SHARPAL 162N Double-sided Diamond Sharpening Stone, 8 in. x 3 in.

Great stone! First time using a diamond stone after the dissapointment of water stones just being ground out to a bowl shape. Still trying to get the movement right, but the sharpening is simple and you can feel the difference after just a few minutes, no water required. The stone feels straight and flat and does not seem to wear down after use. The box/holder is simple to understand and use and the angle guide is a bonus if you need it. I also got sharpal's 3x8" strop which fits on the same box/holder Definitely worth your money!

This is my very first "sharpening system" that I have purchased primarily for sharpening my woodworking tools. I always wanted to go straight to diamond whetstones due to their low maintenance and longevity compared to traditional oil or water stones, but I couldn't bring myself to pay that initial expense. Then comes along this Sharpal system (I bought the 3"x8" variety). The price was so good, I was a bit leary about the quality or whether or not it would last. Not having much experience sharpening hand woodworking tools, I wasn't even sure if the basic two-grit system (325 and 1200 for this set) would work (including a leather strop, which I purchased separately). Sharpal's description of their product checked all the right boxes: monocrystaline diamonds, electroplated bonding, super flat plate, storage and holding case. With the 3 year warranty and the great price, I decided I had nothing to lose, so I took the plunge. I used it for the first time yesterday (along with an off-brand "Eclipse" style honing guide that I also recently purchased). I had a #4 plane iron and a set of 4 chisels that needed sharpening. The iron is used (~100 years old) and just needed a basic touch-up, but the chisels were brand new and had never been set up or sharpened (except by the factory). In all cases, the Sharpal system performed fantastically well. All of my worries about only having a coarse and extra fine grit (and stroping) step in my sharpening process were laid to rest. These two grits along with the strop were all I needed to get hair-shaving-, magazine-paper-slicing-sharp edges on my tools. Sharpal says to sharpen dry, but I decided to use some Windex for this first go-around (based on what I've learned from the web). It worked just fine. I will likely try to sharpen dry, like Sharpal recommends, next time around. One thing I noticed is that, when I was all done, it took a bit of effort to clear out all of the metal dust, even though I was using the Windex to keep metal from building up. I have to wonder, then, if the Windex made much difference. In any case, when I was finished, I rinsed the plate under the sink and scrubbed it with my fingers (I didn't have a nylon brush handy). It came clean at the expense of my finger prints. :) The base/case works very well. It protects the plate while stored, has a handy cutout to hold the "angle finder" pyramid and holds the plate perfectly still while sharpening due to its foam rubber bottom. Back to that angle finder pyramid. This was a pleasant little bonus. I have a few high end Japanese kitchen knives that I have traditionally sharpened with a Lansky sharpening system (the one with the the blade clamp and the skinny whetstones that go on the end of a metal rod). I decided to try sharpening my chef's knife with the Sharpal whetstone. This particular knife has a 20° angle, so that's the side I used on the pyramid. It was surprisingly easy to do this. I think I only made 10 passes on each side of the blade with the coarse grit, then the fine, then my stropping leather. That blade was easily the sharpest it has ever been. So, as a bonus, I now have a better, simpler way to sharpen my knives! I can't really comment on longevity yet since I've only had it for a few days, but so far, it looks like something that will last WAY beyond its 3 year warranty. If you're like me and you've been waiting on the fence to make the investment into diamond whetstones, no need to wait any longer. This is the set you want.

First thing I want to say in this update is that their customer service is absolutely fantastic. They reached out to me and offered me a replacement Stone no questions asked and I'm very proud to say that my Replacements don't is absolutely perfect not a single flaw on it anywhere it's totally flat the diamond is well bedded and the stone Cuts beautifully and extremely consistent. I greatly appreciate when a company takes care of their customers Amazon of course has fantastic customer service and I'm glad to say that Sharpal also takes very good care of their customers. They was easy to work with I didn't have to reach out to them they reached out to me and they made me a happy customer. Judging by how beautiful the second stone is I have no doubt that it was an anomaly and what I got the first time and is not going to happen very often and if it does happen you can be assured that they will take care of you and that's what matters. I have already sharpened three knives on the stone all three come here whittling off the 1200 and the stone feels absolutely beautiful it cuts very quickly the 325 side is very aggressive remove steel very very fast even steals like k390 and s110v and the 1200 leaves a beautiful scratch pattern with a lot of aggression but yet still here whittling keenness. I am absolutely stoked to have this Stone I know it's going to last a good long time because the diamond bedding is done very well and what is the most impressive to me out of this considering I'm very into sharpening is just how consistently the diamond is sized in fact I'm going to go out on a limb and say that there is not a diamond plate made that has more consistent Diamond sizing than this plate and that is really impressive considering the price. I have electroplated CBN plates that are $200 for one Grit that don't have as consistent sizing as abrasive as the stone does at $70 and includes two grits that's impressive I have risen bonded Diamond Stones that don't have his consistent of diamond sizing as this plate does and that's really saying something these Stones absolutely blow DMT out the water no comparison in consistency and quality. DMT used to make truly incredible quality diamond plates 10 plus years ago but their quality has fallen off greatly over the past 5 to 7 years however I would compare this plate in quality to that of DMT from 10 years ago so that means you are going to get a fantastic quality plate that's going to last you a long time and perform very good for you. These plates are extremely flat the diamond sizing is extremely consistent and the diamond coverage is also extremely consistent and that's what we're looking for in Diamond plates so if you're a sharpener that needs a diamond plate and you want a very high quality piece that also has good customer service attached to it I wouldn't hesitate to buy from this brand. The only thing that I think that they need to do and I hope they do is create a lower grip plate to go along with this plate something like a two-sided 150 and 600 would be a perfect compliment to this plate and I would also see them make a two-sided extremely coarse plate for serious steel removal something like an 80 grit on one side and 180 grit on the other side that would also be very welcomed but that would only be really needed for people like myself who are professional sharpeners and need to remove steel quickly to be able to make reasonable money per hour. I would say that the 150,600 would be a better option for them to make for the general sharpener. The 325 does cut very fast but if you're doing heavy reprofiling it's not coarse enough it doesn't remove steel fast enough for heavy reprofiling and that is where something like a 150 and a 600 would be a perfect compliment to this 325 and 1200. This brand is going to do big things because they're making a truly high quality product and selling it at a very very fair price and most importantly the customer service is excellent and that's what truly matters. It would have been one thing if I would have reached out to them and complained and then they would have just made me a happy customer by giving me a stone that wouldn't say a whole lot about their customer service other than they're just trying to hush somebody but that's not what they did they reached out to me and wanted information on the stone that I got so they could increase their product quality and make sure that this doesn't happen again and on top of that all for me a stone and get it to me within 3 days to make sure that I had a stone that was in good condition and ready to be used without any flaws I didn't ask them for anything they come to me to make me a happy customer and I genuinely appreciate that because that's how companies should do their customers. We spend our money with these companies and most companies could care less about making you a truly happy customer however this company did exactly that they made me a truly happy customer and they most definitely earn my business from now on and I buy a lot of sharpening stones so I am happy to say that I will be a customer for a very long time and I will most definitely support their products. Excellent job Sharpal on awesome customer service and making an Excellent and high performance product! With all the buzz around these stone not having any grit contamination and being extremely flat well I must be unlucky as mine has a pea size high spot on the 325 side it's a big high spot in the electroplating dead in the center of the plate. To say I'm bummed is an understatement. Sharpening on this would absolutely destroy an edge every time you hit that high spot I'm very not happy about it. 1200 side looks beautiful but the coarse side is wrecked. I was really looking forward to a high quality plate because DMT isn't doing the quality they used to so I wanted to buy a different brand that is claiming top quality but what I got was a huge QC over sight.

I'd been using cheap "wet" whetstones but they were messy, a hassle and didn't actually work very well. (Better ones than I have will do a good job, but the hassle and mess is still an issue.) I saw a few YouTube videos about using diamond stones dry and decided to give it a try. And wow, this stone works much better than my older wet whetstones and it takes almost no time and makes no mess. The stone itself is heavy and feels quality, and you can see and feel the diamond coating. The base is a simple plastic base that doubles as a storage case, but it's the stone that's the important part. However, a quick tip is that if you get the Sharpal strop for final polishing, it fits right on top of the storage base/case for storage, as if it was made to sit there. Just a minor little detail that isn't advertised anywhere. The sharpening process is essentially the same as with other whetstones, you just don't need any water. It does still take a little skill and care or you absolutely can scratch your knives and/or just not get them sharp. I scratched a couple of my knives a little bit the first time I used this and I realized the problem was my motion. I was letting the knives run off the far end of the stone, which let the corner of the stone scratch the blade as it ran off. You do need to be in better control of your knives than I initially was. There is a little angle guide that comes with the stone and it's helpful for the initial set of the apex angle, but I wouldn't keep using it. Just use it to get a feel for what the angle you want is and then rely on your muscle memory after that. The reason I say that is you won't build up your skill if you just keep putting the knife against the guide every time, and it also just takes longer and is kind of easy to mess up. It's hard to really know when your knife is properly positioned against the guide. It always takes me about 10-15 seconds to get it set right, so doing that on every pass would be unreasonable. Just get a feel for it and then forget the guide. Once you're good at it, with a dry stone like this, you can sharpen a knife in just a couple minutes. Then cleanup really involves just rinsing the stone off and patting it dry. There will be a little bit of metal powder from your blades but it doesn't go all over like water does - it generally stays on the stone - and it just rinses off. I wouldn't go further than that with the cleanup because you can end up with residue (either metal or soap) stuck in the stone that's hard to get out. (Ask me how I know.) Same with drying it - the stone is meant to be abrasive so if you dry with a sweeping motion, you're just going to end up with microscopic bits of towel stuck in the stone. So rinse and pat dry, that's it. Very easy. Overall a huge time-saver vs. traditional whetstones. I do usually like traditional methods but this is a good compromise. They just didn't have the technology to make artificial diamonds like this in the old days, so they had to use water with more common stone. Otherwise you can bet they would have used dry diamond stones. The actual process is the same, though, so you still get the feel of manually sharpening your knives. It just takes far less time and creates far less mess.

The stone sharpens very well. Easy to clean, easy to use, easy to transport. I think the case could be sturdier, although the plastic seems thick enough. This is sort of my fault for hitting the stone into place, but now the little plastic bits that hold it in place do not anymore. The stone doesn’t slide around in there but if I turn the case over the stone will just fall off now. The angle guide that it comes with is ok, but I think it would be better if they sent their water leveled angle guide with it instead for a more precise angle

Perfect single combo stone for a little edge profiling and then starting towards getting sharp. The base/box is great and the 8x3 is a great size. I'd advise this if you have a couple hundred dollars in knives/cutlery and want to have a better investment in easy sharpening. For these lower grits, the diamond is a huge improvement vs regular stones and has great feel to use dry and then just wipe clean. To get an actual sharp knife you'll still need another stone or two!!! While you could do multiple stones up to 6k, I've personally found that stropping at that level is much easier, faster, and more consistent when free handing. A 6k stone is about 2um grit size for reference. I'd advise a 2~3k stone (6um) and then a leather strop with 1~2um diamond compound OR A two sided strop with a 4~5um compound on one side and a 1um compound on the other.

High quality, robust and flat, diamond honing stone for sharpening. Durable, easy to clean. I think it works best with a small amount of water on its surface then rinse and continue as the metal dust build up and the water dries. Coarse side provides accurate and fairly quick reshaping of worn chisels and blades. Fine side finishes to a razor sharp edge. The handy storage case / base protects the stone during storage and transport. It doubles as non-slip base for the stone when sharpening.

I own a barbershop and ordered this to sharpen my clipper blades with. I've had diamond stones that I ordered about 8 or 9 years ago and have used them to sharpen clipper blades with. I've had a problem sharpening with the old stones. So I ordered this one. I can see the technology has caught up. The old ones weren't perfectly flat, so I had to do work around for me to sharpen them where they were completely flat. Well......... This one is as flat as glass from end to end, side to side! The 325 grit cuts worn areas quickly and evenly. The 1200 side is used to more or less polish the flat surface to a near mirror likeness. What used to take me 10 or 15 minute with my old stones is taking a minute or two at the most. The edge it puts on the blades is incredible!! I use a 00000 blade to more or less shave for close military style hair cuts. When you sharpen the blades and gap them correctly it is incredible how easily it will go through the hair. There is no resistance at all, the cut is smooth with no "stems" sticking up after you pass over with the clippers. Many of the blades that come from the factory is not as sharp as you would expect, I often have to refine the edge to get them to perform like I want, with this stone? It will be effortless to keep all my blades at the optimal performance levels for fades and military type cuts. It is a longer review. But I wanted to tell you if you have a need for something that can cut flat, THIS IS WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR!! If you own a barbershop or salon, this will save you money for your sharpening needs. 1. Dissemble the blade 2. Clean the oil from the blade with a cloth 3. Lay the blade face down on the stone 4. Rub it back and forth until all the wear lines are gone 5. Reassemble the blade Continue with your sharpened blades, it is that easy! This is an awesome product! HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend!! *****+ Stars!

First impressions are great, I bought this to sharpen my wood carving knives and it raises a burr very quickly, I’m glad I bought this. I was also surprised by the weight and the quality of the base/ storage box. Very nice.

Wonderful diamond sharpening plate. #320 makes quick work for re-profiling and #1200 finish the job and you got a good working edge! Been using it for months and the diamond grit seems to be quite durable..I'm happy about this products!

Super

This has so many other reviews it hardly seems worth reviewing it, but just to add to the chorus, this is an excellent package, get it, you won't regret it (Unless, I suppose, you're a hand-sharpening newbie and aren't prepared to put the practice in.) I originally saw this being tested and recommended by a YouTuber who is, it's fair to say, very obsessive about hand sharpening and testing knives, as well as being a maker of knives. He seemed to know what he was talking about, and got excellent results really quickly using just this stone and a diamond strop. I'd been struggling with a set of the ubiquitous Chinese two-sided whetstones, so I bought one of these, and since then the whetstones have stayed in their box. I've in fact bought two of these now, one for me and, after I tried it, another one as a gift. The price I originally paid - £60 - is very good value, especially compared with some other brands, the second one was even better value as it was discounted. You can go cheaper and still get good results, especially in coarser diamond plates, but the very cheap ones are usually flimsy and need bonding to stable bases, don't come with the combined non-slip working stand and storage box (itself well worth at least ten quid, arguably somewhat more). The finer grit cheapies tend to have too much grit contamination, though there are some bargains that are very similar to this Sharpal, albeit without the box and so on. The angle guide covers a useful range of bevel angles and very handy for getting your eye in. I also bought the well-finished leather strop that Sharpal offer, and some 1 micron diamond emulsion (Enzo brand, from Amazon, which seems to have a decent percentage of diamond) and I have to say that after a bit of practice, to my surprise and pleasure, I was able to get a blade to "hair whittling" sharpness using just these things. Generally, though, so long as the last few passes are light and on alternate sides, knives come off the 1200 side pretty much shaving sharp, albeit not "comfortable" shaving without a little refinement on a strop. Certainly more than sharp enough for kitchen use, though, or for field knives. Being diamond, this stone doesn't mind how tough a steel your knife is made from, and indeed it's not much bothered by tungsten carbide either, making it really useful for a whole variety of tools. I've not tried sharpening ceramic knives on it, and I have a strong feeling that even the 1200 side is too coarse for that, as ceramic blades sharpen (and wear) by chipping, rather than cutting. I have successfully sharpened a ceramic blade using a very fine (8000 grit) wet+dry abrasive paper flattened wet onto a glass plate and kept wet throughout, using it "backwards" like a strop. Took ages, though. I think ceramic knives could be honed on a very fine diamond strop, too - 1 micron is equivalent to around 14,000 grit, but go to 0.5µ or 0.25µ and it's more like 50,000 to 100,000 grit. However, I think if a ceramic knife needs significant re-profiling, i.e. if it's properly blunt or damaged, then the best option is going to be a fine, power driven, super-smooth wheel running in water, then maybe finish on a very fine diamond strop. At the more mundane end of the cutlery spectrum, I've sharpened some very cheap knives on this stone that, previously, have not taken or held an edge very well. A combination of a clean-cutting and properly flat stone like this, and more knowledge of how to sharpen, helps to get a clean, burr-free apex that is as good as it's going to get. My only slight reservations about this stone are the occasional review suggesting perhaps glitches in quality control once in a while, and the fact that, on mine, the mirror sides of the steel substrate have already corroded a little where I've been handling it, even though it's been kept dry and stored in its box along with silica gel. The working surfaces seem fine, though, and, as others have said, after a minimal bedding in they are nice and even, and remove metal surprisingly quickly. Summary: Strongly recommended for anyone who wants to hand-sharpen knives. As and when this stone wears out, I'll buy another one.

As many others have pointed out, I too was introduced to this stone from the Outdoors55 channel. And he's absolutely right! I have more expensive DMT Dia-Sharp diamond stones and honestly, they are pretty comparable... except for the fact that this doesn't cost you an arm and a leg. In fact the case serving as it's holder is so convenient and the fact that it's dual sided makes it typically the only stone ive been reaching for. Combine this with a nice good quality strop and diamond strop paste and you can easily get any knife to be hair popping sharp. Usually I would say that for the price this product is good, but in this case it's so good that regardless of the price this stone can compete right up there with the big dogs. Zero grit contamination, very smooth and predictable feel. I personally might have liked the fine side to have been a bit more fine but that's only because I like mirror finishes on my edges, functionally its plenty fine to give you an amazingly sharp edge. Really not many bad things I can say about this. If you're thinking about it, buy it.