SHARPAL 156N Diamond Whetstone Knife Sharpener with Storage Base, 2 Side Grit Coarse 325 / Extra Fine 1200, Diamond Sharpening Stone with Non-Slip Base and Angle Guide (152 x 63mm / 6 x 2.5 Inch)

For a long time I've been using the "drag-through" style of sharpener on my kitchen knives. Some of them are quite expensive, and I've noticed two bad things happening:1. the initial edge grind that they came with is disappearing or has gone, leaving a fairly thick edge that doesn't really sharpen2. where these is an edge, it is ragged and catchy.I did quite a lot of research (meaning: I watched a lot of videos!) and initially I thought I'd get a whetstone (an oilstone or a waterstone more specifically), but I found that the good ones are expensive, you need several, and they wear away and have to be "dressed" with a special tool which wears them away further.As I'm not a knife-maker or a professional sushi chef, I looked for an alternative, and found diamond stones. These are much tougher in that they don't really wear away (although they do gradually lose their diamond coat over a long time), but they also have the advantage that they're more rigid and you only need a single (multi-grit) one to get your knives to a very good level of sharpness.(Knife-sharpening specialists will probably suggest you also get a leather strop and some grinding paste to finish off the edge, but I haven't done that and the sharpness I get to is still excellent).There are several good "how to use" and "how to choose" review videos of this Sharpal product online. It actually comes in two sizes and I bought the smaller; it works fine, but I would advise you to strongly consider getting the larger one if you have chef knives to sharpen, for a few extra pounds, as it will be a little easier.This one is fine, nevertheless, once you've mastered the technique, which took me a few hours at most.The stone comes in a very strong, quality storage box which is also the non-slip stand to hold it in when sharpening, having a large soft rubber base. It also has a magnetic angle gauge that you can attach to your knife to help you maintain any of 4 common blade angles.The instructions are fairly clear, although I would recommend looking for a tutorial video to really get the idea of how to sharpen.My other tip would be to start on a knife you're not too worried about making a bit of a mess of initially (although you will be able to adjust it once you get the hang of the technique!)Now that I am fairly practiced at using the Sharpal diamond stone, I can say that it is very fast to take even a blunt edge to a well-ground angle, and then to a razor-sharp, moderately polished cutting edge. You can probably do that in 10-15 minutes. With whetstones (which I've used in the past), you'll need several, and it would likely take 3 times as long.Remember to wash and dry the diamond stone to clean it occasionally; you can use it wet or dry. Wet will give you a satisfying metallic slurry very quickly as you use it!My tip here is to be careful not to rub your fingertips repeatedly on the stone as you sharpen, because you will literally remove your fingerprints!I've now sharpened most of my knives to better-than-new edges, and I've also sharpened scissors pretty effectively. Again, this is using the smaller model, and it would be even easier with the larger one.Overall, this has been a great purchase, and has really improved the safety and sharpness of my kitchen knives, and also improved my enjoyment of cooking because it has eased and increased the speed of my chopping and preparation significantly!I really recommend this Sharpal stone; give it a little time to learn how to use it, and you'll be cutting paper-thin slices of tomato just like they do in online videos to demonstrate how sharp your knives are!

Very good stone.So far I have only used it on my kitchen knives and my personal knife so it's not fully broken in yet, but the sharpness and edge retention is very good.The 325 grit side quickly removes steel gives a sharp edge. Finishing off with the 1200 grit side perfectly refines the edge and also gives it a slight mirror shine.I found that if you use a ceramic stone like the Fallkniven Cc4 (specifically the super fine white side) it gives a really nice hair shaving edge.Highly recommend for beginners and experienced sharpening

Great product, even with it being super heavy for a small item. Works great on all knifes. From my chef knifes to the cheap house knifes. Little hard to use for my crooked/curved knifes for the allotment tho. But all round very nice piece of equipment. Definitely need to buy a strop with this item, or it's just a waste of time using it. Happy days !

Good stone, clever design, easy to use. Difficult to open the latch as it's very stiff. The alignment triangle fits its holding only in one position that I didn't notice. I forced it in place and I broke the plastic bits that hold it in place. Now it falls out every time I try to close the lid. I advise to check before and don't make make my mistake. You would see how to put it as there is the shape pressed in the lid. I can sharp my knives so they cut a tomato without sliding off so I'm happy.

I'd been using those pull through sharpeners and ruining my knives for years as I never could get the hang of using a wetstone. This diamond stone changed all that, it brings the edge back to even the dullest knives, and has even restored the bevel on knives that I ruined with the pull through.Cannot recommend enough, worth every penny.

The size of the box is very flat making it very handy to carry in box.The sharpening ability is amazing superb value for money.. Would recommend 👍

This is a simple but great product for keeping your knives nice and sharp.Note: The best thing to do when starting to use the item is to practice on a knife that you don't care about to practice the technique.If you want to get the best edge on the knife, you should purchase a strop (made by the same company)

Ideal sharpening stone for those wishing to upgrade from traditional sandstone whetstones which require constant re wetting and cause a bit of a mess. Very functional and only require the use of both sides to get knives very sharp quickly with a small bit of practice. Good size too and overall good value for money.