Pampered Chef Utility Knife With Sharpening Case By Willow on Dec 31, 2007 - Updated Oct 15, 2011

This is one of my "older" Pampered Chef items, I have had it for over 6 years. When I first bought it, I was very excited with the idea of a self-sharpening knife - well, almost self-sharpening: I thought it was supposed to be sharpened each time you insert it in the case and pull out of it. The case has a ceramic sharpening mechanism inside. It turned out I misunderstood the consultant: the sharpening mechanism works only when you press on it, not every time you re-insert the knife.

The knife itself is very good, it has a long stainless steel blade and a nice, convenient handle. I have used it to chop vegetables, cut meat and even bread, although it is not a bread knife. For the first couple of years, I was very happy with this knife and did not have any problems with it: it chopped and sliced and cut without getting dull. However, as time went by I began to notice that the knife was no longer so sharp as before. I tried to sharpen it by inserting it in the case more often, but it did not seem to help.

That's when I had realized my initial mistake. I went to the Pampered Chef website and learned that sharpening this knife is a separate procedure. Yes, it is done by placing the knife in the case, but you have to press on the black line below and move the knife in and out. Now that I know this, I keep the knife nice and sharp.