Edge Pro Apex

Fair warning I am a dealer for them but I became a dealer because I like the system so much....we keep it on the trailer and do a light touch up before every comp and then a periodic comprehensive sharpening

I love mine. I've had it for about 2 years and other than the every other use touch up with the ceramic steel I only have to use the apex once every 9 months or so. They create a seriously great edge and its dead simple to use on western knives as well as Japanese knives. I would buy it again in a heartbeat and can't recommend it enough. Check out Big Poppa since he has free shipping and the service is stellar.

I have the Pro kit and I love it.

I got the Apex Edge Pro 2 system from Big Poppa and added on the extra stones to essentially make it the Pro 4 package. Love it. That thing will get my knives WICKED sharp!

I've heard great things about them.

I went with [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Chefs-Choice-Professional-Knife-Sharpening-Platinum/dp/B000CSK0DM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377285534&sr=8-1&keywords=chefs+choice+knife+sharpener"]this one[/ame] and have been happy so far with it

Congrats!

I also have a Pro Kit and supper happy with it.

Very happy with mine, but with a caveat. The way it works requires you to be a bit ambidextrous. Meaning you have to guide the bar that holds the stone with your left hand for one side of the blade, and your right hand for the other side, which can be awkward until you get used to it.

As others already said, you shouldn't need to do a full sharpening often unless you have really soft metal knives, or abuse them. But it will put a great edge on. There are some enhancements and tricks to make it even easier to use. If interested, pm me and I'll point them out. Or you could go old school and just get a set of good stones and learn to use them. If you do go for the EdgePro, look into the Chosera stones.

If you only have inexpensive knives, it might be a better choice to go with the Chefs choice or Work Sharp, much lower investment and they both work ok, I just wouldn't use them for a higher quality knife. I've had the Chef's choice for 4 or 5 years and use it for most of my Victorinox/Forshner knives we use at comps. Quick and easy.

I bought one in May, but had not had the time to use it. I have the 200,400, & 600 grit stones. Your thread prompted me to pull it out of the cabinet today.

From start to finish, I was able to get pretty decent edges on 10 kitchen knives in about an hour that have been neglected for years. While clearly not an expert, watching the videos and the instruction manual make it pretty simple to get started. Having used normal stones for sporting knives when i was younger, for comparison I would say the Edge Pro works great with an improved certainty of getting a good edge with less effort.

A great product for those that would like to have sharp knives, but do not have a lot of time, or someone to show them proper sharpening skills on regular stones.

This is the one I use. Very hard to screw up and gives you very sharp knives quickly. I used in on all the kitchen knives, but that ended up with the Parsley Goddess at urgent care. It is restricted to the BBQ trailer now.

If you want to scrape chicken skin, just do the final sharpening on one side. This leaves a very small burr that will grab the fat.

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200431964_200431964

Those of you who have the Edge Pro/Apex which is the best setup to sharpen western style Japanese knives?

I just use a tri-stone for my knives at home and for work. You need to learn how to use it properly, but once every month is enough to keep them sharp. After watching the tutorial, there are some good points to the system, like the angle of the blade when sharpening. That is a critical part of sharpening. What I dont like about it, and the way many people use a stone also, is that you are sharpening into the knife, which wears away your blade over time. Kitchens that get their knives sharpened by a service see this impact quickly, but eventually you dont have a knife. Whereas if you sharpen it properly on a stone, it will last long enough for your great-great grandchildren to use. My tri-stone cost me $15.