Don’t Buy It, Until We Try It: Samurai Pro | Video

Amy Fox | 10/26/2012

If you`re tired of purchasing new knives every time they go dull, there may be a solution for you. In this week`s "Don`t Buy It, Until We Try It," I tried out the Samurai Pro, the do-it-yourself knife sharpener.

They advertise Samurai Pro as a professional-grade knife sharpener. All you have to do is put the suction on the counter, choose your favorite pair of scissors or your favorite knife, slide it across the Samurai Pro and it will make slicing easier.

But, does this product really work? Well, "Don`t Buy It, Until We Try It."

For bakers like Peggy Kallias at Marketplace Foods, using knives is an essential tool in her daily routine.

"We use them from morning to evening cutting French bread, bars, donut, cakes."

But, with heavy use, the knives have to be replaced every three months.

Kallias said, "Oh, I think they could be sharpened because there`s nothing wrong with the handle of anything and they`re pretty sturdy."

Before Kallias purchases more new knives, we wanted to try out Samurai Pro, the do-it-yourself knife sharpener.

We took the Samurai Pro out of the box and attempted to attach Samurai Pro to the counter, like advertised on TV. But, it still moved around on the counter, so we even added a little water to see if it would work better. But, it still moved around.

Once we had the Samurai Pro in place, it was time to try it out.

We started with a serrated knife. All we had to do was slide the knife carefully across the Samurai Pro. But, the machine moved around while we were sharpening the knife.

Once the sharpening was complete, it was time to cut the bread. But, it didn`t make slicing any easier.

We repeated the same steps to test some scissors. This time, the blade seemed sharper after using the Samurai Pro.

So, will Kallias be cancelling the next order of knives? Well, probably not anytime soon.

While the Samurai Pro knife sharpener was easy to set up and use, it didn`t stay in place while we were sharpening our knives, which could be a potential safety hazard.

So, this week`s "Don`t Buy It, Until We Try It," earns a thumbs down.

Kallias says Samurai Pro is not meant for commercial grade knives, like the ones they use at Marketplace. But she says it may work better for kitchen blades.

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