I used to have a knife that had it’s own dedicated block/sheeth type thing, so that every time you put it in or pull it out (ooh err) it was guided through some sort of spring loaded sharpening contraption inside the body, the theory being you never have to worry about sharpening it as it gets a little fettle on a frequent basis.

Do such things still exist, and if so, ones that can accommodate small vegetable/fruit knives up the longer ones?

There are such things, but they’re not ideal, because they shave quite a lot of material off the edge.
There are better things, but not so convenient.
Or particularly cheap.
This one is neat and easy to use for large knives, and can be left in situ if you like:

https://www.makeitsharp.net/review-spyderco-tri-angle-sharpmaker/
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Spyderco-Tri-Angle-Sharp-Maker-Sharpener/dp/B000Q9C4AE

These are quick and easy to use. I have one with a coarse and fine grit (Model 310?) and it works great.

https://chefschoice.com/electric-sharpeners/

Thanks but Yeh that looks like far too much effort, I’m not bothered about making the knife last as I only use cheap knives, I’m happy to replace a knife if it gets worn down, I’m just a bit annoyed that most of my knives are fairly blunt so just chopping onions is a pain in the bum!

A cheap whetstone (as found in the bottom of my toolbox after 20 years) will quickly put an edge back on a knife. Youtube for technique.

Chefschoice

Chantry – very easy to use, not very showy-offy, but it sharpens knives.

Whats wrong with a steel?

That chantry thing looks OK

I don’t want technique, I want a lazy way to sharpen cheap knives so I can slice a tomatoe rather than squash it haha 😉

Edit – You said it.

Whats wrong with a steel?

When the edge has gone they’re not really effective. Ok for maintaining a good edge but not really good for putting one back on.

@gofasterstripes we have a crap copy/version of that and it’s still ok on the cheaper, softer bladed knives.

OP it’s worth the extra for the Kitchen Devils one and that might well be your easiest answer.

I have an AnySharp and it’s great.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/AnySharp-Knife-Sharpener-PowerGrip-Blue/dp/B001DXVL6K

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33iGODrphCE[/video]

Sounds like You are after something like this AnySharp knife sharpener, simple to use and works well enough (but will have STW purists frothing at the mouth) to keep a keen edge, find it on amazon for £10ish.

My parent’s Chantry is still going strong – it was a wedding present in 1969.

You can buy replacement steels for it and its very easy to keep a knife nice and sharp.

I am going to buy that AnySharp to try it on all my cheapo knives as I am rather lazy to use all my expensive sharpening stones. Expensive sharpening stones are only meant for my expensive knives … 😀

That AnySharp looks just the right aggressive sharpener to deal with my cheapo knives because it’s good at stripping metal. I want the metal strip quick.

Yes, very good I like metal stripping … yesss …

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VolNXqhqIw[/video]

If you want to use it on your expensive knives then you need to use it carefully by putting on very light pressure when using it or use something else. Coz it will eat your knives alive …

I’m sure it was on here someone suggested running the knife along the unglased bottom of a mug. It works, is cheap but not lazy though.

Whats wrong with a steel?

A steel hones, not sharpens.

I use a file as a ‘kitchen steel’. Makes cheap knives work like posh knives.

I’ve got some decent kitchen knives but through some cack handedness there are a few tiny chips out of the blade edge – what’s the best way to get rid of these? Is it to aggressively run them through a sharpener like that AnySharpener Pro above?

Glass edge, porcelain edge, kitchen steel – they all hone, not sharpen. Essentially they realign the edge and take off any burrs

File, diamond sharpeners, whetstone – they remove metal so all sharpen

The Spyderco triangle is an excellent sharpener if you can’t sharpen freehand. There are other option but it’s fairly fail safe. If you can sharpen freehand, and fancy learning, then I highly recommend DMT diafolds – I use these to sharpen everything from small pairing knives to axes

Not artisan/manly/branded/expensive enough for STW, but these work… and they’re £2!

http://amzn.eu/0Rbugms

Having done some fairly extensive research on this after buying my new knives, even the geekiest of knife forums seemed to grudgingly admit that the chefs choice electric, or Minosharp pull through range were not terrible, if you really didn’t want to do stones. But ultimately nothing will ever beat the quality of a proper sharpening stone.