empty the knife drawer and make and sharpened everything, including the serrated knives. Wasn’t sure i should use it for serrated knives but they did seem better off for it.

I have no idea of the cost of this device, but for my money it is well worth the price. It also seems safer to use as one hand has to hold the top of the device as the other guides the knife.

So tomatoes beware, tough non marinated meat products will no longer stand a chance in our kitchen.

– Mike