Here are my brief thoughts on sharpening systems I've used for what it's worth. Recently purchased and edge pro and see little need for them after trying the system.
I noticed for the 2 years I've used the sharpmaker that there was a major flaw on the system: let me know your opinion on the sharpmaker.
First up: Handsharpening
Japanese waterstones (Togi quality, and Naniwa stones): I had these stones for 6 months
* The japanese waterstones are not recommended for stainless steels only for Carbon steels imho. They wear easily, and are extremely costly ($600 each stone I used, those were about 12"x7"x4". They were considered final polish grade for mirror polishes, and potentially used for creating the sludge used for finger polishing. These stones due to the high degree of finish are recommended to resurfaced with another flat stone to keep consistency in the scratch pattern. Any convex edge must be done with action of the wrist NOT wearing of the stone.
* Naniwa Stones: These were purchased for reprofiling by togi on cheaper knives (kitchen knives for example), and are cheaper than the much higher grade waterstones. These are longer wearing, not too costly. However still require some maintaining, albeit are easier on the user. These stones can handle most vanadium rich steels however anything above S30v or M390 is a bit too much, and you will see these stones not cutting as aggressively as other lower vanadium or carbon steels. They still do the job and wear similarly to S30v just expect double the effort, and double the time. These are what I recommend if you want to do freehand sharpening much more longer wearing, and great consistency. These can be obtained in several grit.
DMT Aligner, and DMT benchstones: Had this system for bit over 2 years, maybe longer.
* Gave the benchstones to the Togi as payment for the use of the waterstones. Quite frankly I didn't like them.
* Both DMT Aligner/Benchstones are insanely aggressive cutting stones. They leave poor finishes for the most part compared to say "same grit" aluminum oxide, or sandpaper. I am sure there are some diamond stones that are most consistent for mirror polishing but I didn't try them.
* They can sharpen just about anything and from what I can tell they don't seem to wear... ever. My DMT aligner still cuts the same way it did when it was new. Unsure about the benchstones didn't use them much but I am sure they would work the same.
* DMT Aligner system works great however guessing what angle it will cut in is a chore in itself. Also it is not very consistent due to the system requiring you to hold the stone, and knife with no way to clamp it down. With steady hands and practice however you can get very good results. However due to the aggressive nature of diamond stones, these did not give a great edge just a great way to get to an apex.
I would recommend the Aligner system for light to medium reprofiling not so much for final sharpening albeit it can be done.
Worksharp Knife and tool Sharpener: Had this for 2 years maybe longer.
* It's a mini beltgrinder. The belts are of high quality and work extremely well.
* Requires serious practice to not round the tips. Also it's not recommended to use the 120 grit belts for sharpening as they remove too much material far too quickly.
* Can be used for reprofiling a very very very roughed up knife and can do it in a matter of seconds using the 120 grit belts.
* I mostly used this for the 6k belt as it helped me apex edges that were a little past the Sharpmaker but not quite bad enough to require a reprofile using the DMT system. Mostly edges that were maintained.
* Still works the same as day 1 with fresh belts.
Spyderco Sharpmaker: Had this for 2 years.
* My favorite sharpening system even more than the edge pro due to the ease of use and most importantly SPEED. However it is a highly flawed system (I will get to this). I consider it more of a maintenance system than a true sharpening system. I couldn't recommend it for reprofiling as the only stones that can reprofile are the diamond stones and my experience with those were negative. Very horrible finishing was left over by the stones, and some microscopic tearing of the edges was noticed with S30v and higher vanadium content steels.
In anycase the UltraFine rods are a must for this system.
* Can handle just about any steel known to mankind. The coarse (brown) stones seem to hold up well even to super steels like S110V, S90V, and K390 just takes longer. The white stones (fine, and ultrafine) can hone any steel with little to no difference.
* It's ONLY downside and what I consider a critical issue is way the system has to be used to be effective and the only reason I purchased a edge pro instead.
The flaw is how you are instructed to use it, which is also the quickest way, creates a pattern that goes "diagonal" with slight curve to the blade. This means there is little bite when you cut in (pushing away from you) with the knife but plenty of bite when you cut out (draw cutting towards yourself). It also looses tremendous amount of cutting ability when the knife is used diagonal (handle up, knife tip down) against some materials. When you hold the knife diagonal while the edge is above the handle, you get the best cutting performance. Even cutting straight down shows loss of cutting performance.
This is concerning because it fails to cut tough materials such as seatbelts, and tough fabrics unless used diagonal to the material with the handle below the tip of the knife.
The edge pro, DMT aligner, belt sharpener, and freehanding on benchstones (of sufficient size) CAN have similar results HOWEVER not as apparent as the sharpmaker.
I noticed for the 2 years I've used the sharpmaker that there was a major flaw on the system: let me know your opinion on the sharpmaker.
First up: Handsharpening
Japanese waterstones (Togi quality, and Naniwa stones): I had these stones for 6 months
* The japanese waterstones are not recommended for stainless steels only for Carbon steels imho. They wear easily, and are extremely costly ($600 each stone I used, those were about 12"x7"x4". They were considered final polish grade for mirror polishes, and potentially used for creating the sludge used for finger polishing. These stones due to the high degree of finish are recommended to resurfaced with another flat stone to keep consistency in the scratch pattern. Any convex edge must be done with action of the wrist NOT wearing of the stone.
* Naniwa Stones: These were purchased for reprofiling by togi on cheaper knives (kitchen knives for example), and are cheaper than the much higher grade waterstones. These are longer wearing, not too costly. However still require some maintaining, albeit are easier on the user. These stones can handle most vanadium rich steels however anything above S30v or M390 is a bit too much, and you will see these stones not cutting as aggressively as other lower vanadium or carbon steels. They still do the job and wear similarly to S30v just expect double the effort, and double the time. These are what I recommend if you want to do freehand sharpening much more longer wearing, and great consistency. These can be obtained in several grit.
DMT Aligner, and DMT benchstones: Had this system for bit over 2 years, maybe longer.
* Gave the benchstones to the Togi as payment for the use of the waterstones. Quite frankly I didn't like them.
* Both DMT Aligner/Benchstones are insanely aggressive cutting stones. They leave poor finishes for the most part compared to say "same grit" aluminum oxide, or sandpaper. I am sure there are some diamond stones that are most consistent for mirror polishing but I didn't try them.
* They can sharpen just about anything and from what I can tell they don't seem to wear... ever. My DMT aligner still cuts the same way it did when it was new. Unsure about the benchstones didn't use them much but I am sure they would work the same.
* DMT Aligner system works great however guessing what angle it will cut in is a chore in itself. Also it is not very consistent due to the system requiring you to hold the stone, and knife with no way to clamp it down. With steady hands and practice however you can get very good results. However due to the aggressive nature of diamond stones, these did not give a great edge just a great way to get to an apex.
I would recommend the Aligner system for light to medium reprofiling not so much for final sharpening albeit it can be done.
Worksharp Knife and tool Sharpener: Had this for 2 years maybe longer.
* It's a mini beltgrinder. The belts are of high quality and work extremely well.
* Requires serious practice to not round the tips. Also it's not recommended to use the 120 grit belts for sharpening as they remove too much material far too quickly.
* Can be used for reprofiling a very very very roughed up knife and can do it in a matter of seconds using the 120 grit belts.
* I mostly used this for the 6k belt as it helped me apex edges that were a little past the Sharpmaker but not quite bad enough to require a reprofile using the DMT system. Mostly edges that were maintained.
* Still works the same as day 1 with fresh belts.
Spyderco Sharpmaker: Had this for 2 years.
* My favorite sharpening system even more than the edge pro due to the ease of use and most importantly SPEED. However it is a highly flawed system (I will get to this). I consider it more of a maintenance system than a true sharpening system. I couldn't recommend it for reprofiling as the only stones that can reprofile are the diamond stones and my experience with those were negative. Very horrible finishing was left over by the stones, and some microscopic tearing of the edges was noticed with S30v and higher vanadium content steels.
In anycase the UltraFine rods are a must for this system.
* Can handle just about any steel known to mankind. The coarse (brown) stones seem to hold up well even to super steels like S110V, S90V, and K390 just takes longer. The white stones (fine, and ultrafine) can hone any steel with little to no difference.
* It's ONLY downside and what I consider a critical issue is way the system has to be used to be effective and the only reason I purchased a edge pro instead.
The flaw is how you are instructed to use it, which is also the quickest way, creates a pattern that goes "diagonal" with slight curve to the blade. This means there is little bite when you cut in (pushing away from you) with the knife but plenty of bite when you cut out (draw cutting towards yourself). It also looses tremendous amount of cutting ability when the knife is used diagonal (handle up, knife tip down) against some materials. When you hold the knife diagonal while the edge is above the handle, you get the best cutting performance. Even cutting straight down shows loss of cutting performance.
This is concerning because it fails to cut tough materials such as seatbelts, and tough fabrics unless used diagonal to the material with the handle below the tip of the knife.
The edge pro, DMT aligner, belt sharpener, and freehanding on benchstones (of sufficient size) CAN have similar results HOWEVER not as apparent as the sharpmaker.
