jdhainesNah this system is really damn good. I've gotten razor sharp with this from a dull knife that couldn't cut your finger if you tried. I also bought a sapphire stone as well for a nice polished edge. Wicked Edges are expensive, much much more than this. I wouldn't want to spend 200+ on that system when a 50-60 dollar system can do it pretty well w/ just a bit more work.
Blaze9131It isn't really damn good. It can absolutely get a sharp edge. I used this system for probably 4-5 years through college and a little after. If you're watching your budget, then this is a serviceable option to carry you through. It is a lot of work. It took over 2 hours each time I tried to sharpen my D2 knife with this system. The handle part would bend, the rods would bend and the angle would change, things would come loose, the stones wore down, etc. It's OK, but not great. In all the years I used this system I was never able to get a shaving sharp edge. Of course it's possible, hell people can get that with a hand stone...but I personally never could. With my wicked edge system, I can shave my face with any knife I sharpen from filet knives to meat cleavers.
Maybe get this to hold yourself for awhile, but do yourself a favor and start saving your pennies for a real sharpening system. I've sharpened hundreds of knives at this point with my wicked edge. Perfect angle holding, repeatable knife mounting and angle finding which lets you touch up knives in less than 5 minutes, diamond stones that haven't worn any appreciable amount in all these knives, etc. It's absolutely expensive but worth it as an investment I'll have the rest of my life. I also sharpen coworkers knives for $5 if they want them the next day, or free if they'll wait for when it's convenient. I've kept my parents knives sharp, friends, etc. It's just a much better situation.
As far as the edge quality I was ever able to achieve with this system, I'd save your time and money and get a pull-through sharpener. It'll keep knives safe until you can afford a great system.
Omegaman68Do NOT use a pull through sharpener. There's no good pull through sharpener. All they do is remove an excess amount of steel and doesn't even the sharpen the blade that well plus it leaves a horrible edge. You're much better off using a guided sharpener such as this Lansky.
Omegaman68I would definitely use a cheaper knife to practice on and to prepare yourself with more expensive knives, but yeah don't use a pully sharpeners. Sure they get the job done, but they're very inefficient at it.
jdhainesWicked edge systems are much more expensive than this $37 set. While i'm sure that your rig works and produces a sharp edge, making a comparison to this product isn't really a fair comparison.
Maybe get this to hold yourself for awhile, but do yourself a favor and start saving your pennies for a real sharpening system. I've sharpened hundreds of knives at this point with my wicked edge. Perfect angle holding, repeatable knife mounting and angle finding which lets you touch up knives in less than 5 minutes, diamond stones that haven't worn any appreciable amount in all these knives, etc. It's absolutely expensive but worth it as an investment I'll have the rest of my life. I also sharpen coworkers knives for $5 if they want them the next day, or free if they'll wait for when it's convenient. I've kept my parents knives sharp, friends, etc. It's just a much better situation.
As far as the edge quality I was ever able to achieve with this system, I'd save your time and money and get a pull-through sharpener. It'll keep knives safe until you can afford a great system.