I have been doing my own knife sharpening as long as I can remember back to boy scout days. i am now in my 7th decade and have used a lot of hand sharpening tools, Smith, Lansky, chef's choice, worksharp,arkansas stones, diamond stones etc. For just out of the box, something recognizable in a kitchen drawer and used by those who dont sharpen knives as a hobby or profession this one made in Japan does as nice of a job as I have seen with 3 simple steps. For those who found this item bereft of sharpness I think they got a lemon or it was broken in some way. I did my wifes whole drawer of knives over christmas as well as my sis's; dependable, straightforward. The price was worth it when i sat down with my two adult daughters and they got the hang of it easily. So many features of so many sharpeners, this is a nice conglomeration from the grit on the stones, the stability, the angle of the sharpening surfaces. hell even the non slip inserts on the feet that hold it in place on the table top. Well made but light weight and the surfaces are kept shielded from kitchen drawer tool impacts by the sliding sheath. Well Done KAI Read more
I purchased this product in 2020. This tool has three channels. Channel 1 consists of two diamond embedded plates which are positioned in a V at a sixteen degree angle on each side. These diamond plates will grind steel as the knife is pulled through while maintaining the sixteen degree bevel found on Shun knives. Channel 2 consists of a wheel which I believe is ceramic, and this wheel turns as the knife is pulled through it. Again, the wheel has an indentation in it that maintains the sixteen degree bevel. Channel 2 does not take any steel off. It simply hones the knife's edge so that it is perfectly aligned. Channel 3 consists of two ceramic rods, positioned in a V at sixteen degrees, and these rods are designed to polish the edge of the blades. If a knife seems to be dull, all one needs to do 98% of the time, is hone the knife, which means to realign the edges at the blade's apex. Shazaam, the knife is sharp again without removing any steel! And this product is perfect for that, just using the 2nd and 3rd channels. If you're using this for your Shun knives (recommended and approved by Shun), the second and third 16 degree honing channels will do a perfect job and will resolve your knife problem almost every time. Channel 1 can be used to take steel off the knife as well, but I rarely use that since I'm not a fan of removing steel when a simple hone will do the trick. I like the tomato test. If one suspects a knife is getting dull, place the edge of the knife on a tomato, and without pressing down, pull the knife back, allowing the weight of the knife to do all the work. The knife blade should effortlessly pierce into and through the tomato skin immediately or almost immediately. If the knife doesn't pierce the skin easily and quickly, or wants to slide sideways, the knife needs maintenance. By pulling the knife through channel 2 a few times, followed by pulling through channel 3 a few times, try the tomato test again. The vast majority of time, you will find the knife is razor sharp again. Like magic! Another nice feature with this product is that after significant use, if the ceramic rods begin to wear, it can easily be disassembled, and the ceramic rods used in stage 3 can be slightly turned and repositioned, which will cause stage 3 to work like new again. This can be done multiple times by twisting the rods, and also by inverting the rods. The same can be done with stage 1 by inverting the diamond plates. So easy! Read more
Handy little sharpener for the kitchen. The sharpening mechanisms are well made compared to a lot of sharpeners. The only ding is that if you put moderate pressure on the knife the sharpening side flexes a little from the handle side of sharpener. Read more
i use this with my Shun knives as an alternative to a grinding stone and it works great! very straight forward instructions, steps 1 2 3 and a few pulls makes my knives substantially sharper right off the bat. I've had it for close to a year now and use it every 3 - 4 months and works great every time. Read more
I got this in November 2020; it's now December 2023. It's seen a lot of use and is still going strong. The only caution I have about it is that it is set for the narrower, 16-degree bevel of Oriental knives and not the wider, 20+-degree bevel of American and European blades. (The trade-off is that with the narrower bevel, you get a sharper edge which dulls somewhat quicker. I prefer the narrower bevel, but as always, YMMV.) If you run an American or European style knife through this, it takes a while before the blade grinds down to the narrower bevel. But once you have the blade reconfigured to the narrower bevel, resharpening is quick and easy. Recommended! Read more
I truly DO NOT understand the negative reviews! I bought this sharpener in 2020 and it’s still going strong. Returns my Shun knives back to brand new!! Read more
I own a set of Shun Classic and have been sending it to the store to sharpen it. However, Kai changes their sharpening partner, and it takes much longer for me to ship. I found this and decided to give it a try. It works very well for my knives. I pull it for about ten times on each slot, and the knives come out great. Wife comment that the knives are sharper. For the small price, this is a great little tool, and I don't need to worry about the angle during sharpening. Read more
I am a big fan of the Shun knifes. They stay sharp for long time. but they do need to get sharpen sometimes. I use to just ship it back to Shun, but it does take a while to ship to and back from them. I have been thinking of using the wet sharpening stones, but I am not skilled enough. Saw this from shun, might be perfect for their knifes. Once I received it, it looks nicely built. great quality. But after trying it with my Shun chef knife, I felt its just like any other 3 stages sharpening tools. It's not specifically for Shun knifes. I mean, for what it is, it is decent quality. But not what I have expected for the price. I would recommend to just get any other brands of 3 steps sharpening tool. Save you some money. Of just send back to Shun for the perfect sharpening, if you are not in a rush. Read more
