This is a very good blade sharpener. Before you buy this, you should be aware it's not a quick fix, just like any blade shapener, it takes some time to do, Also, it does create quite a bit of shavings from the blade, but that is to be expected most of the time. I do however really like how you can change the angle for it, that makes it very useful for different types of blades, the only issue I have is that as you pull it through you have to be mindful not to hit the plastic as the end of it, but that is just a error on my end, overall I think this is a very good product, espeaxily for its size as you can bring it with you in a backpack, so I definitely reccomenhd it, it was even able to for the most part a nic in my blade I had. I have included photos of the product, my blade, and the dust it creates. Read more
I'm coming at this as someone new to knife sharpeners. My current sharpeners are all fixed angle, single-stage, tungsten carbide type, like the AnySharp, so going to 2-stage and variable angle is a double upgrade. So far, I have only tested this on my kitchen knives. This Smith's sharpener is easy to learn and use, and it's possible to sharpen a knife within a minute. It's also the only "pull-through" style sharpener that lets you adjust the angle. I feel this performs better than my other sharpeners and my knives are sharper. Compared to the famous Spyderco Sharpmaker, this was half the price and can sharpen to more angles, the main reason I didn't get the Sharpmaker. It's also much easier to learn and use. However, I suspect it does not sharpen to as high a sharpness. Maybe my knives aren't good enough, or I chose the wrong angle, or I'm not patient enough - I can't get my knives to "shaving sharp" like people can with the Sharpmaker. Not an issue for kitchen knives, though, where shaving sharp would last maybe 5 cuts. My complaints so far: -People say the black/coarse/carbide sharpener will wear away your knives quickly. Indeed, I see metal turnings at this slot. You may be wary of this if you have very very expensive knives. But I don't intend to use this slot often, mainly touching up with the fine slot, so it doesn't bother me. -Hard to sharpen the tips of knives, especially if your knife has a tip near the handle. This tip is useful for opening packaging and removing labels. On the whole, this sharpener is good for newbies and those not too particular about their knives. Read more
Sharpens well and easy to use, but would be more convenient if the dial was on the opposite side for right handed people… just a thought! Read more
Excellent sharpener, got all my kitchen, hunting & pocket knives extremely sharp in minutes! Fast, super easy adjustment at turn of a button, kind of cheap plastic guard but ill just super glue that down but looks to be removable to oil_adjustments.... but cant beat the Amazon deal day price! Read more
This keeps my knives like new out of the box sharpness. But you have to be careful when you use pull thru sharpeners. You should not use pressure when sharpening the knife. Just let the knife glide on the sharpening blades. When you apply pressure, you might damage the blade. I have pull thru sharpeners, Japanese Waterstones, Wusthof Steel Sharpening Rods, Smith's Tri-hone and Spyderco Sharpmaker. I initially started with the Accusharp and Smith's Jiffy Pro Knife sharpeners. I got really great results from both of them, but I got swayed by "Experts" that said that it is taking away too much steel every time I use them, and it also damages the edge. So, based on their advice, I bought a Spyderco Sharpmaker. It was great and very sharp, but I could never replicate the edge exactly every time. So, I turned to Japanese Waterstones based on suggestions from others. I have to say that they were able to produce a crazy sharp edge, but it took FOREVER to sharpen a Kershaw Blur. Through all of this, I noticed that my knife was getting smaller and smaller. So I did not get the logic of not using the Pull thru sharpeners in the first place. I have been using Pull thru sharpeners for many years and I never noticed my knives getting smaller! Now purists might say that it is because I lack experience with using Stones or Rods, and that may be the case, but I do not want to spend any length of time perfecting how to sharpen a knife, as I have more important things to do. The Smith's Sharpener gets the job done in less than 20 seconds. But what I do agree on was that pull thru sharpeners changed the edge angle. If your pull thru sharpener has an angle of 20 degrees, it will impart that to your knife. Spydercos I have been told are approximately 30 degrees in total, about 15 degrees per side. So with this I used the 14 degrees setting and sharpened my Spyderco Tenacious(I am not going to experiment with my more expensive Spydercos). I have been cutting cardboard boxes everyday(Amazon packaging boxes) to see how durable the edge is. It has been a week and the knife still cuts well. Obviously not as sharp as when I initially sharpened it, but it can still slice the boxes with only a slight roughness. After a week, I ran it thru the FINE Ceramic Sharpener and the edge is back. Always try to sharpen your knife on the FINE Ceramic first, and if you find that it is not sharp enough, only then should you use the Tungsten Carbide blades. You DO NOT need to use pressure when using this. Just lightly swipe your knife and keep checking every couple of swipes if it is already sharp. When you use it gently, this will not take of anymore steel is needed. The FINE ceramic will be take off very little steel. So in summary, this preserves you knife's factory edge and produces a very sharp edge for most tasks. I highly recommend it. I purchased mine from the KENCO(Amazon seller) because I find that they have excellent customer service. ******UPDATE***** I find that the best use for this is to reset the edge angle. Once you have run thru the COARSE and FINE sharpeners, you can finish off with an EZE-LAP Super Fine Diamond Rod ($20) to give it a really smooth and sharp edge. I actually noticed a difference in the way my knife slices thru paper, before and after using the EZE-LAP Super Fine Diamond Rod. You can use the EZE-LAP much more frequently as a Steeling rod and super fine sharpener since it removes the least amount of Steel from the blade. Then just use the Smith's Adjustable to sharpen a dull blade or for a quick sharpening. Read more
