Knife Sharpener Tool with 3 Whetstone 360 Degree Rotation Fixed Angle - Easy

The media could not be loaded.  Disclaimer: I am aware it is a poor copy of something else, but it is what I can afford and afford to modify. If this bothers you, I'm sure there are related products that are legit and you should buy those instead to support those companies.I bought this after reading the reviews and understanding that it may be a waste. But I am industrious and like to fix and modify things so I took the risk. The risk turned out to be worth it because it is very easy to modify with basic tools and inexpensive parts.Here is what I used:MATERIALS:* two ~1/4 steel balls (ball bearings) or equivalent (you may not need these if you retain the stock index rod bar thing)* a short section of pipe or (as I used) a 1/4" female-female brass fitting about 1/2" outside diameter that can fit over the existing spacer or with an inside diameter to replace the existing spacer behind the clamp* several 1/4" or 6mm washers for preloading the flip index spring* a square of something for a base* two flat head machine screws about 1/2" longer than the thickness of your base (with washers and nuts--I used #10)* medium viscosity cyanoacrylate (super) glueTOOLS:* a drill bit or step bit that can bore a hole slightly larger than your female-female pipe fitting or equivalent.* a roughly 5/32 (.156 or 4mm) drill bit* a clearance drill bit for your two flat head machine screws* a countersink* abrasives to deburr the parts or holesWhat I did:The vertical mount for the clamp needs to be drilled out where the clamp passes through so that your new spacer can pass through. The spacer needs to be big enough to bear on the two halves of the clamp so when you tighten the middle adjustment nut, it forces the clamp closed. It needs to be free to move through the new, larger hole. Once done, you can remove the bolt that goes through the clamp itself.Next, I chose to remove the two small screws and bottom clamp stop and replace them with two ball bearings to smooth things out during knife rotation. You may not need to do this. You can try drilling out the central clamp hole with the existing bottom stop in place, though I think the two top screws will be a problem.With the two small screws removed, drill out their holes with the 5/32 bit and then countersink them until there is around 1/8" (3mm) of steel ball sitting above the surface of the support when you rest it in the countersink. Verify both are the same height to ensure a stable platform. Once they are even, bond the balls in place with the CA super glue and let it cure.You can test the assembly by placing your clamp and new spacer in place and seeing if the clamp seats on the balls (or pivot).Assemble the unit as shown in the pictures and use the washers between the spring and rear support to provide enough preload on the knife clamp rotation to prevent it slipping during sharpening. I put my washers against the rear upright. This is primarily to keep the threaded rod from poking my hand when I push on the rear nut to release the clamp for rotation. It isin't strictly necessary.Finally, drill out two holes in the bottom of the sharpener and your support base, countersink the underside of the base, and bolt them together. That C clamp was not really an option for me...If you did it right, you should have a much improved and useable, flippable knife sharpener for a fraction of the cost of the pro options. Check out my photo and video to see what I mean.THE ACTUAL REVIEW:This isn't a very good sharpener on its own. The guide rod sticks in the pivot bearing a bit and needs to be sanded down, smoothed out, and polished to get it to slide freely through the spherical bearing without getting stuck half way. This is why it lost a star (even after modification).The parts are relatively well made for what you pay. The fit and finish is good enough. The hardware seems decent. You even get a hex wrench for the clamp (which you don't need after modding...).I can't say much about the stones yet as I haven't used them. The upside is that the stone holder appears to be compatible with Edge Pro style 6x1" stones so you can buy fancy stones for this and then when you're able to spend more money on a sharpener, you can pick up a guided sharpener that works with your fancy stones (like a Hapstone or Edge Pro). Or you can cheap out and get the cheap set of diamond stones for this one...And finally:Hopefully this helps you cut through all the chaff about this inexpensive sharpening system and allows you to turn it into something useable while you save up for the big boys.

You can read plenty of reviews on tweaking this thing out, etc, but really, what I use it for is setting my bevels. I don't have the kind of steady hands for hundreds of strokes like I did ten years ago, and with really hard blade steels, it's pretty frustrating getting them set perfect by hand. So I use this to get a nice even bevel, which is easy to do with the ability to flip the blade without unclamping it, then I finish off by hand on my wet-dry block.A wet dry block is a tool I developed because taking care of good stones is just too much work, and they cost too much to begin with.It's a hard, smooth wooden block, which you can epoxy glass faces onto if you're going to go up to very high grit, 2" wide and as long as you want, with 2" wide double face tape on top, and then a layer of your chosen grit wet-dry paper, auto body paper works fine. I use it totally dry, because wet use preserves the grit at the expense of the edge - all those bits of stone in the liquid are constantly crashing into the knife edge, degrading it ever so slightly, with every stroke. This really only matters the last grit or two you use, so a you can use wet stones up until then, they do feel nicer to use. But I only do the final two grits on mine, so they're used dry.So anyway, the block. You can make these go as fine as you want, there's almost no limit to how fine a polishing paper you can get, and you just peel off the paper when it's no good anymore, put down a new layer, I use heavy carpeting double face tape, so it lasts a very, very long time before needing replacement.I strop my edges on a piece of computer printer paper rubbed with a tripoly polishing compound, then on one rubbed with jeweler's rouge, and that brings the edge to a full mirror that shaves effortlessly, even starting with a blade that's polished under 1000 grit (wet/dry paper grit, I suspect it would be much higher in stone grit judging by the cutting edge produced).As a part of that system, this is actually a really nice bevel-setting device, takes the strain off your wrists so they're still steady for the fine work.

The product works as intended, however you should have a better understanding before you can tell if it is worth the price...1) The clamp provided is intended to attach the device to a table. The first time I used it, it broke in half, forcing me to have to order another (higher quality) clamp. This ofcourse would add to the overall price.2) The device does not have markings related to the angle, forcing me to get an angle detector if I care for the quality of the sharpness. Again that forced me to buy an angle detector for higher precision which added more to the overall cost.3) The stones are only marked on the flat side, making the markings desapear after the first couple of uses. This one was easy... I just marked the sides with a sharpie.4) I would have preferred wider stones.Having written all of this, I would say that I really like the idea and the design which allows me to flip the knife without unclamping it.Now you are better prepared to decide if this product is worth the price!

The media could not be loaded.  I like it a lot but need a new clamp to hold my knife how do I get one

Made of quality stainless steel and aluminum… I had to file some of the rough edges on the base down with a paper nail file. The included stones are not of the best quality, but it’s easy enough to replace them with better ones. I bought DMS 6” x 2”x 1/4" diamond plates and attached them to 6" x 1" Edge Pro aluminum blanks with mounting tape and they fit correctly. Gives you a slightly wider surface to work with. I gave it one less star due to the stones and the fact it needs a base. I cut a section of a wood 2”x10”, sanded the edges, drilled the base of the sharpener and the wood and attached it with bolts, painted it black and it works great as a sturdy base. Now I don’t need to deal with a clamp. This unit will hold an angle when you flip the knife over without removing it.

For the price, this sharpener functions as expected, was tricky to assemble as there are no instructions. Does what is required, holds knife firmly at correct angle, stones east to interchange, the arm holding stone glides smoothly across knife while held in place.