Work Sharp Culinary E5 Review: The Electric Sharpener I Never Knew I Needed
I recently decided I needed a new knife sharpener to replace my overused old-school block; with options ranging from steel blocks and honing rods to the two stage manual sharpeners and fully electric sharpeners, my choices were certainly abundant. I had the opportunity to test drive Work Sharp Culinary’s premier E5 Electric Knife Sharpener which has a price tag some may not be used to when it comes to knife sharpeners. But it’s worth it, and I’ll tell you why in the review below.
Work Sharp Culinary is a sister brand owned by Darex, a USA-made company based in Oregon, and includes Drill Doctor bit sharpeners and additional tool sharpeners. Work Sharp set out to revolutionize the way you sharpen kitchen knives with a variety of unique products including the M3 Manual Knife Sharpener, E3 Knife Sharpener, and E5 Knife Sharpener (the one I’m reviewing).
E5 Electric Kitchen Knife Sharpener Review
The E5 sharpener earned a permanent location atop of my prime counter-top real estate. There’s nothing worse than cooking up a perfect sous vide steak, and then trying to hack through it with a dull knife. The crazy thing, and the part that many home cooks forget, is that knives become dull incredibly fast. The pros actually sharpen their knives before each use! But if you’re like me, I’m not bringing out my manual honing rod and sharpener every single day to strike against it like I’m lighting a fire. Wit the E5 system, I can quickly place the blade into the belt drive system for a quick 45 second sharpen before using it, and I’m good to go.
Features
The E5 sharpener comes with a few unique features, the most apparent one being the belt drive system. These replaceable belts are designed to mimic brand new knives that come from the manufacturer, which use similar abrasive belts to get a flawless, sharp edge. The E5 system also comes with an upgrade kit for sharpening East/West blades.
Whether you want to Shape, Sharpen, or Refine your blade, the E5 system automatically adjusts the timing and belt speeds to get the perfect edge. All you have to do is click the button on the front to select which stage you would like to use. From there, simply slide your knife along the sharpening guides until the light turns off, and the belts will do the rest.
Better yet, it works on a ride range of knives including large chef knives, paring knives, and even serrated blades.
Final Thoughts on Work Sharp Culinary
Overall, the E5 premier knife sharpener absolutely surprised me by how fast and easy it can sharpen kitchen knives. Perhaps the even bigger benefit is that my knives are certainly sharper after using this versus when I use a manual block.
If you can justify the cost (it’s worth it to me), I absolutely recommend this for any household.