Tumbler sharpener

Their site says: "ROLL YOUR WAY TO SHARPER KNIVES Traditional sharpening takes time to master. With Tumbler Rolling Knife Sharpener, anyone can get factory-sharp knives in minutes." Becoming a good Chef also takes time to master. No one accomplishes anything in minutes. Your son should learn to sharpen what will become his tool of the trade. In theory it looks brilliant - simple and not too expensive at about £60 sixty quid for the basic model but I think it`s just for speed and convenience and you`re a bit limited at 17 degrees a side whatever so not ideal for Asian cutlery and probably just for a quick inconsistent touch-up. I learnt sharpening by trial and error and watching cooks and chefs ( I`m neither ) I just practised at every opportunity using everything that was abrasive - walls, floors, stones, bricks - anything. That was well before the internet looking at British celebrity chefs like Graham Kerr ( The Galloping Gourmet ), Franny Craddock, Delia Smith and Keith Floyd plus later the Roux Brothers and Marco Pierre White on a small black and white telly. I`ve never read a cook book or done a recipe - never ! I've seen video. I suspect it isn't going to sharpen the tip and heel of a knife that well. Both parts would be important to a chef, the tip for fine work and the heel to chop or power through stuff. If he won't learn to free hand sharpen (we have a sub forum to help), then I suggest one of those rigs where the knife is clamped down and an abrasive is moved on...

This thing keeps showing up on my Instagram feed. At first glance it looks pretty cool, (holds your knife at the proper angle and easy sharpening). I've tried using whet stones a couple of times and I'm not very good at it. I know that sharpening takes practice but the Tumbler seems like a quick and easy way to get the job done. What do you guys think? Sharpening is not putting an edge at the end of a piece of steel. It's more about restoring a previous configuration in another place, where the steel is slightly thicker. If you remove 1 millimetre of the width, the thickness behind the edge is likely to have doubled. A good reason to thin behind the edge prior to reaching the very edge. The best edges match with the blade's geometry. As I'm right-handed, I want the right bevel to continue the arc formed by the right face. These kind of devices totally ignore any geometry. No back bevel, no convexity. "I've tried using whet stones a couple of times and I'm not very good at it. I know that sharpening takes practice" If by "whet" stone you mean oil then you'll probably never get good results with a kitchen knife. Water is the way to go and yes it takes practice, but anyone can learn to free hand sharpen + every knife's geometry is different. A good set (1000/6000) of Japanese water stones and some practice with set you free. There are 100s of videos on hand sharpening and caring for your blades. John Broida and Murray Carter are two that really stand out as educational. You c...