Tumblerware sharpener - too gimmicky?

snuffle

snuffle

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Anyone seen one of these in action?

www.tumblerware.com

Tumbler Diamond Rolling Knife Sharpener Set

Sharpen in style with Tumbler. Traditional sharpening takes time to master. With Tumbler Rolling Knife Sharpener, anyone can get factory-sharp knives in minutes. Includes the 20° and 15° sharpening angle and magnetic knife holder to secure your blade. Roll the sharpening disc back and forth...
www.tumblerware.com www.tumblerware.com

Assuming it works, you only get two angles. But I'm thinking of this for a person who never sharpens her kitchen knives, some of them cut better with the handle than the blade. (I have made other knife-skill attempts here, she has a stone she isn't comfortable using, despite multiple guided practice sessions.)
 
Pretty silly if you ask me. If someone never sharpens their knives they're probably better off with one of those electric draw-through sorts. Their edges will be in far too poor of condition for this little contraption. And if their knives aren't going to be cared for then they may as well be sharp by any means even if it accelerates the end of their useful life compared to more "proper" sharpening methods that will never be done to them.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
probably better off with one of those electric draw-through sorts
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I think you're right. Took reading that to realize I never even considered one of those, I think of them as so awful. But if anything is going to address the problem, that's probably the way to go.
 
snuffle said:
I think of them as so awful. But if anything is going to address the problem, that's probably the way to go.
Click to expand...
At the price of $100, it's probably close to what one of those electric units cost anyways.
This looks like a dressed up version of those cheap pull through sharpeners, but costing a lot more.
 
video here on one of the versions of the system. Seems a little gimmicky but it does work.
 
Concept looks clever. If nothing else, I could see the novelty appeal to those willing to spend the $$$ to try it out. Looking at the mfr. site, they claim it'll only take 6 minutes or so to reset an edge this way. I'm skeptical of that, after spending much more time resetting edges on long-neglected, NEVER sharpened kitchen knives. But as a tune-up sharpener in the kitchen, working with knives that've already been set to decent geometry and not abused, I could see that some folks will be drawn to it.

I also wonder about the effect of the 'rake angle' produced by the rolling device on the scratch patterns at the bevels, and how that affects cutting performance and (maybe) edge durability, if the scratches are parallel to the edge or nearly so. Knife nerds will probably notice that - but others whom aren't accustomed to working with very sharp knives in the kitchen likely wouldn't notice or even care.

It seems these are mfr'd in Europe and sold mostly there. Prices in the States seem to be much higher, at around $200 per unit. And searching the web, there seem to be identical units being sold under a different brand name, with commentary in the reviews from company reps saying they're looking at the 'legal' issues around that. Makes me scratch my head a bit, if their original product isn't adequately protected by a patent. So, between the 'growing pains' of the company and it being an entirely new concept, I don't know how successful it can be at a price point like that, especially as compared to more versatile guided setups for similar money.
 
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snuffle said:
I think you're right. Took reading that to realize I never even considered one of those, I think of them as so awful. But if anything is going to address the problem, that's probably the way to go.
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I remember as a kid that electric can openers back in the day had a couple slots on the back with a small grinding wheel set at an angle for sharpening kitchen knives. A horrible way to sharpen them but convenient for "non-knife" people to use and at least keep a working edge on a kitchen knife.
 
Maybe 45 years ago or more, I have a vague memory of my mother using one of those electric can opener sharpeners in the kitchen. Horrible sound it made, grinding on the steel. I knew nothing about knives, cutlery steel or sharpening back then. But even so, it just sounded WRONG. Technique-wise, it sounded as if pressure was way too heavy and the feed rate across the wheel was much too slow. Sounded like the blade was being eaten alive. 😬

We still have an electric can opener with that sharpening slot on the back. But I haven't been able to stomach the thought of actually using it.
 
It's for non-enthusiast, non knife people.

If you even post on bladeforums in the sharpening area this device is not intended for you.

It's for people that only use pull through sharpening and need a performance upgrade over that without too steep a learning curve.

If you are passionate about sharpening and maximum edge performance, probably isn't the device for you.

So in my opinion, Eww

Opinions will vary, everyone is entitled to their own opinion.
 
Bdtry said:
video here on one of the versions of the system. Seems a little gimmicky but it does work.
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Okay, I actually watched that.
I still can't see $100 of product there, certainly not $200 to get in the US.
But the person who doesn't sharpen isn't going to change out those wheels or clean them. I really question if that person is going to use those strops effectively or safely. Or at all.
I mean a full run of stones plus strops make sense to us, but a person who doesn't care just doesn't care and won't remember.

A Sharpmaker or Chef's Choice might make more sense.
 
All you need is a flattish rock - anything else is just an unnecessary luxury !!!!

😜

You can use the bottom of a mug, if you can afford one, but a rock is cheaper
 
similar product, geman knife folum, 1 big collective thread (15 pages, 300 replies):

Horl Rollschleifer

Ich habe seit einiger Zeit den Rollschleifer von Horl im Einsatz. Das Schleifen geht ruckzuck und die Messer werden rasiermesserscharf. https://www.horl-1993.de/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIq8WNqdqr3gIVD-J3Ch05KgLxEAAYASAAEgJES_D_BwE Beim Nassschleifen mit Stein hatte ich immer Schwierigkeiten mit dem...
messerforum.net messerforum.net
👊🥋💪
 
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If the weakest link is the quality of the abrasives, that's fixable. I don't see how it could be that terrible if it holds a consistent angle, as long as you use good stones to sharpen.
It's not that complicated! Some cheap tools are not worth it - a flashlight for example has so many variables in construction, color of the light, electronics, and batteries.
On the other hand, sharpening is half about consistency and the other major variable is the abrasive.

I love my TSPROF, but on an EDC does it matter?
 
Jared Neeves did a nice comparison between this and the Horl (he likes the Horl way better). I think the Horl is probably a good solution for chef's knives, but it's not versatile and would, I think, be useless for pocket knives. For what the Horl costs you'd be way better off with something like the new Work Sharp fixed angle system.

 
Disclaimer, new forum member.
I have whetstones along with a diamond one for flattening the others, as well as a strop, but haven't developed the muscle memory over time to get the best experience with it. I have a Spyderco Sharpmaker that I purchased partly based on my like of the brand and partly because my dad used a diamond stick V shaped sharpener when I was a young man visiting him. It works great for me and I'm happy with the result on my pocket knife (a Spyderco Native) and my kitchen knives generally. My complaint with the sharpmaker isn't the sharpener itself, but that my family members somehow mess the edges up and so after I get it sharpened with the fine stones, I'm disappointed that the edge isn't retained (maybe my Father-in-law gets too aggressive at a wrong angle with the honing steel, who knows?). So with all the rolling sharpeners being advertised, I figured I'd take the plunge.

For the record my kitchen knives that we use the most are Global knives, so I sharpen them at 30% (I also have the Global recommended two wheel Minu sharpener as well as the little angle guide you attach to the back of the knife for using with a whetstone you can buy from Global).

So I haven't got very far with it, and that is the reason I came here. Immediately doing a few passes with it, I found the bevel (cutting edge unless I am misusing the word bevel) ground surface to be 2-3 times wider than the previous bevel edge from the Sharpmaker. I hypothesize that depending on the thickness of the spine of the knife this could add 1/2 to 2 or so degrees to the sharpening angle to the 15 or 20 degrees the magnet angle has. I know that you can sharpen at a number of angles, so that is, in and of itself, not a problem, but for someone who was relatively happy with their knife angle and current sharpness, it feels like that will be resetting it to the new slightly divergent angle, and aesthetically not so clean. I will use a few of my less precious knives and do some more testing, and I've not come to a conclusion about the product, but I figured I'd share and see if other people have the same experience or conclusion. From this thread it doesn't sound like members here have necessarily used the sharpening tool yet.

I'm interested in hearing from you all.

P.S. I haven't tried the sharpener that included the Ruixon or other brands that has the stone held in a vice that is then stroked across the stationary blade based on a locked angle, but might consider that later. Ultimately I'm most interested in least labor, best for cooking, and edge retention as priorities.

JT
 
Not sure if you are asking for advice, but I have tried every system except this one and I have not found anything that compares to TSPROF for the money. It's not particularly portable, for best results you are best setting it up and leveling /calibrating everything and not moving it much.
I can sharpen freehand but I like the results better on the TSPROF.
 
ElementalBreakdown said:
Not sure if you are asking for advice, but I have tried every system except this one and I have not found anything that compares to TSPROF for the money. It's not particularly portable, for best results you are best setting it up and leveling /calibrating everything and not moving it much.
I can sharpen freehand but I like the results better on the TSPROF.
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Well, I'm partly hoping to be validated or corrected regarding my thoughts about the variation of angle based on spine thickness, but if the TSPROF is, from an effort and edge retention, is worth it, I wouldn't be adverse to invest in it, and maybe put the Tumbler in a camper / motorhome.

Thanks for your feedback.
 
You are right about variation on angles, there are also lots of different grinds that kund of complicate things. Not sure if you have gotten that far, but look up the many different types of grinds on knives if you haven't. I used to just think in terms of primary and secondary bevels, but it's a little bit more than that.
But keep me posted on your use of the tumbler because the TSPROF is not easily moved and recalibrated for a weekend trip. At least I am not that good with it yet.
 
Beware. I saw ads for the Tumbler while watching Youtube videos. At the tumbler website there is no basic information about the sharpening disc. What is the grit ? Are the diamonds sintered to the disc with plating or just glued. If glued, they will not last very long.

And to boot, this is a Knock-Off (probably cheap Chinese) of a German product that has been around since 1993 called the Horl : https://www.horl.com/us/en/

This is not an endorsement of the Horl, but I do not like Knock-Offs. At least their website states that the diamonds are embedded with nickel plating. I think this is the same as sintering (diamonds embedded in the metal) but I am not sure. From past research, the finest grit that can be sintered is about 1200, because any finer than that are too small to be sintered and must be glued. The Horl can also use different sharpening disks of 3000 and 6000 grit.
I would be interested to hear some objective reviews of anyone who has used the Horl.
 
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