Edgecraft Chef's Choice 120 - Manual (Page 5)

5
The Chef’sChoice ® Model 120 EdgeSelect Sharpener is equipped with a manually activated
diamond dressing pad that can be used if necessary to clean any accumulated food or sharp-
ening debris off the surface of the polishing/stropping disks. We strongly urge you to clean your
knives before sharpening them. You will find you can go months or even a year or more before
you need to dress these disks. Only if you sense a distinct decrease in polishing efficiency will
there by any need to use this convenient feature described further in a subsequent section.
Each sharpening stage is equipped with elastomeric guide springs positioned over the sharpen-
ing disks to provide a spring action that holds the face of your knife securely against precision
guide planes in the right and left slots of that stage during sharpening.
Unless you have special blades designed to be sharpened primarily on one side of the edge
(such as Japanese Kataba blades) you will want to sharpen equally in the right and left slots of
each stage you use. This will ensure that the facets on each side of the edge are of equal size
and that the edge will cut straight at all times.
When sharpening in any stage the knife should, on sequential strokes, be
pulled alternately
through the left slot and the right slot of that stage. Generally only one pull in the left and one
in the right slot will be adequate in each stage; occasionally you may need to make two pairs of
pulls in a given stage (see subsequent sections for more detail). Always operate the sharpener
from the front side. Hold the blade horizontal and level, slide it down between the plastic spring
and the guide plane and pull it toward you at a uniform rate as it contacts the sharpening or
stropping disks. You will be able to feel and hear the contact as it is made. Always keep the blade
moving uniformly through each stage; do not stop your pull in mid stroke. Consistent pull speed
of about 4 seconds per stroke for an eight (8) inch blade is recommended. The time can be less
for shorter blades and more for longer blades.
Never operate the sharpener from the back side.
Use just enough downward pressure when sharpening to ensure uniform and consistent contact
of the blade with the abrasive disks on each stroke. Additional pressure is unnecessary and will
not speed the sharpening process. Avoid cutting into the plastic enclosure. Accidental cutting
into the enclosure will not functionally impact operations of the sharpener or damage the edge.
Figure 1 (below) identifies each of the three stages as described further in the following sections.
Figure 1. Model 120 Diamond Hone EdgeSelect Sharpener. Figure 2. Typical kitchen knife.
Heel
Bolster
Handle
Edge
Tip
On/Off
Switch
Stage 1
Stage 2
Stage 3
Spring