gg- i love my fiskars too. that's what we use on our sib. iris. For our peonies, we use Florian hand pruners. These 2 plants are about all we cut back in fall- peonies because of needing to discourage botrytis vestiges, and iris because their foliage is too wet in spring to easily cut back. The rest of the arboretum we do in spring. We found this method after many backbreaking years of spring cleanup with its truckloads of detritus. By waiting til spring, we have found that we have a mere percentage of the plant matter that we had before- because the winter dessicates and often removes the leaves/stems . best, Mindy btw, my favorite garden cutting tools are all made by Florian. lightweight, VERY sharp, very comfortable to grip. http://www.floriantools.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=florian&Product_Code=HS-K1000&Category_Code=garden_tool_shears http://www.floriantools.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=florian&Product_Code=HS-K900Z&Category_Code=garden_tool_shears http://www.floriantools.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=florian&Product_Code=P-451&Category_Code=florian_tools

You can find a lot here http://www.shopping.com/xGS-Electric_Fillet_Knife~NS-1~linkin_id-8001703 good luck hpe you can choose the right one. Here is a link that might be useful: Yellowstone RV Park

Teresa, steels don't sharpen the blade they just realign any burs. You should use the steel often, every time if you remember, but to sharpen the knife you need to remove metal and because of that, it's done very infrequently. If you take proper care of your knives by using a steel, then true sharpening shouldn't be required more than once a year. And on a lighter note - everyone knows in my house - don't touch Mom's knife. We have my knife then we have a whole block of knives for everyone else. And NEVER put your knives in the dishwasher. Not only is that an invitation for nicking the blade it can also cause the handle to seperate from the tang.

I agree with Linda on this one - try better food processor. An electric knife probably isn't the best tool of choice for all the reasons Linda noted. They require a good grip as well as a sawing motion and pressure applied to get through whatever you are cutting. Have you tried a cutting mandolin? I have physical limitation in my hands/wrists/elbows and I find I can cut heaps of produce for dehydrating using a mandolin. -Grainlady