Bill, the sharpener instructions are correct...any angle factory grind will be changed to the machine's 15*...what chefs choice considers the best blend of sharpness and durability. Angles other than 15* take more passes....call me and I can explain how you know the angle in either stage 1 or stage 2 are reached before proceeding to the next stage, if instructions were not clear.
Thanks Rex. I got it with the burr thing. This sharpener is awesome but it does take a while on stage 1 the first sharpen. No complaints though as the end result is incredible!
.....but don't put a 20 degree knife in the 15 degree slot of your machine, that's bad idea IMHO
Interesting. The instruction manual on my new gizmo says 20 degree knives are ok and it will change them to 15. I suspect it is because it has diamond grinding wheels so wear on the wheels is not a huge issue but I'm guessing....... The "finish" stage of the sharpener appears to be a ceramic disc which I suspect is kin to the disc Tracy uses.
Bill, unless the design has changed, the polisher is a densely packed polishing pad highly infused with jeweler's rouge. Be sure to heed the warning about over-using the hone cleaner...it grinds away pretty fast and ruins stage 3 (about 40 restorations)
I suppose it could be replaced, but when a motor made a noise on my original, I discovered it was not made to be disassembled. It had glue and hidden wedges that could not be released without destruction of the case. Rather than tell my wife that I ignored the warranty, and I wanted to "fix" it myself....I wound up getting an identical unit and kept my mouth shut (unless she reads this)..... Send it in if you have to! I'm pretty handy, mechanically.
At one point in my life (I.e. Most of it), I was into knives pretty seriously (including knife sharpening, knife throwing, knife self defense (black belt), and custom knives).
I think I've tried almost all the knife sharpening methods & tools including the chefs choice (removed too much metal and motor went out like Rainman's), bench grinder with felt pads / paste, and more. Now rely on belt grinder like guy in following video. Works best for me. http://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0LEV1L6VnRXYawAo2DBGOd_;_ylu=X3oDMTEyNnNoOXRlBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwM0BHZ0aWQDQjE5MTFfMQRzZWMDc3I-/RV=2/RE=1467271034/RO=10/RU=http%3a%2f%2fwww.knifeforums.com%2fforums%2fshowtopic.php%3ftid%2f870724%2f/RK=0/RS=IWRGsU4ZodI9wSVLsovJfNx.w_k-