Features:

  • Crafted from the highest quality materials
  • Built for performance and durability
  • Made in United States
  • For keeping sharp blades, tools, and toys in optimal working condition, Spyderco sharpener set is top notch
  • Includes 2 sets of high alumina ceramic stones; sharpens plain and flat edges, awls, darts, fishhooks, and punches
  • All components snap into the self-contained ABS plastic base and lid, and are ready to travel
  • Base is drilled for bolting to tables or countertops for permanent attachment in shops or kitchens; instructional leaflet and DVD included
  • Use stones dry, without oil, water, or lubricants; scrub with plastic scouring pad and powdered abrasive cleaner; air dry
Simple System if You Don't Overthink It.

I read all the reviews, watched the video on line, and took the plunge. I have now sharpened about every item possible and can provide an assessment. This product works and works very well. Knifes (both serrated and straight) scissors, awls and gouges all sharpen right up. After the first 10 knifes I wanted to write a review and respond to the one-star people, "What are you idiots talking about? This thing is so simple even a caveman can do it." But I read a little closer and it appears there are two schools of complaints. The first complains about the "tolerances" and the possible slop. These tend to be people who have been sharpening on stones for years and are rather accomplished already. The second are folks who have been using various gadgets over the years and consider this another ina long line of failures. This is my takeaway: If you are accomplished with a stone, or consider yourself already able to accomplish a sharp knife, you might be disappointed because there is not a lot of innate skill necessary here. Your talents will seem wasted. The trick is to not over think this. You hold the knife vertical and pull it down and across (or out) of the rods. The rods are at 30 or 40 degrees so as long as the knife is straight up and down, you're good. That's it. No oil, no real set up, just draw the blade while holding it vertical (and not quite vertical is ok - more later). The person using a stone for years has developed a soft touch, and the ability to maintain the same angle in both direction when pulling the blade across the stone. That is a very, very difficult skill to master. With this unit that skill is generally unnecessary. The rods are at 30/40 degrees, the knife is vertical. The consistent angle you hold the knife is the key. Trying to determine if you are holding a blade horizontally on a stone at a 30 degree angle is hard. Quick, draw a 30 degree angle right now - bet you're off by at least 7 degrees. Now draw another - bet that ones off by a lot, too! Now draw a vertical line. Damn near perfect I bet. See, that's how this works. It is much easier for us humans to distinguish between up and down verses flat. Much easier than the difference between 221/2 degrees and 34 degrees. Your vertical line was off by no more than a degree or two. But even if you hold the knife just a bit off vertical, but you do that every time, you're fine. Left side of the blade is 2 degrees off vertical, right side is 1 degree off - no problem. The idea is that the same bevel is on each side. Where you run into problems is when stroke 1 is 3 degrees off to the left of vertical, stroke 2 is 1 degree off to the right of vertical, stroke 3 is 4 off perfect vertical to the right and the next is 4 degrees off to the right, ad infinitum. Being off a bit is fine, as long as you are consistently off. This is where relaxing and just letting muscle memory take over. Get comfortable, drag the knife through, and repeat. Don't "try" to guide the knife to vertical, just draw it through and continue. Like when you drew the straight line. You didn't have to think about that at all. It's kind of like golf, knitting, bowling or measuring for cooking. The more you "think" about what you are doing, the more you "concentrate" on the specific task, the more you will be frustrated. Just draw the knife through the rods. They don't have to be precisely 40 degrees. They don't have to fit in the slots so perfectly that they do not wobble at all ( a very minor amount of play must exist to get the rods inserted) and you don't have to make sure each and every stroke is dead solid perfect. Just consistent. The thing is, I don't hold out much hope for pleasing the diehard Arkansas or Japanese stone sharpener because the required level of skill they already have accumulated is devalued. They may just have to dumb down their technique. Really precise sharpening with a stone is an art and a skill gained over time. I don't think a professional golfer has fun playing with what appears to be rookie equipment. That may be the stone sharpener's problem. They don't need this system, thus they devalue it. Nothing wrong with that. For the person who sees this as another gadget, you're right (and you're wrong because it really does work). Treat it as a gadget. Have fun with it. It is not hard to master if you approach it as an easy to learn task. Here is your tip: Start with the brown rods, and use the pointy edge. Make about twenty strokes per side. Now use the pointy edge of the white stones and do another 20 strokes. That was easy, now do it again. After the second time around check the blade (don't do so after the first time because you haven't quite relaxed yet). Is the blade significantly sharper than when you started? Then it worked. Do not try the sharpening steps using the flat side of the rods until you are comfortable with the pointy edges. Why? Because it is harder due to surface area on the rod you must contact with the blade and you WILL start concentrating trying to combine that vertical holding pattern with contacting the knife blade on the entire flat surface and then things will get out of had, and you will over-concentrate, and everything will go to crap, the blade will not sharpen, this thing is a piece of crap, AGGGGGGHHHHH! Deep Breath! Relax. You don't even need the flat side. The pointy side will make your knife so sharp you'll slice your thumb off as is.

Worth every penny.

Lifesaver. This thing has more than made up for the cost in how many times I've used it to sharpen my knives and more importantly, mom's kitchen knives. It's hard to mess up on the sharpening angle with this setup the way this sharpener system is designed. Just simply make sure to have the blade facing down, perpendicular to the holder and that's all you need to keep in mind. Super easy to use and the system is set up for the least amount of setup time and fiddling/tinkering with adjustments. Just follow the instructions and decide which angle you want to use (the basic angle or a dual bevel angle), stick the stones in the holder and the safety rods (very important!) and sharpen away! I haven't had a chance to use all the other configurations such as sharpening shears, fish hooks, etc. But for simple knives, it works superbly!! The stone rods will begin to fill up with grit but it is simple enough to wash them under the faucet with some Ajax or Comet and it will come out clean and ready for use just like new.

You need this system!

I have always wanted my kitchen knives SHARP. A honing steel just touches them up, and a Japanese water stone takes months or years of practice. Years ago I bought a Lansky system, and it works great, but it takes time to set up, and it's really better for shorter knives. Once you get a long kitchen knife in there, you really should move the knife in the clamp several times to maintain the angle. So, long story short, my knives cut, but not well. Then I started browsing YouTube videos about knife sharpening, and the Spyderco kept popping up and looking more and more like what I needed. Sure, there were $$$ systems out there that were so good I could go into business as a knife sharpening guy (something I'd still love to do), but I needed those damn kitchen knives sharp. So I ordered the Spyderco system last week, and it came this morning. Two hours later I'm writing this review. This product is just fantastic. In just a few minutes I had my relatively cheap chef's knife cutting right through paper and shaving some hair off my arm, just as in the videos. Hasn't been that sharp in years. So then I dragged out the much better Chicago cutlery chef's knife with the same result. Then the cheapo paring knife, and two serrated knives, and my Swiss Army knife, and my Leatherman tool. Now I have no more knives, and I have to wait until I get to our vacation home to sharpen those. Now admittedly I'm a novice with this system, and with practice I'm sure I'll get more confident and accurate, but if I never got any better results than I got this morning, I'd be thrilled. Now for some nuts and bolts details (in no particular order): 1. Take your time and hold the knife at 90 degrees, drawing back and down. I noticed after the first few strokes that you can HEAR when it's doing the job. If the knife just slides, especially on the brown stones, adjust your angle a little. 2. This system is not designed to restore a badly ground or damaged blade. Even the brown stones--the "coarse" surface--are very smooth to the touch. If the blade is damaged, take it to a professional and have it reground before you fool with this. 3. There's been a lot of talk in these review about getting the knife "razor sharp." Are you shaving with your kitchen knives or cutting cabbage? Yes, I suppose if you're a fanatic you could get the ultra-fine stones and go for an actual razor edge, but if your aim is to cut vegetables, meat, and twine, you're going to have more sharpness than you'll ever need. 4. Treat the stones gently. Yes, they're harder than metal for sharpening, but they ARE ceramic. Drop them and they'll shatter. 5. Happy sharpening!!

The best system for almost everyone.

I have multiple sharpening systems (KME, Worksharp Ken Onion, Japanese wetstones) and this is my go to system. If the knife needs reprofiling, I use the KME system with about eight levels of sharpening stones, but, in all other cases, I use the Spyderco. The Worksharp is for yard tools, axes, hatchets, machetes, etc and the Japanese water stones are for my Shun kitchen knives. I used the white stones to restore a "shaving" edge in about 5 mins and sharpen knives for friends using both stones on about 10 mins. You will get the best results by using a moderate, controlled pace and just enough pressure to maintain contact with the stone. This system is so simple that it is great for novices, but will give satisfactory results to any knife owner that actually uses the knife. If you are a "sharpening nerd" who needs to push-cut toilet paper or slice hanging silk threads, it isn't for you.

Sharper Than Jon Stewart's Wit

This is an incredible knife sharpener! The system is easy to master, and gives a perfect edge ... on ANYTHING with an edge or a point !!!! Knives, Scissors, Fish Hooks, Tools... Serrated blades...you name it! There's a DVD with videos if you want to see how these tricks are done, or a booklet going through the various things to sharpen or hone and how they are done. EASY! Two sets of stones—a coarserr one to get the burrs off, and a finer ceramic set to refine the edge. There are guards to keep your now ultra sharp blades from slicing your flesh, and it all folds up neatly into a box for easy storage—or in my case, transportation. Cuz everywhere I go, there are knives wot need sharpening!

Great sharpener for beginners or advanced users.

I have a ton of knives and this makes sharpening them a breeze. I have never been that good at sharpening a knife, and have probably come close to ruining many or making them duller than they were. This sharpener is pretty much idiot proof. I thought it was more of a gimmick at first until I saw some reviews and decided to try it myself. If you follow the instructions you will have good sharp knives in no time. The multiple stones makes it easy to go from shaping and working quality sharpness, to razor edge for blades that need it. The triangle design makes it easy to sharpen just about anything that needs to be sharpened. You can watch a guide video on youtube that covers how to sharpen a lot types of things. The concept is that with the blades being more vertical and angled (rather than laying flat on a table), it takes the guess work out of it for you. You dont have to worry about running the blade at the right angle, or messing up your bevel. It has 2 angles to choose from, set it up, and keep your blade straight vertical as you run it down. The only downside to me is the base/case. It seems a bit flimsy and cheap. It holds the stones fine for the actual sharpening, but I have had it open real easy just being stored. This is not enough for me to go below 5 stars though. I would recommend this sharpener for anyone, from novice to advance.

Great, inexpensive, in-home sharpening system.

All of my kitchen knives are made by Wüsthof. I'm very happy with the quality of their knives. So when I decided to purchase a sharpener, my first choice was the Wüsthof two-stage, hand-held sharpener. This made sense to me. After all, Wüsthof wouldn't put their name on a poor quality sharpener, right? That's what I thought. After several months of use, the Wüsthof sharpener put gouges in my knives. I had to take them to a professional to have them corrected. He told me that sharpeners like the one I used are the worst you can buy (and he should know, he's been professionally sharpening knives for over thirty years). I asked him if there's an inexpensive sharpener I could buy to keep my knives in shape. He recommended the Spyderco Sharpmaker. I bought one. And I like it. PROS: 1. Most importantly, it works. A lot of people test the sharpness of their knives by cutting a piece of paper. I had several knives that couldn't pass that test. After sharpening with the Spyderco, they all pass the paper cutting test. 2. The Spyderco Sharpmaker isn't hard to use. Just hold the knife straight, and draw it downward on each side in a slicing motion. No special skill, practice, or technique is needed (like when using a whetstone). 3. It won't leave scratches on the sides of the knife. Maybe this is no big deal to you. But if you have some new knives that you want to keep looking new, it's annoying to discover that your sharpening system scratched up your knife. With the Spyderco, nothing comes in contact with the sides of the knife. There are no clamps that can leave marks. Nor are you required to lay the knife on its side, where it can pick up grit and get scratched. And unlike many electric knife sharpeners, there are no guides that can leave long horizontal scratches. 4. It has brass safety rods to keep you from getting cut. 5. Unlike some sharpening systems (or a whetstone), the Spyderco uses no oil or water. 6. It's made in the USA. CONS: 1. You'll need to clean the stones periodically. They pick up metal particles from the knife. And if the stones are saturated with metal particles, they no longer work effectively. I clean mine using a Scotch-Brite pad, a little Ajax or Comet, and some water. Cleaning the stones doesn't take long. I can clean and dry all of the stones in the kit in less than five minutes. 2. It doesn't have infinitely adjustable angles. For sharpening knives, the stones are set at either 30 degrees (15 degrees on each side), or 40 degrees (20 degrees on each side). I use the 40 degree setting for all of my kitchen knives. 3. This is not a "professional" guided sharpening system. If that's what your looking for, systems like the Edge Pro Apex, Wicked Edge, or KME would be a better choice. But those systems cost a lot more money. SUMMARY: The Spyderco is a simple, inexpensive, sharpening system for home use. According to their manual, it will sharpen scissors (but I haven't used it for that purpose yet). The stones can also be used free-hand to sharpen garden tools, etc. But again, I've only used it so far to sharpen my kitchen knives. If your knives are in really terrible condition (deep gouges, etc.), I recommend that you have them professionally sharpened. Once you get them back, take care of your knives and use the Spyderco to keep them in shape.

After months of research... I have arrived!

Review of product at end Over the past years, I've been becoming more intelligent on all (some) things knives. One thing I always stressed on was sharpening them though. I stressed so much that I could not bring myself to buy a sharpener! I didn't want to waste what money I have and there are so many options and different price ranges and... I didn't want to make a wrong decision. So, I didn't make one at all for a while, I just kinda collected a new knife every time one would get a little duller... That was fine, for a while, but 3 or 4 knives later you kinda have to stop and figure things out. So, I did. I'm sure someone else will be where I was in the future so I'll just go through my thoughts on each one. The sharpeners I thought about and ultimately decided against were the work sharp, edge pro apex, lansky stone system, wicked edge system, and DMT diamond stones (and other normal flat-stone type sharpeners). 1) Work sharp. This one was easy for me to say no to. I like the idea of it, and maybe when I have a lot of expendable income I will get one, but my primary sharpener needs to be one I don't have to constantly replace things like belts on. Also, I don't want to have to rely on electricity to sharpen a knife. 2) Wicked edge. I like this one, too expensive though. The end. Pro: it lets you do both sides of the blade at once. Something the spyderco sharpmaker does as well. 3) Edge pro apex. Also too expensive. I am aware of "knock-off" stands you can buy, and then replace the cheap stones with actual stones from edge pro, but even then it was a bit costly. I didn't like the idea of having to piece together an expensive system. I did like that it made it very easy to get a consistent edge, but it only sharpens one side at a time. It was ultimately too much money for its value. 4)Lansky stones. Similar to edge pro apex, just extremely cheaper. I can't speak on quality of it, but I did read reviews of people having to do a bit of work to get their system in good condition. 40 bucks vs. 60 with spyderco, it was hard to justify NOT spending the extra 20-30 dollars. 5) DMT Diamond stones (and other flat stones). These were pricey too, it turns out. I didn't want to get cheap stones. I wanted quality tools. A set of 2 or 3 stones would run me about the same as this, and I'd also have to acquire the skill of sharpening on a flat stone. I have tried, it is doable, but it requires practice and patience. Plus, the cost is similar to the sharpmaker. These are the reasons I ended up picking the sharpmaker. I heard it was quick to pick up, it did provide me with a way to keep a consistent angle fairly easily. I could adjust the angle, maybe not as much as I first thought I would like to though. Bonus nachos: it stores in a wonderfully sized kit. Probably as big as the box a new phone comes in, a little longer though. Extra stones were available if I wanted a finer edge. So, how did it stack up? -------- SHARPMAKER REVIEW------------ I could not be happier with this. As soon as I found it in the mail I opened it up and began sharpening with one of my cheaper knives (just in case...). I was able to get that knife pretty sharp, so, onto the nicer one I really didnt want to screw up, my endura 4 wave. After my 5-10 minute session with the first knife, I was able to get my endura even sharper than the first in less time. Onto the third knife. Similar results. Onto the 4th knife. Similar results. This is just to illustrate how easy it is and how quick it is to pick up. You do not need any past experience do master this system. How sharp does it get your knives? There are some ultra fine stones available that people claim you "need" to get what they call "the ultimate edge"... screw em'! Let them be tacticool. I bought the ultra fine stones, do they sharpen my knife a little more? Yes. Were they worth 20 bucks? No. The edge you get from the fine stone in this system is super sharp, sharp enough to slice paper with ease. The ultra fines just give them a bit more ease. Not a very noticeable amount I'll add. If you don't buy the ultra fine stones, and I meet you on the street and ask if you did, you can show me your knife and lie, and say you did, and I would believe you. You're the only person who is going to know the difference. Literally, the thickness of the knife is more important than the ultrafine stones. But, your money, do with it as you wish.

The best

I've had this for seven years now and love it. The only problem I had was sharpening friends knives that were really dull or sharpened improperly in the past. The rods that come with are not aggressive enough to work them back to the proper angle in a timely manner. I have since bought a worksharp belt sharpener and use this first on very dull knives. I then use my sharpmaker to finish them and they become hair popping sharp. Great product and would not want to be without it... Forgot to mention I first tried the spyderco diamond rods to correct the edge of a very dull knife faster. The diamond pieces glued on the rods were too large in my opinion and did not let the knife edge glide down the rod very smoothly. That is when I bought the Ken onion work sharp to correct a knife that is really dull or sharpened improperly in the past. I still use the sharpmaker to finish and maintain an edge.

Easy to use, outstanding results

I have had this kit for three years now. I find that it works quite well for my needs. I have this along with a Work Sharp Knife & Tool Sharpener and they both have their uses. I like the Spyderco for my thinner blades and use the Work Sharp for my bigger hunt/camp knives. The Spyderco will absolutely give me a razor sharp blade quickly. If you are looking to push the boundaries of knife sharpness, there are more expensive options out there, but for someone who uses their knives and just wants a very sharp blade without spending a lot of time or money, this is an outstanding choice. *********************************************************************************************************************************************** I rely on reviews when I make purchases so I put a lot of time into reviewing everything I buy on Amazon for personal and my business. Please show your appreciation by clicking the "yes" below when it asks if the review is helpful!!!

Full Reviews