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Gorilla Grip vs Amesser A-65 Manual Sharpener Side-by-Side Comparison
Our Verdict
- Performance (50%)6.5/10
- Design (15%)8.8/10
- Ease of Use (35%)8.3/10
- Performance (50%)6.3/10
- Design (15%)9.3/10
- Ease of Use (35%)8.8/10
The Gorilla Grip and the Amesser A-65 look almost identical and achieved the same overall score of 7.6. Interestingly, they performed rather differently in our tests.
The Gorilla Grip seems to follow a more aggressive approach to sharpening: It peeled a lot of material away from the knife to create a rough, but sharp edge. The Amesser produced a smoother edge; on the other hand, it took its sweet time about it, hence the lower overall performance rating.
Despite the palpable similarities in design, the Gorilla Grip’s uneven base pad caused it to lose its balance more often, which made sharpening with it more challenging. The Amesser has a better fit and finish, and enjoys higher scores in both build quality and ease of use.
In the end, your choice between the two may largely come down to personal preference. You may also want to check out the Kitchellence, which has the exact same design but got a higher rating. For a (better) change, however, look into the Cubikook or the PriorityChef sharpener.
Gorilla Grip Kitchen Knife Sharpener’s Performance
- Sharpening Time to Cut a Lemon (35%)7.6/10
- Maximum Sharpness Achieved (20%)8.0/10
- Edge Smoothness (20%)5.0/10
- Material Retention (25%)5.0/10
- Sharpening Time to Cut a Lemon (35%)5.2/10
- Maximum Sharpness Achieved (20%)7.0/10
- Edge Smoothness (20%)7.7/10
- Material Retention (25%)6.0/10
Sharpening Time to Cut a Lemon
- Sharpening Time: 1 minute 30 seconds
- Cutting Feel: Swift and smooth
We spent 15 seconds on the Prepare slot, 1 minute on the Sharpen slot, plus 15 seconds on the Polish slot. The dull test knife came out keen enough to slice through the lemon without us applying significant force.
If you’re in a hurry, five or six swipes on the second slot should be enough to bring a regular chef’s knife to serviceable sharpness.
- Sharpening Time: 2 minutes
- Cutting Feel: Swift and smooth
The Amesser clocked 120 seconds to restore a blunted blade back to use on a lemon.
This is double the ideal time (60 seconds), but is still within acceptable ranges. It’s actually a few seconds faster than its identical cousin, the Kitchellence. If your kitchen knives are regularly maintained, you should be able to get them ready for a cooking session within 30 - 60 seconds on this sharpener.
Maximum Sharpness Achieved
- Sharpening Time: 6 minutes
- Sharpness Level: 8 (chicken breast with skin, 1 swipe)
We spent a total of 5 minutes on the tungsten carbide blades and 30 seconds on each of the remaining stages.
The Gorilla Grip sliced through ripe tomatoes and chicken breasts with skin with minimal resistance, though the slippery chicken skin did slow it down a bit. It took two to three rather heavy swipes to sever a piece of beef tendon. However, at this sharpness level, your knives shouldn’t have a problem performing most cutting tasks.
- Sharpening Time: 6 minutes
- Sharpness Level: 8 - (Chicken breast, two swipes)
On a ripe tomato, there was no need to apply any extra effort. The tomato split cleanly without leaving behind any trace on the chopping block.
The next checkpoint—chicken breast with skin—was a slight challenge. The test knife did well on a small piece, as indicated in the video. However, on a larger piece of breast, it failed to sever the tough skin and slippery fat in one go, hence our final score of 7.0.
Edge Smoothness
Despite their substantial size, the ceramic rods in the Polish slot did not seem to help with smoothening and polishing the knife edge.
The aggressive removal of steel is evident on the knife’s edge — the tungsten carbide blades created small but deep waves along it. These waves should not have any negative effect on your cutting experience, but they are unsightly and will bother you if you’re a knife connoisseur.
Also, if your knife is made of a particularly hard steel, the uneven thickness of the edge may make it more prone to chipping.
Here are the magnified shots of the test knife after sharpening with the Amesser A-65.
The edge came out straight and well polished with minimal signs of chips, burrs, or other defects. In comparison to the other handheld sharpeners we’ve experimented with so far, this sharpener did a good job of straightening and restoring the edge. And it’s no surprise that the result is almost a mirror image of what the Kitchellence produced.
Material Retention
- Sharpening Time: 1 minute
- Target Sharpness:
The Gorilla Grip is aggressive: It removed a great amount of metal off the blade during the one minute we sharpened the knife with it. The Prepare slot doesn’t seem to do too much to minimize the peeling during the next stage.
Given how quickly the device sharpens, we don’t recommend more than a few swipes on the Sharpen slot unless your knife is really dull.
- Sharpening Time: 1 minute
- Target Sharpness:
You can bet that all knife sharpeners grind away a certain amount of material from the blade to reform the edge: the only difference is the length they go to. In just one minute, the Amesser A-65 took a heavy toll on the knife’s edge, as evident by the pictures here.
We were rather astonished how this tri-stage sharpener managed to shear off almost as much metal as ones with fewer stages. Indeed, the quantity of swarf collected was somewhat similar to that produced by the Sunrise Pro and KitchenIQ.
So, if you do purchase the Amesser A-65, it’d be a good idea to use the second stage only on really dull knives. For milder cases, the ceramic rods in the third stage would suffice.
Gorilla Grip’s Design
- Build Quality (75%)8.5/10
- Grip (25%)9.5/10
- Build Quality (75%)9.2/10
- Grip (25%)9.5/10
What’s in the Box With the Gorilla Grip Kitchen Knife Sharpener
- Gorilla Grip sharpener
- Care and use instructions
The Gorilla Grip sharpener comes in a neat cardboard box with detailed instructions on how to use and maintain it. The Amazon photos really don’t do it justice: The actual device looks much sleeker, and the almond color is lighter too. It’s also easy to find your favorite color among its nine color options.
- Amesser sharpener
- Instruction manual
- Protection glove
- Thank-you note
The cardboard package includes the sharpener, a cut-resistant glove, a user’s guide, and an appreciation card from the manufacturer. This product is under warranty for up to 18 months.
Dimensions
- Length:7.9" (20.1 cm)
- Width:1.9" (4.8 cm)
- Height:3.0" (7.6 cm)
- Weight:6.6 oz (187 g)
- Length:7.9" (20.1 cm)
- Width:1.9" (4.8 cm)
- Height:2.9" (7.4 cm)
- Weight:6.4 oz (183 g)
Build Quality
The Gorilla Grip has a better build than what its price suggests: It’s neat, weighted, and substantial, with parts fitting together firmly and seamlessly. Although the working section is removable, it feels like one piece with the rest of the device.
The minus points are due to its bumpy base and rubber pads, which could use better fitting and gluing. Also, the device’s exterior doesn’t feel as soft and comfy as those of its brethrens, the Kitchellence and the Amesser, but this aspect is negligible. The lack of a name or logo is surprising but doesn’t affect the overall quality in any way.
This sharpener is well put together and feels sturdy. Shake as hard as you might, and everything stays perfectly intact as if the whole thing is made of one solid block.
At one point, we plucked off the working section and took a quick peek inside the base. It has a metal piece attached underneath and weighs 6.44 ounces, accounting for the majority of the sharpener’s total weight.
The working section has several contact points that lock into the base and click when assembled correctly. Sadly, this part isn’t available for purchase or replacement. Once it breaks, you’ll have to toss the whole thing in the trash and get a brand-new unit.
Gorilla Grip Manual Knife Sharpener’s Working Section
- Levels of Sharpening:Prep, Sharpen, Polish
- Abrasive:Diamond rods, tungsten carbide blades, ceramic rods
- Mechanism:Pull through
- Sharpening Angle:20 degrees
The working section of the Gorilla Grip features three sharpening slots that repair, sharpen, and polish your blade. Its sharpening rods are larger than those on other devices, such as the Cubikook or the Wamery. The working section sits securely on a rather tall, but heavy, heel and enjoys reasonable stability.
This part is removable and replaceable in theory, though we couldn’t find a place that sells it separately online.
- Levels of Sharpening:Prepare, Sharpen, Polish
- Abrasive:Diamond-coated rods, tungsten steel blades, ceramic rods
- Mechanism:Pull-through
- Sharpening Angle:20°
Each stage of the working section features ordinal numbering and some visual cues that display the slot’s material and function.
The sharpening process begins with the Prep stage whose main purpose is to straighten the knife’s edge. Following that is the middle stage, used to sharpen the edge. Meanwhile, the final stage is meant for honing or giving a slightly blunt knife some light touch-ups every once in a while.
On the whole, the Amesser A-65 should handle most types of kitchen knives.
Grip
- Material:Thermoplastic rubber
The grip of this device is very comfortable, thanks to its decent size, ergonomic shape, and quality material. Though not a closed loop, the handle forms a hook so that you can hang it near your countertop for quick retrieving.
There’s little to complain about the grip, though we thought a bigger foot would be better for stability.
- Material:ABS plastic
In general, the Amesser’s handle offers a great sense of comfort and safety. You can skip using the glove if you want to: the handle’s material feels soft and grippy, while the size is just about perfect for a good, strong grasp. The icing on the cake is a series of finger nubs running along the handle’s length.
Base
- Material:rubber
- Feet Type:non-slip pad
The Gorilla Grip has textured rubber pads underneath it to enhance friction against the countertop. The pads don’t fit into their designated slots very well, though we think that’s more a problem of aesthetics than functionality.
The real problem is that when standing, only a part of the bigger pad is in contact with the countertop, which means it’s not completely flat. We’re not sure if it’s the pad, the base, or the glue that attaches them that has uneven thickness, but this factor noticeably reduces the device’s stability.
- Material:ABS plastic
- Feet Type:Non-slip rubber base
The Amesser’s base is a checker-patterned pad that gradually tapers toward the direction of the handle. The pattern helps with creating friction and thus preventing the device from sliding across the countertop during sharpening; however, it does pick up residue and specks of dirt.
Gorilla Grip Manual Knife Sharpener Review
- Slot Arrangement (10%)10/10
- Insertion (20%)9.0/10
- Pulling Through (10%)8.5/10
- Stability on a Clean Surface (40%)8.0/10
- Stability on a Wet and Dirty Surface (20%)7.0/10
- Slot Arrangement (10%)10/10
- Insertion (20%)9.0/10
- Pulling Through (10%)9.5/10
- Stability on a Clean Surface (40%)9.0/10
- Stability on a Wet and Dirty Surface (20%)7.5/10
Slot Arrangement
With three working slots progressing from left to right, the Gorilla Grip doesn’t require a good memory or logical skills to work with. The function of each of the slots is also engraved right next to it, so even first-time users should have no problem working out the order.
Like the majority of handheld sharpeners, the slot structure advances from left to right. Each slot has some handy visual cues as a brief introduction to help cooks identify its function and feature. These fine prints are easy to read and they eliminate any unnecessary guesswork that may arise in the process.
Insertion
Its slot openings are wide and at a reasonable distance from each other, so it was easy to place the knife in the right slot with the Gorilla Grip.
The entries into the sharpening slots are just wide and deep enough to accommodate the blade properly but not comfortably. During the course of the test, there were occasional bumps here and there when positioning the knife into the slots.
We also noticed some wiggle room between the abrasives, resulting in the knife leaning and jigging sideways. This was also the reason why we sometimes had trouble keeping our draw straight, as you can see from these overhead shots.
Pulling Through
Similar to the Kitchellence and the Amesser, the Gorilla Grip’s solid body structure makes pulling the knife through its slots a breeze: It was easy for us to apply a steady force from the knife’s heel to its top. The friction was just right at every point along the blade. The knife did cut into the plastic parts of the sharpener at times, but it happened less often than with other devices.
On the whole, the abrasives were tight and solid. The first two stages actually felt a little heavy at times due to the nature of the material.
It’s unlikely that you’ll overshoot the blade and cut into parts of the device by mistake—the plastic frame is far enough below the abrasives to prevent that.
Stability on a Clean Surface
The Gorilla Grip’s base isn’t completely flat, so it wobbled as we pushed it lightly while it was placed on a table. It also has a high center of gravity and a tapered heel — big no-nos — but to some extent, the heavy weight makes up for that.
Save for some slight backward tilts, the Amesser barely moved at all. Thanks to its well-proportioned body, this sharpener was firm, steady, and stable. For the most part, you shouldn’t encounter any discernible problem with the device’s stability on a clean surface.
Stability on a Wet and Dirty Surface
The slippery cooking oil and salt on the countertop didn’t seem to affect the device’s stability to a great extent. Neither did the salt pose much of a challenge to the textured rubber feet.
Prior to this test, we splashed a spoonful of oil and salt on the countertop surface to create an exaggerated mimicry of a real-life messy cooking area. The sharpener lost its footing, slipping and inching away from the original spot after just a few pulls.