To each, his or her own, I suppose. I was given one of the 1095 models about 15 years ago and I have used it and loved it ever since. I still use oil stones and sharpen free hand on my most valued knives, but on my others, especially kitchen knives, I use the Chefs' Choice. I no longer need to use the diamond wheel, just the medium and fine ceramic hones, and they work like a charm. Out of curiosity, when my StarMate, with its 440V steel, finally started to lose its edge, I tried it on the Chefs' Choice and it worked like a charm! It got the edge shaving sharp in seconds. So there you are, one strong supporter of the equipment. It does, however, interfere with your "relationship" with your knife. By this, I mean that it works to only one preset edge grind and you have only minimal input into what you are doing to your baby. That may be more of an issue to some than to others, it is more to me with certain knives than others. I rather doubt that I'll put the StarMate in it again, I was only experimenting and I like to relate to my favorite knives.
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Walk in the Light,
Hugh Fuller