The reason I chose this particular model to test is because of its functional design. Since most kitchens have a variety of knives, it just makes practical sense to have one sharpener that can handle basically any type of knife.
Product Description
- Chef's Choice® Professional Sharpening Station™ Model 130
- Uses SteelPro® technology
- Sharpens both fine edge and serrated blades
- Sharpens, steels or strops all brands and types of steel knives including kitchen, Asian style, sports, pocket knives
- Sharpens in seconds
- Fool-proof sharpening with built-in high precision, user friendly angle guides
- Has three stages:
Stage 1 uses 100% diamond abrasives to sharpen the edge; stage 2 is a super hardened sharpening steel for a sharp edge; and stage 3 is a flexible stropping disk to polish the edge. - Limited three year warranty
- UL/ETL and Canadian approved
- Retails in the range of $130 to $175
- Learn more from manufacturer
How the Chef's Choice M130 Performed
September 28 2009 The 130 is smaller in size and quieter than expected, and was very stable during sharpening. When it says "fast and easy to use" - you can believe it, but I must stress that reading the manual before using it is of utmost importance, to know to proceed and which stage is best for each task. We tested many types of steel kitchen and sporting knives with fine edges and serrated, including bread, Santoku, fillet, Chef's, paring, utility, slicing, steak and boning.The stage used for each knife depended on whether it needed a touch-up (steeled) or a re-shaping of the edge. For example, when using stage 1, a burr must be formed before moving to the next stage. See page 6 & 7 of the manual, for an explanation of 'burr'. The manual explains the use of each stage, so I won't elaborate too much on the staging process. Pulling a knife through a stage is easy and requires little effort, but being consistent (no stops) is important and there's a short learning curve. Not all knives required all three stages; it depended entirely on the condition of the edge. Of the knives sharpened, some were older and had not been sharpened in years, others had been steeled regularly and a few were untouched.
As for performance, we were very satisfied with sharpening results and in some cases, knife edges were restored beyond our expectations, especially some of the older knives. The sharpening effort for each knife was similar, though some required more pulls than others, especially the thicker jack (lock-blade) knives.
Overall Impression
Performance of the Chef's Choice 130 was better than expected, especially with older knives and serrated cutlery. Having mostly used a steel, whet stone, manual and basic electric models in the past to maintain fine edges, we were skeptical going into this test. But sharpening results were amazing; knives now have razor-sharp edges. We gathered about thirty knives for this sharpening test, which we consider to be a generous sampling. Overall, we found that this sharpener saved us a lot of time and guesswork over previously used sharpening equipment.For best sharpening results, reading the manual is a must. This process is easy but will vary depending on the condition of the knife edge and stage required. Some knives only required one stage, while others required several pulls and all three stages.
Maintenance of the sharpener is simple. There's a magnet on the bottom that requires occasional cleaning with a paper towel. After using the sharpener, knives should be hand washed to remove small metal particles and dried/stored properly.
As for function, this sharpener is very versatile. You can touch-up or restore an edge on a variety of cutlery, so that means you only need one sharpener for your kitchen and sporting knives. It's also a compact size, easy to use and store.
Price does seem a little high, however, even manual sharpening equipment is pricey and professional sharpening fees can add up. I'd recommend this sharpener for anyone who likes to keep a variety of knives in top condition or finds it difficult to use a steel or manual sharpeners.
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