Mini review of Chef's Choice Trizor 15 XV knife sharpener.
It was an early Christmas present from my wife, purchased by her on Amazon, because I had been complaining that we ought to get presents for Thanksgiving. smile.gif
Through the years, whether cooking in my restaurant or just cooking at home, I have tried so many different sharpening systems. I never cared for earlier models of the Chef's Choice but also never did find another system that was easy and reliable for me to use.
This sharpener creates a 15° edge angle per side on all knives, whether they be Asian or
European/American made. It creates two upper bezels about the cutting edge. I think that they are at 17.5° and the top one at 20°. These add strength to the narrow angled cutting edge so it should stay sharp for a longer period of use.
Most of my knives have an edge of 15° or less already with a few at 20°-25° per side.
There are three sharpening stages with Stage 1 being the one to reshape your knives. The other two stages refine the edge.
It is important to read and follow the instruction manual and to develop a burr on the knife before moving on to the next stage. The manual will explain and illustrate the burr as I will not go into it here. But it's easy to detect.
If your knives are European or American made, you will spend the longest time in Stage 1 until you feel the burr. The manual indicates that it may take as many as 20 sets or more of pulls to develop the burr. This was the case with my Sabatier's and a few others.
If you have mostly Asian knives that were at 15° to start with, it should only take up to 5 pairs of pulls to develop the burr.
Once is Stage 2, the burr develops much quicker and I found that I never needed more than 5 pairs of pulls.
The only knives that failed to develop the burr after 30-40 pairs of pulls through stage 1 were several that were custom made by an American knife maker. Now these knives are absolutely beautiful to look at, perfectly balanced, a pleasure to hold and can get fairly sharp. They did get much sharper with the CC 15 even though I could not get the burr.
The problem with these knives, and it was a problem before I ever got this sharpener, is that the metal is so thick, that, from day 1 of use many years ago, they could not slice completely through, say, an apple, without splitting it like a maul. The cut starts out easily but then it cracks through the fruit or vegetable like a wedge. So I never really used them because all of my other knives are so much thinner that they can easily slice completely though anything.
But suffice it to say, after using the Model 15XV, all of the 30+ knives that I use regularly are razor sharp, and are sharper than they were when first purchased.
But if most of your knives are a more standard 20° edge per side, you may want to get the Chef's Choice model 120. It is identical except for the sharpening angles, which are 20° for the cutting edge, 22.5° for the second bezel and 25° for the upper bezel. It would be less time to sharpen them and less work for you to do.
But I believe that the 15° edge is sharper but it practical terms, how sharp do you need your knife to be?
And the XV restored my hand made $150 Japanese knife that was dulled with several nicks taken from the cutting edge by the Smith electric sharpener that I returned for a refund. The Smith engineers claim that it was user error that caused several of the diamonds on the wheel to break off, which is why my knife was damaged. They claimed that I must have held the knife at an angle while pulling through the wheels instead of holding it straight. I absolutely deny that I did this, especially as it was the 21st knife I pulled through their sharpener, 8 times each. Every pull I made was straight across.
The nicks are gone and the knife is scary razor sharp again as it had once been.
And for comparison purposes, I was pleased with the Smith's sharpening of my knives before the "incident" but the Chef's Choice has made them MUCH sharper. The Smith, by the way, created a 22.5° per side edge.
I also have the Spyderco system which requires much more skill to get similar results and takes much, much longer to use, and also used the Edgemaker Pro system which crates an 11.25° angle per side. It worked best with my serrated knives but none of the knives got as sharp with their system.
So how did I test the sharpness? Of course, I cut soft tomatoes with ease which is the standard test. And they all sliced effortlessly through a sheet of paper.
But I folded a 12 page tabloid newspaper in half and was able to easily slice through it with each one of the knives that I sharpened with the Chef's Choice 15XV.
I give this sharpener my ultimate endorsement. I assume that the Model 120 will give the same results as it is exactly the same other than the sharpening angle, as I have mentioned.
I only wish that I had more knives to sharpen with it. smile.gif
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Chef'sChoice 15 Trizor XV EdgeSelect Electric Knife SharpenerProduct Description: Convert traditional 20-degree factory edges of European and American household knives into high-performance Trizor 15-degree edges with this professional electric knife sharpener. It quickly sharpens all brands and types of knives, including straightedge and serrated and contemporary double-bevel or single-bevel traditional Asian-style knives. The three-stage unit combines ultra-sharp 15-degree edge technology with the strength and durability of the triple-bevel arch-shaped Trizor edge, which resists dulling longer than conventionally sharpened hollow-ground or V-shaped edges. Simply pull the blade through the slots to obtain the desired level of sharpness--the machine accommodates the thickest and thinnest knife blades and adjusts for the proper angle automatically thanks to its flexible spring guides.
The first stage features conical disks with diamond abrasives that create extremely fine micro-grooves and the first major bevel of the arch-shaped edge. The second stage uses even finer diamond abrasives on conical disks to shape the second, smaller bevel with finer microgrooves. The third stage uses patented, flexible, abrasive stropping disks that create a microscopically smooth, sharp edge with minimal metal removal, helping to extend the life of fine knives. Even more, it produces the third and final bevel while polishing the micro-grooves formed in the first two stages. Stage three can also be used to straighten and sharpen each tooth of serrated knives. Use the three stages in different combinations to create a custom edge. Other highlights include a simple front-access on/off switch, four stabilizing feet for secure operation, and durable construction for long-lasting performance. Assembled in the USA, the knife-sharpening station measures approximately 6-1/5 by 12 by 6-2/5 inches and carries a three-year limited warranty.
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For many people it probably is.
