Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Okay, so I feel like I may need to justify the fact that I do have a real need to sharpen things on the go on a fairly regular basis. I started a small sharpening and tool refurbishing service with my retired father out of his shop on the weekends after I'm done with my day job. I'm saying all of that to hopefully explain away the sharpening geekdom I'm about to lay down. We'll see how it goes... I do also have a rather modest (okay...massive) personal collection of items (knives, swords, axes, shovels etc...) that require semi-frequent sharpening. So, the necessity of the act of sharpening things aside, I do also sharpen things for fun. It's my way of meditating... So between the amateur and professional experience, I think I've tried nearly every different sharpening device or method known to man. Giant Tormek machines; wet and dry grinding wheels; tri-hones by the dozen; oilstones of every size, grade and shape; natural and synthetic Japanese waterstones; corundum paper wrapped over mirror glass; quartz belts; leather stropping belts; a solid hand-cranked quartz grinding wheel that belonged to my Great-Grandfather, viking whetstones, the top edge of a car window glass...everything. And the only ones that have stood the test of time and effectiveness are the diamond plates. They don't dish, they don't wear out (only seeming to get better/smoother with age) and they can even be used to level/flatten out other worn out/dished stones. A tool that does the job better than anything else and can actually fix other tools? What else can you say that about?! And beyond the hype, I can vouch that the DMT's are the best of the bunch. I've tried the alternative brands and the DMT bonding process is just plain stronger than the competition - so the grit lasts longer. From a connoisseur's POV, the mono-crystalline diamonds they use actually do seem to make a positive difference when you're trying to get a tough material to cut. The feedback is better too. Now while I do appreciate that I scored this set at a huge discount over purchasing the cards separately, I'd also have to say that carrying all three of them together in your wallet is a patently ludicrous proposition. The weight of the cards alone is enough to turn your wallet into an incredibly ineffective (and expensive) shot-put. Combine that with the fact that the Coarse (Blue) plate is only really useful for serious stock removal or possibly re-profiling, (something I usually only tackle on a full bench plate) and the near-uselessness of the Extra-Fine (Green) plate for anything but stropping or lapping (caused by the low grit and super-wide (9 micron) mesh, and you're left with only a 1/3 win. Now, because of my hobby/business, I'll probably be keeping the Coarse grit card close at hand specifically for the time consuming process of sharpening my scandi knives or my axes. Otherwise though, the Extra-Fine card could easily be replaced by a scrap of thin and inexpensive 3M 9 micron (notice it's the same mesh as the SF card) lapping film as an equally effective way to polish an edge or knock loose a burr. Seriously, get some of the film in bulk, lay it on something flat and try it in combo with the Fine grit card. You're nearly guaranteed to come out with an edge that will make the hair on your arm preemptively leap to its death in sheer terror. The back of these cards are even smooth... So you can trace around the card, cut-out a scrap of the film, glue it to the back of the Fine card with a bit of epoxy and come out with a 2-in-1 sharpening dynamo that actually WILL fit in your wallet...without breaking it. Update: The break in time for the Extra-Fine plate apparently took much longer than the others of the set. Needless to say, its managed to suddently become my favorite of the bunch for polishing edges, adding micro-bevels and even stropping/sharpening my diposable razor blades (by running them ever-so-lightly backwards on the EF plate covered with a thin film of honing oil). It takes them back to factory-sharp in seconds. So needless to say, by the money savings alone, that's the the coolest thing since sliced bread! Hope that helps, Thanks again for your time.