SHARPAL 162N Double-sided Diamond Sharpening Stone Whetstone Knife Sharpener |Coarse 325 / Extra Fine 1200 Grit | Storage Case with NonSlip Base & Angle Guide (8 in. x 3 in.)

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.

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.

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.

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.

This is a great sharpening stone, but I HIGHLY recommend buying a sharpening stone holder instead of using the top of the case. A trip to the ER is how I learned that lesson after my knife slipped. :/ Otherwise, this is a good value for your money. How the diamonds are "bound" to the base matters. This one is made with one of the better methods, so it works well and is durable. I especially like the course side as it's amazing for setting an edge. For me, the smooth side hasn't been great due to metal getting stuck in the plate often. The contamination from metal is a problem on the smooth side as it can leave tiny imperfections in the blade. If you're sharpening a kitchen knife, pocket knife etc. it isn't a big deal. For me though, I need to sharpen Wood Carving knives which require 3k+ grit edges where tiny imperfections cost you later. If you want a diamond stone for your everyday knives, this is a great value. If you're a sharpening enthusiast or have high grit needs, I recommend buying a good ~400 grit diamond stone for setting the edge. Then some good whetstones. The diamond stone can also be used to flatten your whetstones.

I bought this after wearing out a Trend diamond stone that cost twice as much. It cuts as well and comes with an excellent case that converts to a sharpening platform with a non-slip base. The body of the stone is nickel plated steel, not the fiber body version the manufacturer sells at a cheaper price. I have no information about the fiber body model, but I think I’d avoid it while the steel body version is still available. The case comes with an orange angle-finder gauge inside, but I’d never use it, so have nothing to say except it nests inside the case, is available if someone wants to use it, and it’s not in the way if you don’t. The stone cuts quickly at first, then a bit slower after you break it in, but this is normal, equivalent to my more expensive stone. I could not find any grit contamination on the fine side to complain of, and the fine side is capable of producing a shaving sharp edge, especially with a strop to remove the sharpening burr afterwards., I’m satisfied with its performance and modest price.

This Sharpal diamond plates are a great buy at this price point. You get two different grits, a sharping box, and an angle guide for beginners. Outside of Atoma plates these are the best on the market for a way lower price.if you want to get a great breakdown. Check out outdoors55 on YouTube. These are phenomenal diamond plates worth every penny.

Fantastic. At firrst the 325 grit side was easiest. I could get a really consistent scratch pattern. The 1200 grit side took a bit longer, as it needs a slightly different touch. But what a stone! The 325 grit makes quick work of hard tasks. I do my serious work on that side, and polish on the smooth side. The case it comes with is an excellent base for the stone. Makes carrying it around easy, and can be used anywhere you have a table top. Cleanup is a snap. I only got into sharpening this past year, but I've tried whetstones (takes time to soak and clean up after, and flattening), rods (great but not meant for serious sharpening), and this diamond stone. Also, some of my knives have high hardness, and a diamond stone is really necessary for harder blades. I've tried a few other diamond stones, and this one is by far the best. It was recommended by a sharpening expert, and lives up to the hype. I'm getting myself a new one for Christmas. Just for relaxation I sharpen knives 1-2 hours per day on average. I've spent a LOT of time on this stone. I'm still no expert myself, but I can easily get a shaving edge with this stone. And at this price you couldn't beat it with a stick!