Company History
Located in the heart of scenic Avondale, PA, EdgeCraft Corporation manufactures its world renowned Chef’sChoice® brand of advanced technology small kitchen electrics, which include the world’s largest selection of electric and manual knife sharpeners, electric food slicers, wafflemakers and hot beverage products. Available in over 80 countries worldwide, Chef’sChoice products are enjoyed by consumers everywhere.
Committed to serving customers by providing reliable quality products, EdgeCraft continues to inspire home chefs, professional cooks, food service experts and sporting enthusiasts with innovative technology from a trusted brand. Founded in 1984, EdgeCraft Corporation introduced the Chef’sChoice brand with the debut of its first electric knife sharpener in 1985.The company continues to increase its offerings through the expansion of Chef’sChoice small electrics product lines and its unwavering commitment to quality, technology and the consumer.
The Evolution of Sharpening: EdgeCraft’s introduction of its inaugural Chef’sChoice electric sharpener took knife sharpening from its primitive roots of sharpening sticks, elementary sharpening wheels and stones, to the 21st century and state of the art sharpening technology. Forever changing the fundamentals of effective knife sharpening, the Chef’sChoice® Diamond Hone® Sharpener Model 100 was the world’s first advanced technology electric knife sharpener. Soon after its introduction, the Model 100 earned the acclaim of food experts and chefs worldwide including Craig Claiborne , Pierre Franey, Jacques Pépin and Julia Child.
Worldwide Recognition: Over the next several decades, EdgeCraft’s Chef’sChoice line rapidly expanded to include a variety of electric knife and scissor sharpeners, manual sharpeners, diamond steels, diamond stones and sharpening rods. Internationally renowned, Chef’sChoice sharpeners, engineered and assembled at the Avondale, Pennsylvania facility, continue to receive both industry and consumer accolades for their quality and superb performance.
Targeting Commercial Industries: 1995 marked the official debut of Chef’sChoice products in the commercial kitchen. Responding to requests from chefs and food service industry professionals for a commercial version of the successful home use electric sharpeners, EdgeCraft introduced the
Chef’sChoice® Commercial Diamond Hone® Model 2000, specifically designed for use by restaurants, caterers and other industrial users. Lightning fast, it can sharpen both straight edge and serrated knives in less than 60 seconds. The commercial sharpening line later expanded to include several other NSF approved sharpeners.
Since the introduction of its first electric sharpener, EdgeCraft has grown to be the leading manufacturer of sharpeners, offering the world’s most extensive and comprehensive line of quality 100% diamond abrasive sharpeners, ranging from a $10 pocket sharpener to the $600 commercial sharpener.
Cutlery: In 1992, EdgeCraft introduced its own line of premium kitchen knives. Chef’sChoice® Trizor Professional 10X® Cutlery is fully forged and handcrafted in the United States. Employing a technologically advanced higher-carbon stainless alloy and aerospace manufacturing technology, these knives feature edges that last up to ten times longer and are two-to three times sharper than leading European and domestic brands. EdgeCraft added a complete line of budget priced commercial cutlery in 1996, the Chef’sChoice® Masters Series.
Electric Food Slicers: Responding to the need for a high quality electric food slicer for the home, EdgeCraft introduced its first Chef’sChoice® Gourmet Electric Food Slicer in 1994. Due to consumer interest and robust sales, the company now offers a full line of affordable professional home use models as well as commercially rated models for industrial use.
Hot Beverage Products: In 1997 EdgeCraft expanded into gourmet products reaching beyond cutting or slicing. Inspired by the growing popularity of tea, the company introduced several innovative high-end products in the electric tea-making and hot beverage category. These successful introductions contributed to a full line of hot beverage products including our recently launched Chef’sChoice® SmartKettle®, which is the first electric kettle to heat water to the precisely desired temperature. In 2010, shortly after its launch, the Chef’sChoice® Electric Glass Kettle M679 was ranked the #1 electric kettle by Good Housekeeping Magazine.
WaffleMakers: The culmination of the quest to dramatically improve the quality of homemade waffles was achieved with the company’s 1999 launch of its first professional waffle makers: Chef’sChoice® WafflePro® Models 830 (five of hearts) and 830B (classic Belgian style). An instant hit, these waffle makers garnered widespread popularity for their ability to produce delicious waffles in 90 seconds or less. The separate texture control button also sets them apart from competing waffle makers by allowing consumers to serve up their preferred waffle texture of either a waffle crispy on the outside with a soft oven fresh interior, or a deep bake for more uniform waffle texture—crispy all the way through. Today the Chef’sChoice brand offers several lines of revolutionary Belgian and heart-shaped wafflemakers as well as Pizzelle, waffle cone and KrumKake makers.
Egg Cookers: To complete the breakfast line up, the company introduced the immensely popular M810 egg cooker in 2006. It cooks eggs to varying degrees of doneness in just one batch.
Advanced Technology Innovations and Leadership: Making headlines with advanced technology products often recognized by culinary luminaries as well as the leading consumer cooking and test kitchen publication, EdgeCraft is no stranger to innovative introductions. In sharpening technology alone, the company is recognized for many cutting edge introductions to the market including: the world’s first precision guided sharpening steel in 2004; the world’s most advanced electric knife sharpening system that sharpens, steels and strops edges in one compact appliance in 2005; the first electric sharpener for Asian style knives to apply a double-beveled polished 15 degree edge for extreme sharpness and edge durability in 2006; the world’s most versatile electric sharpener that restores and recreates a 15 degree edge for Asian style knives and a 20 degree edge for Euro/American style knives in 2008; the first manual sharpeners featuring CrissCross® technology 2009; and in 2010, its first hybrid sharpener, combining electric and manual sharpening in one affordable unit.
Today the company offers more than 100 models of the most technologically advanced sharpeners and over 100 product trademarks and patents as well as a rarely granted registered trademark from the U.S Patents and Trademark Office for the highly recognizable design of its top-selling electric sharpeners. In addition to sharpeners, EdgeCraft is renowned for its high-quality cutlery, food slicers, waffle makers and mixes and hot beverage products. Marketed in 80 countries around the world, the Chef’sChoice brand is available from leading department, cutlery, hardware, specialty and cookware stores, mail-order catalogs and online retailers.