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After 30 years of faffing unsatisfactorily with just about every solution known to man - whetstones, pull-throughs of various sorts, wheels, diamond edges, v-shaped 'scrapers', steels, specific angle attachments, cheap electric grinders…

I eventually bit the bullet & spent a darned fortune [£170] on a decent electric sharpener. Never looked back.

It keeps the angle far better than I ever could & uses the simplest instruction set ever. In 3 different graded slot-pairs, pull through one side then the other slowly until you can feel a burr, then move to the next grade. It's idiot-proof ;)
Use the final 'polisher' after that to keep the edge. Return to the full set only when that no longer works. I haven't reached that stage yet after only a couple of months, I just give them a quick polish every week or two, using the "own weight tomato test" as my guide.

I don't mean this really as an advert - there are many other systems & manufacturers, but this is what I ended up with.
I got the Chef's Choice 'Trizor' 15XV* in the UK, on import [with correct voltage & UK plug]. I finally picked this one after a long hunt & weeks of research [all without leaving lockdown, of course]. The final decider was, after reading reams of information, it seemed that this was the one all the 'experts' were measuring against. If they were all using this as their yardstick… why not buy the yardstick? I wasn't disappointed.

btw, the 15XV specifically takes 20° knives down to 15° in a three-step system. If that doesn't float your boat, then they make alternatives for 15°&/or 20° edges. Some, if not all, can also do serrated blades.

After comments - if you're thinking about one of these, make sure to get the one most suited to your needs - there's a guide at https://chefschoice.com/collections/sharpener-finder

*The name seems to vary depending on who is listing it. It was at the time I bought mine called the 'Trizor XV' but Chef's Choice now just call it the 15XV, as they've introduced their 'Trizor' system to other models. You might see it listed under either name.

After 30 years of faffing unsatisfactorily with just about every solution known to humanity - whetstones, pull-throughs of various sorts, wheels, diamond edges, v-shaped 'scrapers', steels, specific angle attachments, cheap electric grinders…

I eventually bit the bullet & spent a darned fortune [£170] on a decent electric sharpener. Never looked back.

It keeps the angle far better than I ever could & uses the simplest instruction set ever. In 3 different graded slot-pairs, pull through one side then the other slowly until you can feel a burr, then move to the next grade. It's idiot-proof ;)
Use the final 'polisher' after that to keep the edge. Return to the full set only when that no longer works. I haven't reached that stage yet after only a couple of months, I just give them a quick polish every week or two, using the "own weight tomato test" as my guide.

I don't mean this really as an advert - there are many other systems & manufacturers, but this is what I ended up with.
I got the Chef's Choice 'Trizor' 15XV* in the UK, on import [with correct voltage & UK plug]. I finally picked this one after a long hunt & weeks of research [all without leaving lockdown, of course]. The final decider was, after reading reams of information, it seemed that this was the one all the 'experts' were measuring against. If they were all using this as their yardstick ... why not buy the yardstick? I wasn't disappointed.

btw, the 15XV specifically takes 20° knives down to 15° in a three-step system. If that doesn't float your boat, then they make alternatives for 15°&/or 20° edges. Some, if not all, can also do serrated blades.

After comments - if you're thinking about one of these, make sure to get the one most suited to your needs - there's a guide at https://chefschoice.com/collections/sharpener-finder

*The name seems to vary depending on who is listing it. It was at the time I bought mine called the 'Trizor XV' but Chef's Choice now just call it the 15XV, as they've introduced their 'Trizor' system to other models. You might see it listed under either name.

After 30 years of faffing unsatisfactorily with just about every solution known to man - whetstones, pull-throughs of various sorts, wheels, diamond edges, v-shaped 'scrapers', steels, specific angle attachments, cheap electric grinders…

I eventually bit the bullet & spent a darned fortune [£170] on a decent electric sharpener. Never looked back.

It keeps the angle far better than I ever could & uses the simplest instruction set ever. In 3 different graded slot-pairs, pull through one side then the other slowly until you can feel a burr, then move to the next grade. It's idiot-proof ;)
Use the final 'polisher' after that to keep the edge. Return to the full set only when that no longer works. I haven't reached that stage yet after only a couple of months, I just give them a quick polish every week or two, using the "own weight tomato test" as my guide.

I don't mean this really as an advert - there are many other systems & manufacturers, but this is what I ended up with.
I got the Chef's Choice Trizor XV* in the UK, on import [with correct voltage & UK plug]. I finally picked this one after a long hunt & weeks of research [all without leaving lockdown, of course]. The final decider was, after reading reams of information, it seemed that this was the one all the 'experts' were measuring against. If they were all using this as their yardstick… why not buy the yardstick? I wasn't disappointed.

btw, the 'Trizor' specifically takes 20° knives down to 15° in a three-step system. If that doesn't float your boat, then they make alternatives for 15°&/or 20° edges. Some, if not all, can also do serrated blades.

After comments - if you're thinking about one of these, make sure to get the one most suited to your needs - there's a guide at https://chefschoice.com/collections/sharpener-finder

*The 'Trizor XV' seems to have been renamed, since I got it, to just its model number - 15XV - as they've introduced the 'Trizor' system to more models.

After 30 years of faffing unsatisfactorily with just about every solution known to man - whetstones, pull-throughs of various sorts, wheels, diamond edges, v-shaped 'scrapers', steels, specific angle attachments, cheap electric grinders…

I eventually bit the bullet & spent a darned fortune [£170] on a decent electric sharpener. Never looked back.

It keeps the angle far better than I ever could & uses the simplest instruction set ever. In 3 different graded slot-pairs, pull through one side then the other slowly until you can feel a burr, then move to the next grade. It's idiot-proof ;)
Use the final 'polisher' after that to keep the edge. Return to the full set only when that no longer works. I haven't reached that stage yet after only a couple of months, I just give them a quick polish every week or two, using the "own weight tomato test" as my guide.

I don't mean this really as an advert - there are many other systems & manufacturers, but this is what I ended up with.
I got the Chef's Choice 'Trizor' 15XV* in the UK, on import [with correct voltage & UK plug]. I finally picked this one after a long hunt & weeks of research [all without leaving lockdown, of course]. The final decider was, after reading reams of information, it seemed that this was the one all the 'experts' were measuring against. If they were all using this as their yardstick… why not buy the yardstick? I wasn't disappointed.

btw, the 15XV specifically takes 20° knives down to 15° in a three-step system. If that doesn't float your boat, then they make alternatives for 15°&/or 20° edges. Some, if not all, can also do serrated blades.

After comments - if you're thinking about one of these, make sure to get the one most suited to your needs - there's a guide at https://chefschoice.com/collections/sharpener-finder

*The name seems to vary depending on who is listing it. It was at the time I bought mine called the 'Trizor XV' but Chef's Choice now just call it the 15XV, as they've introduced their 'Trizor' system to other models. You might see it listed under either name.

After 30 years of faffing unsatisfactorily with just about every solution known to man - whetstones, pull-throughs of various sorts, wheels, diamond edges, v-shaped 'scrapers', steels, specific angle attachments, cheap electric grinders…

I eventually bit the bullet & spent a darned fortune [£170] on a decent electric sharpener. Never looked back.

It keeps the angle far better than I ever could & uses the simplest instruction set ever. In 3 different graded slot-pairs, pull through one side then the other slowly until you can feel a burr, then move to the next grade. It's idiot-proof ;)
Use the final 'polisher' after that to keep the edge. Return to the full set only when that no longer works. I haven't reached that stage yet after only a couple of months, I just give them a quick hone every week or two, using the "own weight tomato test" as my guide.

I don't mean this really as an advert - there are many other systems & manufacturers, but this is what I ended up with.
I got the Chef's Choice Trizor XV in the UK, on import [with correct voltage & UK plug]. I finally picked this one after a long hunt & weeks of research [all without leaving lockdown, of course]. The final decider was, after reading reams of information, it seemed that this was the one all the 'experts' were measuring against. If they were all using this as their yardstick… why not buy the yardstick? I wasn't disappointed.

btw, the 'Trizor' specifically takes 20° knives down to 15° in a three-step system. If that doesn't float your boat, then they make alternatives for 15°&/or 20° edges. Some, if not all, can also do serrated blades.

After 30 years of faffing unsatisfactorily with just about every solution known to man - whetstones, pull-throughs of various sorts, wheels, diamond edges, v-shaped 'scrapers', steels, specific angle attachments, cheap electric grinders…

I eventually bit the bullet & spent a darned fortune [£170] on a decent electric sharpener. Never looked back.

It keeps the angle far better than I ever could & uses the simplest instruction set ever. In 3 different graded slot-pairs, pull through one side then the other slowly until you can feel a burr, then move to the next grade. It's idiot-proof ;)
Use the final 'polisher' after that to keep the edge. Return to the full set only when that no longer works. I haven't reached that stage yet after only a couple of months, I just give them a quick polish every week or two, using the "own weight tomato test" as my guide.

I don't mean this really as an advert - there are many other systems & manufacturers, but this is what I ended up with.
I got the Chef's Choice Trizor XV* in the UK, on import [with correct voltage & UK plug]. I finally picked this one after a long hunt & weeks of research [all without leaving lockdown, of course]. The final decider was, after reading reams of information, it seemed that this was the one all the 'experts' were measuring against. If they were all using this as their yardstick… why not buy the yardstick? I wasn't disappointed.

btw, the 'Trizor' specifically takes 20° knives down to 15° in a three-step system. If that doesn't float your boat, then they make alternatives for 15°&/or 20° edges. Some, if not all, can also do serrated blades.

After comments - if you're thinking about one of these, make sure to get the one most suited to your needs - there's a guide at https://chefschoice.com/collections/sharpener-finder

*The 'Trizor XV' seems to have been renamed, since I got it, to just its model number - 15XV - as they've introduced the 'Trizor' system to more models.