15XV

If you own lots of expensive knives, you need this machine. The more you own, the more you need it. If you have invested a decent amount of money in knives, it's a good bet you did that not just for how nice they look, but for how sharp they are.Consider how much their value diminishes with a dull or even slightly dull edge. Most people don't even know what sharp is. After the initial factory edge wares off, they never feel that super clean slice of a tomato again. That's why some people buy serrated knives, to cut tomatoes. That's crazy because serrated knives really don't cut well and a razor sharp knife does, they just can't get back to that razor sharp edge, not on their own.No matter how much I tried, I could never duplicate that factory fresh edge for myself. I didn't have the skill to pull it off, even if I had all the tools for sharpening, the steel, the crock sticks, the wet stones, I tried but failed to shave hair with my kitchen knives.That was until I bought my first Chef'sChoice model 120. Instantly I became an expert sharpener and found myself offering to sharpen any of my friends and family's knives too because I hated seeing them struggle with dull knives. If you cook, and you like quality gear, like sharp knives, then you have a real treat coming.This is one of the best things you will ever buy. It's half the price of one good knife but it will keep all your knives razor sharp.Once you have the shape of the edge down with the first wheel or two, all you need is the last wheel on the right to touch it up once in awhile and from then on, that's probably the only wheel you will need to use on your knife. Good knives only need sharpening once or twice a year. The key is using a great quality blade with a decent cutting board like wood or soft plastic and stay away from cutting into bones except with your one and only boning knife. Fish bones are no big deal but the other types can mess up a nice edge fast. Also, keep the uneducated away from expensive, sharp knives, give them something else to use. This is very important because it only takes about 3 seconds to ruin the edge on a good blade.I have owned the Chef'sChoice model 120 for about 12 years and love it. I bought this 15 Trizor XV for my Japanese knives. They come with a 16 degree edge so this model is better for them. I have changed all my kitchen knives over to 15 degrees now and I like it even better than the original 20-22 degree German edge. It makes a big, very noticeable difference when slicing just about everything. I keep my folding pocket knives at 20 degrees because they need to hold up to much tuffer chores working outdoors.Some people claim that a machine like this can't produce the ultimate sharpness of large Japanese wet stones and 15-30 minutes of sharpening. That may be true. It's a totally different approach to the task at hand. I believe I can get a more perfect, slightly sharper edge if I took 30 minutes per blade and slowly stroked the edge to sheer perfection of wet stone treatment. Sometimes, when I have nothing to do, I still like to play around with wet stones but 99% of the time, I don't find it worth it. I can get such a sharp edge in about 5 seconds with the Chef'sChoice machines that it's not even close to deciding witch system I'll use almost all the time. Comparing the two very different techniques is comparing apples to oranges. One way is results in a near perfect edge in less then 10 seconds and the other maybe gets you a slightly sharper edge but maybe not, but it will take several minutes maybe 15 or more to get similar results as I can get with the Chef'sChoice system.Don't listen to reviews that say this will ruin you blades. It won't. No more than any system will. It's all up to you. Do you want to read the manual for five minutes so you learn how to use this thing or just wing it. It has the power and the discs to destroy a blade in seconds if you don't know what you are doing. But, It's so easy, a child can use this thing. You just need to take a minute at first so you know exactly what to do. Practice with cheap knives first and get your skill level up to the job. Once you do that, your good forever but like anything, if you want to pay attention and get really good at it, you can always improve what you're doing.Once you have your edge right, the only disc you need to use is the last one on the right. It is like super fine, basically polishing the edge to super sharpness. It's almost all I ever use and if you wanted to, you could run you very best knives through that last disc every day, without any significant ware to your blade.Knife sharpening is mostly about consistent angle and nothing provides fast sharpening with a consistent angle than Chef'sChoice.I told you it will be the best thing you ever bought. That applies only if you really, really care about quality gear, sharp knives and the ability to always have razor sharpness to your expensive knives. Once you learn how to use this, and it won't take but a few minutes, you'll love it. The more quality knives you own, the more you will appreciate a device like this. It's so easy and so fast, the price is like nothing because it will restore all your expensive blades and probably outlast you. My first model 120 is right here working fine after a dozen years, but this new 15 Trizor is even better, faster and it's the exact same price I paid over a decade ago for my 120.Good luck.

I ordered this sharpener and received it the same day so that's a bonus. Once I received it I completely read the instructions and precautions to be sure I understood how to properly use the sharpener. I then proceeded to sharpen some of my JK Henckel knives starting with my 5.5 inch boning knife. It took me a few passes with the knife to get the feel for how to run it through but once I got the hang of it it was pretty simple to get the right pressure and flow to make the passes in the correct time for the specific sharpening wheel. After running through the first wheel I was able to feel the burr on the one side of the blade as instructed. Then onto the second wheel and finally the third wheel. I was easily able to get a the blade sharp enough to cut sheets of paper. That is plenty sharp for my usage. I worked on my 6 inch carving knife next, no issues and very sharp. Then I proceeded to try my Wusthof Gran Prix 7 inch serrated knife. Using the provided instructions I was able to put a nice sharpen on that with no issues. Ok, now onto my Forschner/Victorinox 10 inch carving knife. Easy process through the wheels and it was almost scary sharp. Best it's ever been, even better than I could get using my sharpening stone. I am impressed. Last onto my Hamono Santoku knife I got as a gift from Kyoto. This one has a contemporary bevel, 2 sided, instead of a traditional one sided sushi style bevel. Following their instructions I was able to get it arm hair shaving sharp in only 5 minutes with very little effort. I know the sharpener is new but it sure does get the job done as far as I'm concerned. Time will tell if it holds but I'm very happy with the ease of use and effectiveness.

Too bad there is not a Six Star rating I can select. This sharpener was highly rated on teh America's Test Kitchen site and i can see why.While it is a tad expensive the olde adage "you get what you pay for" is applicable in this case.After years of trying different sharpeners, both manual and a couple electric this is a keeper. Very easy to bring back a well dulled knife edge to like new condition.Easy to use, works as advertised, I highly recommend.

Really nice to sharpen my knifes really quickly. Have to be careful because the placement on the handle of some knifes hits against the frame of the sharpener causing the very pack end of the edge to not fully sharpen. But all in all it re-sharpens the edge of my knifes really quickly and really well.

I'm embarrased to admit how much time and $$ I have blown over decades trying to get a knife sharpening technique that produces repeatable excellent results. I've tried: wet stones, dry stones, oil stones, water stones, gall stones, kidney stones. I've also tried (cringe) belt sanders, grinding wheels, and numerous other devices. I've wated endless YouTubes demos as well. Some worked better than others, but I found NONE that were easy to use while producing repeatable EXCELLENT results. UNTIL THIS ONEWhat did is for me was 2 ladies that demo'd this thing on YouTube. Regretably I can't find the link. In any case when I recieved this sharpener, I sharpened every knife (and I mean EVERY knife) I could get my hands on! It wants a 15 degree edge which works well for most culinary knives, BUT with patience, you can re-grind a 20 degree (or any other angle) to the 15 degrees. Not only does this device produce a "factory" edge, but the edge really holds up well, so I have not needed to fire it up since its initial run. I'm impressed, wish I had it decades ago.

This sharpener works great for both straight and serrated knives. The 3-stage system makes blades very sharp, almost like new. It’s easy to use and feels sturdy. Worth the price for anyone who wants professional results at home.

Love this sharpener. Once I used it a couple of passes on each stone I found the sweet spot for my knives. Highly recommend buying this if you have good knives. Worth every penny.