Edgekeeper Electric Knife Sharpener In-depth Review
Overall Verdict
The EdgeKeeper electric sharpener gave a mediocre performance while it lasted, which was only a few days for us. The sharpener created a good enough edge with decent height and sharpness, but it took its time and ate away a lot of steel from the knife. While the overall design looks simple, it wasn’t the easiest to work with due to subpar abrasive construction and the lack of heat control.
If you’re looking for a good value sharpener, our advice is to look elsewhere.
Things We Like
- Cute design
- Affordable price
- Produces wide edge bevels
Things We Don’t Like
- Floppy build
- Low-quality plastic shell
- Poor heat control
- Inconsistent sharpening pattern
The EdgeKeeper is a basic, affordable electric sharpener that caught our eyes thanks to its very attractive design and colors. It stopped working in one of our tests, only a couple weeks after we bought it. Fortunately, that was the final test, so we had collected enough data on how the unit worked to share with you in this review.
Spoiler alert: We got less than what we paid for with this electric sharpener. Find better choices in our best electric sharpeners rating board.
5.0 Performance
The EdgeKeeper isn’t as effective as it is pretty. It takes more time and material from the knife than many before bestowing an edge on it. The consolation is that the knife edge, though not exceptionally sharp or smooth, has a decent height and even bevels. Unfortunately, this electric sharpener didn’t stand our Continuous Operation Time (COT) test and pegged out before we could repeat the tests or carry out further experiments with it.
5.5 Speed
The test knife cut through beef tendon after 6 minutes of sharpening with the EdgeKeeper. We did have to apply some pressure during sharpening but decided to not spend more time on it because we didn’t feel the knife could get sharper.
Though this isn’t excellent especially for an electric sharpener, it’s worth noting that the knife wasn’t much sharper than that when it was brand new. The EdgeKeeper did bring back factory sharpness to the knife edge.
6.9 Edge Quality
The EdgeKeeper created a straight but rough edge with deep scratches all over. Unlike most others, the abrasives seemed to grind the blade in every random direction, evident by the inconsistent pattern of the scratches. On the other hand, the bevels enjoyed a better height than we’d expected from a 20-degree edge angle. In fact, the height was better than those produced by some sharpeners that claim to work on smaller angles, such as the Work Sharp Ken Onion or the Narcissus.
6.0 Material Retention
The EdgeKeeper removed a considerable amount of material from the knife, though not as much as some other sharpeners such as the Chef’s Choice Trizor XV or the Presto EverSharp. It sports a detachable magnetic plate underneath the working section which attracts the metal residue. You should remove and clean this plate after every few knives to make place for new residues.
Failed Continuous Operation Time
The EdgeKeeper died without warning around the last minute of our test time, hence getting zero points for this test. We’d only had this unit for a month or two, and barely used it for testing when this happened. A quick look at the reviews on Amazon revealed that we’re not the only ones the machine has expired on. In our case it could have been overheating, but some others reported that it simply wouldn’t turn on after a few times of use.
4.2 Design
We really liked the neat, sleek, and pretty design of the EdgeKeeper. However, there was really less to it than meets the eye. The sharpener lacks quality in both material and craftsmanship. The design of the abrasives creates a lot of limits on the sizes of knives it can sharpen. The unit also offers no control in terms of grind angle and edge type.
In the Box
- The EdgeKeeper electric sharpener
- Instruction manual
The EdgeKeeper arrived in a cardboard box with a simple instruction leaflet. We could tell the brand paid a lot of attention to the presentation: Everything looks cute, neat, and bright, obviously appealing to fans of visuals.
Dimensions
Power Cord
5.5 Build Quality
The EdgeKeeper has a very sleek and pretty design for a sharpener—it could easily serve as a decorative piece on your kitchen countertop. Its build quality is, unfortunately, reflective of its affordable price. The plastic shell feels shoddy and actually broke at one of the screw drives as we disassembled the machine. The fact that the motor expired out of the blue during one of our tests only put the nail in the coffin for it.
1.0 Angle Adjustability
Like most other electric sharpeners, the EdgeKeeper sharpens to only one grind angle on all four slots. 20 degrees is a neutral choice that works for most Western knives, though you may find that the knives don’t get to the level of sharpness those with a smaller edge angle would enjoy.
5.5 Knife Size
Despite its small sharpening slots, the EdgeKeeper actually works better on big knives. Its flexible abrasive plates tend to push the knife blade upward and out of the sharpening slots. The effects are more obvious on smaller and thinner knives, such as peeling knives and utility knives. Thicker and larger blades suffer less from this problem as their weight keeps them down, but you can still see the erratic scratches on their edges as a result.
1.0 Edge Type
The diamond-dust-coated discs on this sharpener can be a little too aggressive for a serrated blade. Judging by the amount of material removed in our Material Retention test, it’ll be no time before they eat away the teeth and turn your bread knife into a straight edge. We’d keep our serrated knives from this sharpener.
6.2 Ease of Use
The EdgeKeeper is very easy to set up, but its jolting abrasive discs can be tricky to work with. You’ll need to wear protective masks and glasses while sharpening to avoid health problems from the fine metal dust. The lack of heat-control features means you’ll have to guess when to stop using it or the motor will die on you; because if and when it does, it can be a hassle to claim the warranty.
9.0 Setup
Setup is effortless with the EdgeKeeper. The slot numbers are in large engraves, so it’s easy to put the unit in the right position for sharpening. Though small, the power switch is placed so that it faces you for easy control.
Because the unit is small and compact, it’s easy to carry around in your kitchen, too.
7.0 Insertion
During testing, it was easy to insert the knife. However, the small and narrow slot openings made it likely for the blade to get stuck. Sometimes the abrasive wheels would push the knife right out, especially if it was a small blade. That being said, we didn’t have the problem many others reported, which was difficulty in keeping a consistent angle.
6.0 Stability
While the unit itself is lightweight and its feet tiny, I didn’t have to stabilize it with my hand; as long as you don’t apply pressure while pulling the blade through, the unit won’t budge. The abrasives, however, seemed a little too flexible. They kept jolting up and down, causing inconsistent pressure on the blade. This explains the erratic scratches on the knife edge.
4.3 Safety
With fine and flexible abrasives, the EdgeKeeper is quieter than most, though not by a great margin. It is, however, hands down the worst performer in terms of heat control. After it died during the Continuous Operation Time test, its shell temperature was measured at 157.3 °F or 69.6 °C. This can cause partial thickness burn in less than a second of direct exposure!
Because the abrasives are in a high position and the slots narrow, metal dust is sent into every direction during sharpening. If you decide to buy this machine, make sure you protect yourself from this dust with appropriate glasses and masks. It’s also a good idea to only use the machine somewhere away from the food prepping area.
5.0 Maintenance
When our EdgeKeeper sharpener pegged out, it was still in the warranty period (and it still is at the time of writing). However, it is not worth it for us to claim the warranty since we would have to pay the shipping fee to send it back and to receive the new unit. Our advice is if you buy the sharpener from Amazon, use it as soon as you can so you can return it in the one-month return window if it breaks down.
We couldn’t find replacement parts online, either, but that’s understandable given how affordable the unit is.
Edgekeeper Electric Sharpener Compared to Other Products
There are many electric sharpeners in the same price range that scored a better rating than the EdgeKeeper in our tests.
The Narcissus, for example, features a stronger, more quality build, and fared much better in dust control. It worked at a lower speed and the overprotective thermal control can be annoying, but that’s still better and safer than a machine that can expire within a few days of use.
For the same price, the Presto 08800 Eversharp proved to be a much better choice. It’s easier to work with and took 2 minutes less than the EdgeKeeper did to produce a nicer and sharper edge. The UL-listed Eversharp can also sharpen a bunch of knives in one go without stalling or stopping.
On the higher end of the price spectrum, you’ll experience much better control and excellent results with the Chef’s Choice Trizor XV and the WorkSharp Ken Onion, the top-ranked units in our rating board. They each come with their own set of limitations, but the quality and consistency in results are totally worth the high prices.