I've been working on getting more traditional with regard to knife sharpening, and many things for that matter. I still have the Work Sharp. It has it's place and works great. I also still have the Wicked Edge, though I may put it up for sale here soon. I mostly like it, and it mostly works well...depending on your knife.

I decided to finally learn how to hone knives properly and old school, which is a skill I've never had. A Youtube suggestion popped up a video with Bob Kramer using this system and I thought, "What the hell", and ordered one.

The kit includes 400, 1000, and 5000 grit stones. I added a 10,000 and a stropping block. After running a few knives through it I'm hooked. I will still need to work on my technique and muscle memory, but I doubt that I'll be going back to the WE.

https://kramerknives.com/produ...ing-kit-by-zwilling/

I will say, that it is a bit on the spendy side (but what isn't nowadays?). However, the quality seems to be excellent and I guess that I would expect nothing less from Zwilling. If you're looking for a good whetstone system, I'd recommend it, for what that's worth.

Interesting that you already own the gadgety type sharpeners with absolute angle control but opt for
a handheld traditional system. I like this idea of free handed sharpening but have not had much success
in the past. Maybe this tool would work for me with practice and commitment to learning the system.
It looks a tad spendy but if the results are there...

quote:

Originally posted by lbsid:
Interesting that you already own the gadgety type sharpeners with absolute angle control but opt for
a handheld traditional system.

Couple of reasons. First, every man should be able to sharpen a knife on a stone. I have failed at that basic skill set to this point. I will learn and get good at it.

Second, the WE is good for what it is. The main problem that I have with it is that one cannot sharpen flexible thin and long blades with it very effectively...at least not in my experience. I have several of these (steak and boning knives) and it just doesn't work very well. Longer knives are a bit of a pain as well.

Third, while the WorkSharp is great at what it does, what happens if the power goes out?

I'm not saying that this kit is the be all end all. There are many other stones out there that are much cheaper to be sure. I just thought that it was pretty handy to be able to lock the stones in place and to be able to set it over a sink to have plenty of water available. I like it and it's good quality stuff.

Very stylish set. Someone less concerned with style could very likely buy a set of equal to superior stones for half the price of the Zwilling set.

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/shglkachst.html

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