Others say...

"Average Knife Sharpener Over Priced"
The title say's it all, AVERAGE electric knife sharpener at OVER PRICE. I should have paid more attention to the other 3 star reviews of this product. I will KEEP this product only because my other electric sharpeners I have burned out and I don't have the time to research electric knife sharpeners. My advice to any one looking to purchase an electric knife sharpener is go to any discount store and buy any one of the many available off the shelf. Maybe someday soon a LASER sharpener will become available for home use.

"Scratched my expensive knife!"
After reading the glowing comments from Cook's Illustrated about this model, as well as the great reviews at Amazon, I was certain that I'd ordered the best electric sharpener on the market. But after only two strokes in the #1 slot, it made several long scratches on both sides of my 8" Wusthof Chef's Knife running from heel to tip.

Although the scratches are only cosmetic, I find it completely unacceptable that the only way it can sharpen is to simultaneously scratch up the sides of your knife as you're drawing it through the machine. I ordered a new knife (cost, $110.00) to replace the one that got scratched. Thanks a lot Chef's Choice!




"Somewhat of a love hate relationship. "
I'll put my conclusions first so you don't have to read through my ramblings.
The Good:
Small size
Looks nice, well built and professional.
Quiet
Will easily put a good edge on a good knife that's not too dull.

The not so good:
Required quite a bit of experimentation to get the advertised results.
The best results I've been able to achieve are somewhat sloppy and inconsistent.

The Bad:
The instruction booklet.
Despite its well made appearance, I really wouldn't expect this to last very long if subjected to heavy use like in a restaurant or as the guy in the neighborhood who sharpens everyone's knives. The motor heats up rather quickly and on several occasions, under the required pressure to produce the "burr", bound up and stopped.
After getting a good edge on the first wheel, the edge shaved pieces off the stropping discs. I expect these to fail relatively quickly.
The steel in the second slot is not installed very well and rotates when used.

I'm still waffling on whether I really like this thing or not.
I read all the reviews an discounted the few negative ones as people who just didn't use it right.
My initial impression was one of profound disappointment. The box arrived somewhat mangled, though well in advance of the proposed shipping date. shipping was free, which was nice. The price I paid was considerably under what it shows today.
Upon unpacking, I liked the fact that it's smaller than I expected, and looks like a well made piece of equipment. I carefully read the directions, which as most reviewers stated, left a lot to be desired.
I correctly guessed that this was going to take a bit of trial and error, so I started out on an old, bowling ball dull chef's knife made of cheap stainless that hasn't seen use in several years. I followed the directions as best I could and got less than mediocre results. The elusive "burr" simply refused to materialize. My interpretation of the directions led me to believe that the knife was to be held perpendicular to the floor (straight up and down. This didn't work. After MANY more attempts, I finally hit upon a method that seems to work. Basically, you must pin the knife against the outside edge of the guide and draw the knife through with a slight "twisting pressure". Counterclockwise for the left guide, clockwise for the right. This required more pressure than I thought it would from the directions. The result was s good, sharp though somewhat "sloppy" edge. (I'm no knife expert, so I apologize for my weird terminology)
Once I figured out the action required, I moved on to other knives and got better and better results. Finally, on my relatively still sharp Henckels, I was able to put a pretty good edge.


"Good Sharpener"
I had used common sharpeners which come with can openers before. The quality of sharpening was not comparable to M130 and did not last at all. Chef's choice gives you shaving blade like quality and it lasts and it gives you a couple of really professional options on how you want to sharpen your knife. The only problem with the latter was my understanding of those options and I had to read instructions several times to really understand it. I have the sharpener for only a little more than a month and hope that it will preserve its sharpining qualities for a long time.

"Fantastic, Works Exactly As Advertized"
I'll keep it short. This knife sharpener is fantastic. It works exactly as advertised, is easy to use, and won't hurt your eardrums. It's a little large, so if you have a small kitchen you'll probably want to keep it in a closet or cabinet (but how often do you need to sharpen you knives anyway?). Other than that it is fantastic, and really does quickly and easily put a razor sharp edge on your knives. I even sharpened some of my old, cheap knives I was planning on tossing and it saved them for me!

The only negative (and the reason it was 4 stars and not 5) is that it is a bit on the expensive side! I might seriously consider the M110 and save a bit of money (I didn't think the M120 saved you enough to bother)... But, you often get what you pay for, and I couldn't be happier!