Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I spent six months researching which wet sharpening system to buy. The other brand is awesome but I can't really account for spending that amount of money for a sharpening system. This item works great. I have over 100 chisels and planes and have spent countless hours honing and sharpening each one. My collection includes high quality tools down to the soft Chinese mass produced items. To maintain a large assortment of blades, I needed a faster and easier method of sharpening. This has provided me with perfect grinds that have produced some of the sharpest primary edges I have ever had. I have used wet stones, oil stones, and glass/granite sandpaper sharpening methods for years and produced super sharp blades but these methods are very time consuming. This system works great and provides the same quality of bevel that the by-hand techniques provide.Complaints about numerous small issues with the system are true but most can be corrected by proper use and set up. 1. True the stone as soon as you install it. To sharpen correctly it must be trued to your jig support. I used the Tormek TT-50 and it worked great (install and test range before truing). Always change the water after truing or grading your stone to prevent loose abrasives from clogging the stone. Truing also reduces chances of water slinging off the stone during use and will reduce motor noise. 2. Fill the water tray to the fill line stamped in the tray. Water levels that are too high or too low will sling water everywhere. If your stone slings water with the water level correct in the tray, the stone needs to be trued/graded. As listed above, I used the TT-50 for truing and I use the SP-650 for grading both coarse (around 220 grit) and fine (around 1000 grit). When grading I use a cheap paint brush just above the water tray to reduce water on the stone to minimize splashing/runoff from the grader. Change the water when it becomes cloudy to maintain a clean grind. I keep a 1" diameter flat magnet in the water tray to collect metal shavings. This will keep the stone clean longer and reduce the need for water changes. 3. The jig and jig support are square enough for the average to advanced user. If you need a professional grade sharpener, you should not be looking at one of the cheapest on the market. I have threaded the inner jig support for micro adjustments now but had no problems with the support before. I wanted a more exact method of leveling/adjusting the jig but it was not needed. I sharpened 30+ chisels, 2 knives (straight edge), and 10+ plane blades with the out of the box set up with excellent results. The included jig has a stop block on the right side that is not perfectly true. I set the angle for my blade using the included angle finder and then made a quick sweep across the stone and checked the blade to see if the alignment was correct. If it needed a slight adjustment i used a small soft blow hammer to tap the chisel/blade to make minor adjustments within the jig. 4. The leather stropping wheel works well but could be better. To prepare the wheel, I used an oil soaked sponge to prime the leather. I ran the sponge over the wheel until the leather showed consistent coverage and then reversed the wheel turning direction and ensured the same coverage. The fibers of the leather are directional and require oiling from both directions. Once oiled I added a dime sized amount of honing compound to my finger and applied it to the wheel while the machine was running to evenly apply the compound. 5. Additional jigs and equipment. The system comes with a jig that works mainly for straight edge sharpening i.e. chisels, plane blades. I have since purchased the following that all work well with the out of the box jig support: SVM-45 (knife blade jig), SVM-140 (long knife jig) and the SVA-170 (axe jig). I have also purchased the WM-200 angle setter; the plastic angle setter that comes with the system works but with constant use begins to wear from contact with the stone. Overall, this system does great for the price. The competition costs 4 to 5 times this price and still requires all the additional jigs and equipment. I would recommend it to anyone that maintains a large number of flat blades. For sharpening a large numbers of knives with compound curves there may be other options that are more suited. For my small collection of knives this system works well. Keep in mind this is a sharpener and not intended to create bevels only shape existing ones.