Kota Japan Combination Dual Sided 400-1000 Grit Diamond Knife Sharpener Whetstone Set for Coarse Sharpening & Fine Polishing. Water Stone Kit | Adjustable Bamboo Holder Base | Precision Blade Guide

I've always bought cheap knives because I didn't know how to properly take care of them. Whetstones always intimidated me because I was sure I wouldn't be able to maintain a proper angle, but I decided to give it a try. Imagine my delight when I found it came with an angle guide!Now a quick warning: the angle guide is quite stiff at first, but don't be tempted to slide it down your knife. It WILL scratch the surface. It's just an aesthetic thing and not a problem for my cheap knives, but I'll be very careful when I upgrade to remove and replace the angle guide each time instead of sliding it down the blade.I watched a YouTube tutorial for how to use this before starting, and it was actually a really fun, calming, meditative process. The instructions that come with the set are also very clear and well written. My first attempt was a success; definitely not perfect, but an extremely obvious improvement in sharpness. I also purchased a leather strop and truing stone separately, and all together it cost less than paying to have them sharpened professionally.As others have noted, you'll want to really thoroughly dry out the stone after using it so it doesn't mold. It might seem dry on the surface, but don't let that fool you.All in all, don't be intimidated by whetstones. As long as you go slow, do a little bit of research on YouTube, and take your time, this kit will pay for itself almost immediately.

I was very surprised at at the quality and how good everything was packaged even though some of the reviews were not good but I am very happy with them. I've never used a wheatstone before so I watched some Youtube videos and gave it a try. It takes some time and patience but the outcome was amazing. The knife guide was enough to get me started and I used it by sliding it over the knife blade to get the proper angle. Beware because there is some vertical move in the guide so make sure that you hold the knife in same position. Do not be in a rush and you will get the results of a professional...

I had to watch more than a few videos on learning how to sharpen with the stone.I have. a paring knife that barely cut a tomato and after sharpening it twice it cuts it like butter.I'm a huge novice when it comes to sharpening knives but I'm. really happy with the knives I have sharpened.

Okay, I didn't get an instruction manual. However, I like my meat knives very sharp. Hessler Worldwide kinda spoiled me. I had tried to sharpen them after ages on a cheap magnetic sharpener and it started dinging every blade I put in it, including my hairdressing scissors. I am very happy to have this stone. My grandfather sharpened his pocketknives away the whole time I was growing up. He taught me how to use a whetstone. I looked up how to use a water stone. I soaked in water for 10 mins and then sharpened my most damaged knife to make sure I could still do it right. The guide scratched up my knife! I didn't sharpen it long enough to remove every chip, however, most of the damage from the cheap sharpener was removed quickly. My father was saying I might need more than a whetstone for my stainless steel, it's not the stuff of pocket knives. However, the 2000 grit did a fine job. I felt no need to polish it further. I didn't want to press my luck and weaken it by over-sharpening it. It was a meat knife. I am very happy with the stone. There was no writing on the work surface. The stand looks great on my granite countertops. I sharpen at the sink and the rubber holds it in place on the countertop. After it dries a bit, I move it to the wood more for display and storage. My grandfather would be horrified to know I waited until I was 45 to buy good whetstones. How many knife sets, how many scissors over my lifetime were tossed just buy another set? A few. I think everyone should have these and learn to sharpen with them. I also think tools for cutting hair are a great idea, I plan on using the finer 3000 grit stone to keep mine sharp forever. I can remember trying to get my money's worth out of "Never sharpen" knives by sawing threw meat slowly and painfully for years. My grandparents were poor farmers but all their tools were well maintained. It's a little luxury no one should be without. And I'd love to give these as gifts next Christmas. What a great guy gift!

Works better than I expected. Going to sharpen all our kitchen knifes.

I own a highly (America's Test Kitchen) recommend electric knife sharpener, but one day I saw a YouTube video on wet stone knife sharpening. For the relatively inexpensive price, I decided to try one. My advice is that if you are meticulous enough to spend 10-20 minutes, maybe up to half an hour to get a knife sharp enough that you could shave your face with, you want one of these. I don't know what else to say encouraging other than I have a peeler for julienned carrots for salad that I also love. Since I began maintaining my knife with this stone, I cut finer than matchstick carrots with my knife for salads, etc.

I needed to get a new whetstone for my chip carving knives. After looking at what was available (this is _not_ my area of expertise), I picked this one. I can get things down to 1000 grit without much problem, but I needed something better. The package arrived promptly and was well protective of the contents. The product itself is surprisingly good. It has the heft you expect of good stones, the bamboo base fits perfectly and is completely functional. The best part as far as I am concerned (apart from stones that work as promised) is the guard included to protect the edges of the stone. No nicks or dings with this one.All in all, I would highly recommend this stone for finish sharpening without reservation. It works, and the manufacturer took the care needed to make this a cut above the rest. Pun intended!

Only worked well with wide 15 degree Japanese knives, everything else was too difficult to find the right edge, ended up buying an electric sharpener.Two sides separated after a couple dozen uses.