Tell my I shouldn't buy a cheap guided sharpener

donnord

donnord

Gold Member
Joined
Dec 22, 2007
Messages
356
I am thinking about upgrading my 20+ year lansky system to a newer guided system. I have looked at the Edge pro, KME, Wicked Edge, ect. They look like any of them will do a good job once you get to know the device. So with these cheap systems on the Bay is the quality of manufacture low, making the grinds uneven or hard to attain? Are the ergos bad? Do they break quickly? I assume the stones they provide if any are not very good. So figuring in the cost of stones should be a consideration. I read a bunch of the post on here about the Toors? units which are about 130 on the big river, but the bay has some similar for about 50 bucks!! that is tempting. I like to be a buy once cry once kind of guy but sometimes lack of funds gets in the way. What I dont want is to buy a cheap sharpener and then having to spend a bunch of time and, and money fixing it.
 
Everything about the cheap guided sharpening systems is CHEAP. The fasteners holding everything tightly together come loose are are often ill fitting from the start. The hones wear like they are chalk dust held together with horse glue. The clamp holding the blade was an odd uneven shape. The rods holding the hones weren't even hardened enough to not flex and bow with the slightest pressure. Money wasted. I ended up buying the Work Sharp Precision Adjust. They make a newer bigger less plastic version but the original serves me well enough with one minor cheap addition of a 3D printed wedge that eliminated the slight flex during sharpening. Which you shouldn't be pressing down so hard in the first place but it makes me feel better.
 
Thanks for the replies I appreciate the input. I have a Worksharp KO belt sharpener but not the blade grinder attachment. I have never really been thrilled with the WSKO, which I know is completely different than the precision adjust. The price for the precision adjust is pretty good for the plastic one. Are using just the basic tri-hone or did you get additional ones?
 
donnord said:
Are using just the basic tri-hone or did you get additional ones?
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I ended up buying an upgrade kit that I think was a combo of the additional hones and case. But I admit I mostly only use the first tri hone. The little leather strop is nice to have but a typical paddle strop is leagues better. I just no longer feel the need for a mirror polish.

I do also have the previous gen Ken Onion belt system and I like it for putting a convex edge on larger knives and don't use it at all on smaller knives or pretty much any folder.
 
I bought that Xarilk TSprof Kadet clone off the river site to try out of curiosity as I freehand. I wanted something cheap that could do specific angles or occasionally reset bevels I screwed up freehanding 😅. At any rate, I've actually been pretty impressed with it. It's all metal, aluminum including the stand I believe. Still decently heavy though. The stone holder is actually pretty good imo. I like how it has the circular hand protector plate but also that the stone holder is spring loaded. Should fit pretty much any standard 6x1" and 4x1" guided system stones out there. Though I've only personally tried the PDT 6x1" and CGSW 4x1" stones but both work great. It also works with the Venev squared off stones like the Centaur models which I own and have tried on the Xarilk. A couple places on it could benefit from tightening screws, but nothing a little loctite can't fix. The overall footprint is a bit large though with the long stone holder rod, though you can disassemble the rod into two if need be.

The stones that come with it aren't that great and wear out pretty fast. The abrasive on them also doesn't go all the way to the edges so some knives you might not be able to sharpen near the plunge grind depending on how the plunge grind was done by the mfg. The clamps work but aren't great. You can't clamp anything directly in the center like a small knife because of how they designed the clamp holder. However regular and larger sized knives they work great for. TSprof clamps do fit however and I did end up buying some last black friday and they fit perfectly. The angle adjustment is a bit weird as you have to take two separate measurements to get your actual angle, but other than that not a big deal. I'd also recommend a couple overtravel stops for the stone holder rod at the least.

For ~$30 more I think the Xarilk is a much better buy out of the box than the basic Worksharp Precision adjust which I also own. The WSPA is all plastic, the clamp isn't great for larger knives or some types of grinds like a full flat, you do get the flex in the clamp arm without a brace, the stone holder+stones are small and proprietary. The basic diamond stones don't last particularly long either, though it should be said they are cheap to replace. With the WSPA, you're holding the abrasive on top so you gotta be extra careful because your hand is passing directly over or very close to the knife edge on every pass, unlike with the Xarilk where your hand is relatively far away and there's also that steel protector plate.
 
I started with the KME and switched to a TSPROF K03 a couple of years later. Both sharpeners are capable of producing a fine edge, but the similarities end there. Compared to the K03, the design of the KME is pretty crude and can be frustrating to use. The precise angle adjustment and rock solid clamp system of the K03 make it worth the cost difference and a joy to use, in my opinion.
 
donnord said:
I am thinking about upgrading my 20+ year lansky system to a newer guided system. I have looked at the Edge pro, KME, Wicked Edge, ect. They look like any of them will do a good job once you get to know the device. So with these cheap systems on the Bay is the quality of manufacture low, making the grinds uneven or hard to attain? Are the ergos bad? Do they break quickly? I assume the stones they provide if any are not very good. So figuring in the cost of stones should be a consideration. I read a bunch of the post on here about the Toors? units which are about 130 on the big river, but the bay has some similar for about 50 bucks!! that is tempting. I like to be a buy once cry once kind of guy but sometimes lack of funds gets in the way. What I dont want is to buy a cheap sharpener and then having to spend a bunch of time and, and money fixing it.
Click to expand...
What came to mind before I read your post was :
A quarter century ago I bought a DMT Aliner sharpenning kit . I HATE the plastic clampy thing and NEVER USE IT . I LIKE the diamond stones and use the heck out of them stuck to aluminum "blanks" in my Edge Pro Apex when I must have diamonds for high vanadium alloy blades .
Many of the other diamond stones from other companys SUCK BIG TIME .

I say buy what you can aford (the best you can afford) and take it home and make something useful out of it.
e.g. I love my Edge Pro Apex but it needed the stones I addapted to it from the Aligner.

I have a whole pile of diamond stones for use with my Wicked Edge
but
the Wicked Edge needs a decent stone thickness compinsator that the Edge Pro has
the Wicked Edge needs to be modified to work with small slipjoints and shallow / acute edge geometry . . .

Bottom line buy some stuff and make it work for YOU .
Cheepy Joe is . . . very often . . . not as good as buying gear from a reputable company that has a reputation for making quality / effective gear.
Those reputable companies SHOULD BE PAID WHAT THEY REQUIRE TO STAY IN BUSINESS AND MAKE A PROFIT .
 
Wowbagger said:
the Wicked Edge needs to be modified to work with small slipjoints
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You may already know, the Tormeck small knife holder works really well with the Wicked Edge, if you use your WE frequently well worth getting. Hope this helps.
 
I ended up going with the Xarilk GEN2. As I liked the clamp better. I got it today and a couple of things were messed up that some folks would be put off by. I was initially. The clamp for the jaw could not be operated because the threads were in the jaw for the tightening screw were full of powder coat. I was able to run the bolt from both sides and clean up the threads. The other issue was, angle adjustment would not work at all, as one of the arms was not connected at the bottom and it jammed the unit. I was able to take that arm off and put it back the way it should have been. But Heck I only paid 80 bucks for it.

So how does it work? Very well for the most part especially on my medium to large folders. When sharpening a smaller japanese paring knife that had a less than 15DPS edge I could not get the arm level as the post was as low as it could go. After some messing around I got it as close as I could and it came out fine. About the change in angle when changing sides, I did notice that and just compensated by releveling, not really a big deal. Also it was more pronounced on thicker blades. The effect was barely noticeable on a thin chefs knife and more pronounced on the Gerber Parabellum which has a thick blade. Not sure why that would be. The diamond stones that were supplied seem to cut well, although the provided 2000 seems coarser than an aftermarket 1500 that I bought, by quite a bit.

Overall:
QC needs help, but it was the last one in stock at $80.00 and deeply discounted.
Works well enough for me. Small knives are probably an issue, however I have not tried yet. On a 10" Chefs knife it is hard to keep a consistent angle from tip to ricasso, due to blade flex at the tip, I think. On the other knives not quite as long it definitely produces a keen edge, as it did on the chefs knife after supporting the tip with my fingers. Both me and the Wife are wearing band aids.
The unit was much smoother to operate once I cleaned the shaft and applied wax to it.
Price is good for what you get, but if you are not mechanically inclined the QC issues would be quite frustrating, I almost returned it until I took a breath and re-evaluated the situation.
6X1" stones are plentiful.
 
donnord said:
I ended up going with the Xarilk GEN2. As I liked the clamp better. I got it today and a couple of things were messed up that some folks would be put off by. I was initially. The clamp for the jaw could not be operated because the threads were in the jaw for the tightening screw were full of powder coat. I was able to run the bolt from both sides and clean up the threads. The other issue was, angle adjustment would not work at all, as one of the arms was not connected at the bottom and it jammed the unit. I was able to take that arm off and put it back the way it should have been. But Heck I only paid 80 bucks for it.

So how does it work? Very well for the most part especially on my medium to large folders. When sharpening a smaller japanese paring knife that had a less than 15DPS edge I could not get the arm level as the post was as low as it could go. After some messing around I got it as close as I could and it came out fine. About the change in angle when changing sides, I did notice that and just compensated by releveling, not really a big deal. Also it was more pronounced on thicker blades. The effect was barely noticeable on a thin chefs knife and more pronounced on the Gerber Parabellum which has a thick blade. Not sure why that would be. The diamond stones that were supplied seem to cut well, although the provided 2000 seems coarser than an aftermarket 1500 that I bought, by quite a bit.

Overall:
QC needs help, but it was the last one in stock at $80.00 and deeply discounted.
Works well enough for me. Small knives are probably an issue, however I have not tried yet. On a 10" Chefs knife it is hard to keep a consistent angle from tip to ricasso, due to blade flex at the tip, I think. On the other knives not quite as long it definitely produces a keen edge, as it did on the chefs knife after supporting the tip with my fingers. Both me and the Wife are wearing band aids.
The unit was much smoother to operate once I cleaned the shaft and applied wax to it.
Price is good for what you get, but if you are not mechanically inclined the QC issues would be quite frustrating, I almost returned it until I took a breath and re-evaluated the situation.
6X1" stones are plentiful.
Click to expand...
Neeves Knives did a comprehensive review of these on his YouTube channel you may find useful to watch.
 
I have been doing it that way for about 50 years and get OK results, but the guided system is so much easier and faster. Some knves I still use stones because you get a better feel for the edge.
 
I’ve been sharpening for 10 years or so. For me, cheap sharpening systems were part of my growth. They are now stacked around my shop on shelves out of the way of the good stuff. If you are serious about sharpening you will save money in the long run if you spring for a good system now. If not, you will also have the cheap systems stored next to your Wicked Edge, Tormek, or most likely more.
 
donnord said:
I have been doing it that way for about 50 years and get OK results, but the guided system is so much easier and faster. Some knves I still use stones because you get a better feel for the edge.
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I disagree with the bold part. IME, freehand sharpening is definitely faster than using a guided sharpener.
 
sharp_edge said:
I disagree with the bold part. IME, freehand sharpening is definitely faster than using a guided sharpener.
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It's faster to touch up but maybe not as fast when doing a full sharpening/reprofile. All depends on skill and expectations. I like the results of the wicked edge. I am not good enough at freehand sharpening to get to that level. I'm sure some can but I haven't met one.
 
donnord said:
I have looked at the Edge pro, KME, Wicked Edge, ect. They look like any of them will do a good job once you get to know the device. So with these cheap systems on the Bay is the quality of manufacture low,
Click to expand...

The Lansky is ok, but I think you'll get better results with any of the other systems you mentioned. My first sharpening "system" was an EdgePro knock off. It required frequent repairs to fasteners, clamps, etc., and it was rather noodley in use. I posted about it here, making the mistake of mentioning the country of origin in an unflattering way. I got yelled at. I've since learned to be more discriminating in my choice of words. Let me try again, in the most delicate manner I can muster: Do yourself a favor and get the original product made by people who are interested in maintaining the reputation of their company. Don't buy a patent-infringed copy from those who have no interest in the long-term performance of their products or the reputation of their company. My personal recommendation is the EdePro Professional, but you'll probably be happy with any of the top-tier products.
 
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