I thought I'd post on this after using it for a little while, maybe 2 or 3 months. This is the basic version, with stones in 320, 600, and ceramic Fine grit. The ceramic is roughly equivalent to the standard Spyderco white fine triangles. Overall, I like it. The control of angle is nice. The diamond plates sharpen the hand full of CPM steels I have around the house: some S30V, S35VN, and one Magnacut blade. It is fast in terms of the number of passes required to sharpen a blade. The angle control eliminates much of the wasted motion of missing the mark on hitting the actual edge. The clamp is very sturdy, uniform, and repeatable. I like being able to take the knife off and check for a burr without removing the clamp. It is also compact and stores in the overhead cabinet out of the way in the kitchen. One thing that really stands out is I can use low angles, like less than 15 degrees. For the two knives I've tried below 15 degrees, the stones don't hit the clamp. That has been a problem for the few clamp systems I've tried in the past.
Now the down sides. The angle measurements are not absolute and will depend on the width of the blade. For instance, if I set the angle at 20 degrees on my Spyderco Santoku kitchen knife, then for 20 degrees on my Delica folding knife, they actual angle is not the same, and in all likelihood, neither is actually 20 degrees. It's fine for repeatability and changing the angle, but I think it's unlikely you can go from this system to another system and have the angles match even if they're set at the same value.
The clamp will not work on all blades. I have some steak knives and an Old Timer trapper that are too narrow to use in the clamp. The clamp covers the edge, or if I leave enough of the blade exposed so the stones hit the edge, the clamp's grip on the blade is very weak and it moves around a lot. Just as with the absolute angle setting noted above, this is a limitation common to most clamp style sharpeners. The clamp also has issues with Spyderco shaped blades, as the spine is not at all parallel with the edge. For a 100% secure clamp on the blade, the spine needs to engage the bottom of the V-clamp on both sides. The clamp can be tightened so my Delica doesn't move, but the rubber cushion in the clamp may be negatively affected by excessive clamping force. This hasn't happened, but for long term use, it might be a concern.
Applying a final edge requires alternating passes one at a time to remove and prevent formation of a new burr. Alternating sides on the Precision Adjust is somewhat tedious. I can get a final edge much faster by doing the edge shaping on the Precision Adjust then switching to my Sharpmaker and alternating sides very quickly.
When sharpening near the choil of a blade, the stone holder on the Precision Adjust leaves a small section that isn't contacted by the stones. If you have a dropped edge knife, like a kitchen knife, or a knife with a prominent sharpening choil or just a finger choil in general, this also doesn't happen. However, for knives like my Endura and Delica, there is a section at the plunge grind about 1/32" to 1/16" wide that isn't contacted by the stones. For anyone who's bought a new Spyderco recently, you know Spyderco's factory sharpening doesn't reach this area either and can leave a tiny secondary plunge line here. For that reason, I generally use a Dremel and add a small shallow sharpening choil, maybe 1/64" deep and 1/16" long. This area usually has a radius from the plunge grind and doesn't ever get sharp anyway. However, be aware and if this sort of thing bothers you, it might be prudent to look elsewhere for sharpening gear.
My final issue is with diamond stones in general, and these are no exception. I have historically preferred stones that didn't use diamond, as they maintain grit as the stone wears. Diamond stones can wear quickly due to the diamonds being torn off the plate. This hasn't happened, and the angle control afforded by the system means it will happen slower than if I were to sharpen using diamonds free hand, but eventually this will be an issue.
Overall, I like the system quite a bit. My Delica and one of my Japanese kitchen knives are sharpened with the angle setting bottomed out, well below the 15-degree mark. The stones don't hit the clamp when turned this low. I've gone through and sharpened all the knives I plan to with the Precision Adjust, which was about four folders and two kitchen knives. Since the knives are readily touched up on the Sharpmaker, it may be a while before I need to put them on the Precision Adjust again. This might be intentional or not, but the adjustments end up moving the angle about 1 degree for every 1.5 revolutions of the adjustment knob, at least below 20 degrees. The adjustment range for this sharpener is low enough that 1.5 turns/degree is close enough so you can judge angles below the 15-degree marked on the frame. As noted for the two knives above, this can be useful information if you sharpen at very low edge angles like I tend to do. If one had half a dozen knives or more to maintain, and wasn't very fussy about the choil issue, this is a good system. Add in a cheap ceramic honing rod for use between sharpening sessions and you'll be set.
Now the down sides. The angle measurements are not absolute and will depend on the width of the blade. For instance, if I set the angle at 20 degrees on my Spyderco Santoku kitchen knife, then for 20 degrees on my Delica folding knife, they actual angle is not the same, and in all likelihood, neither is actually 20 degrees. It's fine for repeatability and changing the angle, but I think it's unlikely you can go from this system to another system and have the angles match even if they're set at the same value.
The clamp will not work on all blades. I have some steak knives and an Old Timer trapper that are too narrow to use in the clamp. The clamp covers the edge, or if I leave enough of the blade exposed so the stones hit the edge, the clamp's grip on the blade is very weak and it moves around a lot. Just as with the absolute angle setting noted above, this is a limitation common to most clamp style sharpeners. The clamp also has issues with Spyderco shaped blades, as the spine is not at all parallel with the edge. For a 100% secure clamp on the blade, the spine needs to engage the bottom of the V-clamp on both sides. The clamp can be tightened so my Delica doesn't move, but the rubber cushion in the clamp may be negatively affected by excessive clamping force. This hasn't happened, but for long term use, it might be a concern.
Applying a final edge requires alternating passes one at a time to remove and prevent formation of a new burr. Alternating sides on the Precision Adjust is somewhat tedious. I can get a final edge much faster by doing the edge shaping on the Precision Adjust then switching to my Sharpmaker and alternating sides very quickly.
When sharpening near the choil of a blade, the stone holder on the Precision Adjust leaves a small section that isn't contacted by the stones. If you have a dropped edge knife, like a kitchen knife, or a knife with a prominent sharpening choil or just a finger choil in general, this also doesn't happen. However, for knives like my Endura and Delica, there is a section at the plunge grind about 1/32" to 1/16" wide that isn't contacted by the stones. For anyone who's bought a new Spyderco recently, you know Spyderco's factory sharpening doesn't reach this area either and can leave a tiny secondary plunge line here. For that reason, I generally use a Dremel and add a small shallow sharpening choil, maybe 1/64" deep and 1/16" long. This area usually has a radius from the plunge grind and doesn't ever get sharp anyway. However, be aware and if this sort of thing bothers you, it might be prudent to look elsewhere for sharpening gear.
My final issue is with diamond stones in general, and these are no exception. I have historically preferred stones that didn't use diamond, as they maintain grit as the stone wears. Diamond stones can wear quickly due to the diamonds being torn off the plate. This hasn't happened, and the angle control afforded by the system means it will happen slower than if I were to sharpen using diamonds free hand, but eventually this will be an issue.
Overall, I like the system quite a bit. My Delica and one of my Japanese kitchen knives are sharpened with the angle setting bottomed out, well below the 15-degree mark. The stones don't hit the clamp when turned this low. I've gone through and sharpened all the knives I plan to with the Precision Adjust, which was about four folders and two kitchen knives. Since the knives are readily touched up on the Sharpmaker, it may be a while before I need to put them on the Precision Adjust again. This might be intentional or not, but the adjustments end up moving the angle about 1 degree for every 1.5 revolutions of the adjustment knob, at least below 20 degrees. The adjustment range for this sharpener is low enough that 1.5 turns/degree is close enough so you can judge angles below the 15-degree marked on the frame. As noted for the two knives above, this can be useful information if you sharpen at very low edge angles like I tend to do. If one had half a dozen knives or more to maintain, and wasn't very fussy about the choil issue, this is a good system. Add in a cheap ceramic honing rod for use between sharpening sessions and you'll be set.
