Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This review is from the perspective of a knife collector who has used several sharpening systems over the years. Namely, the lansky and the infamous wicked edge. I've used the Edge Pro too. At the current time, i've spent about 2 hours with the system on 2 different blades. This is my initial thoughts, and i will update accordingly as I gain more experience with the system. SHARPENABILITY: The number 1 question is: Can you get a knife sharp with this system out of the box? Answer is... mostly. It depends on what you personally qualify as "sharp". A knife cutting printer paper is the bare minimum of "sharp" to me. But dull knives do that too, believe it or not. If you are someone who knows relatively nothing about sharpening knives, you would most likely be satisfied with this system. Perhaps you like to sharpen up your hunting knife once a year before season. For me, having used the most superior system on the market (Wicked Edge), my level of sharp is at a high standard. I just didn't get the level of sharpness i desired out of this system in 2 hours. I tried various angles, micro-beveling, 2 different steels / blades. Hand stropping the knife further gave a decent edge. It cuts paper relatively easy but the edge feels dull. As if there is a micro-flat on the edge. The knives were fully re-profiled and i made sure all material cleaned up. So, the question is, why is this happening? REPEATABILITY: Many have said in these reviews that the system does not repeat when indexed. It is off a few degrees. I did not use an angle finder. Never used one with the Wicked Edge (although yes it is a better system by far). I winged it and used the device as intended and I think there is a repeatability issue that is resulting in knives being "dull". About using an angle finder: Im not sure how most people are using their phones or even an average sized angle finder. The clamp is not flat on one side. There is virtually not way to accurately gage a small blade unless you have a SMALL angle finder. Using a cell phone will not work. Period. It will not sit flat on the surface of the clamp on both sides. Only one one side, even then a phone is a bit too large. The interesting thing is that this lack of repeatability wasn't really expressed on the edge, other than it being "dull". The edge width was constant throughout the length of the edge. And from side to side, the edges looked to be the same width. So, i'm not sure what the deal is, but obviously something is up if I can't get a knife razor sharp. FOR EDC / FOLDERS: This system seems to be geared towards fixed blades / kitchen cutlery... It mostly is. It will work fine for folders but expect so collisions with the clamp. The clamp is wide and just not designed for small folders. If you clamp the blade with the corner of the clamp, you can get some clearance to work. This isn't a dealbreaker. Its fine, but could be narrower. STONES: The stones basically suck. They're OK. They get the job done. But for good knife steels, they struggle a bit. They also abraid easily and dust easily. They're brittle too. I already broke the 120 grit in half when installing into the system (pushed too hard down on the stone?). The 1200 grit seems more like a 1000 grit. It feels quite coarse. Regardless, you won't be getting anything close to a mirror finish on this system, which is probably obvious, but worth noting. (besides, mirror finishes perform inferior to a toothy edge 99% of the time). TIPS FOR NEWCOMERS: If you're new to the scene of sharpening, here are some basic tips / principles to help you out. These are subjective in some ways... Use light to modest pressure. No need to use high pressure.... Going back and fourth is acceptable, or going in a single motion (forward, lift, return, repeat). Don't do circles, it just produces an awkward finish. Use a lubricant. Water is OK to keep the stones from clogging. That is one of the main points of using a lubricant / oil. When a stone cloggs, its ineffective. As you sharpen, clean the stones with a rag and re-apply water/oil. Stone life will increase and a better edge will produce. The downside to using a lubricant is the slurry makes a mess and can get in blade pivots. IMPORTANT**. If a knife isn't sharp in the profile stage, it will NEVER be sharp. Meaning, at the lowest grit, you should be re-profiling the edge to meet the new angle you are sharpening at. Where ALL material should clean up. From grind to apex. (Use a sharpie). If a knife does not feel sharp during this stage, it doesn't matter how many stones you use after, the blade will never be sharp, in general. I've felt edges from the Wicked Edge system in the 80 grit stage that were deadly sharp, they were just super toothy/coarse. This is how I knew the system was not performing. I spent 90% of the time with this system with the 120 grit trying to get a sharp edge, and i didn't get there. So i moved on to the rest of the stones and the result was the same: "dull" with a finer edge. Thats how she goes. CONCLUSION: I don't regret the purchase. Its a good starter system. and you can use basically any stone with this system due to its versatile design. I saw guys using files with them... I want to get better stones (diamond) and a small angle finder to try and sort out this issue with repeatability. I also considered trying to unclamp the blade and flip it, rather than index the fixture. And see if I have better results. Will update accordingly.