smith's precision sharpening system

[DrifT3R]

Does anyone have any experience with the Smith's precision sharpening system? Does it sharpen well and is it easy to use? And how does it exactly work?

Heres a link to it http://www.knivesaustralia.com.au/superseded-knives.html#SMITHS

Thanks

 

[nerdgineer]

It looks kind of like a Lansky, which I found less convenient than just learning how to sharpen by hand - the stones were too small to be any good at actually shaping an edge. Your best investment is in a good finishing stone - like a hard Arkansas. Your coarse stones can be cheap carborundum, though...

For a while I used the Lansky blade clamp with a home made jig (using large stones) to help initially contour a blade. Lately, I just do it by hand, period.

There are books at my library which explain how. One was from some guy who won a lot of sharpening contests where they see how long it takes to shave a person starting with an unsharpened AXE, but I can't remember the name of that one.

 

[scott.cr]

I have not had any luck whatsoever sharpening the harder stainless knives with stones. Diamond laps do a good job, but they leave a nasty finish requiring an extra polishing step if you desire.

Even though Smith's advertises their blade-holding method is "precise," it really isn't. The next time you put the blade in the holder, if it is not the exact same depth as the last time, your sharpening angle will have changed. It also does not do well with double-edged blades.

It's an okay device, but you have to be super-careful when you use it. I have actually taken to coating my blade with Dykem (an indicator dye) to ensure the cuts to the steel are in the same place they were the last time. It can take 10 minutes to get it right! Then I'll polish the blades with a stone, and then mirror-shine the edge on a paper wheel.