Double Sided Diafold Sharpener

This sharpener does the work. Very nice. Easy to use and folds up nicely.

I got this file to touch up the edge of the cutting tools I use when I am turning wooden bowls on my lathe. With this file I can get the edges nice and sharp and don't have to sharpen them on the grinding wheel as often. That saves me time and does not wear out my cutting tool as quickly. Note: You shouldn't expect to eliminate the use of the grinding wheel completely. You will just be using the grinding wheel less often.

If you're only going to have one stone for keeping a handful knives sharp, this is probably the best product you're going to find. This is what I recommend to friends and family when they invariably ask me what to get after I sharpen their knives.What this product isn't: a professional bench stone for getting the best edge you can. If you're working on professional chef's knives or woodworking tools, get as large a bench stone as you can and learn to use it. DMT also makes fantastic bench stones that will generally work more quickly and consistently than other brands.What this is: A professional diamond sharpening surface in the two most useful grits for general use.- You use the blue (coarse) side to remove bulk material. This is perfect for knives that need a lot of attention due to nicks or extreme dullness. It can also be used to correct or change the blade bevel on smallish knives.- You use the red (fine) side to finish up what you started with the coarse side. Several passes on each side is all you should need to create a nice lasting edge.How to use:Take care to ensure that what you're sharpening is parallel to the surface of the stone. It can be tricky at first, but you'll feel the increased friction when the diamond surface has contact with the blade. Otherwise, you'll just be scraping the edge of the stone along the blade and doing little sharpening. This is one of the great advantages of a full-size bench stone.You can use it wet or dry; I prefer to sharpen by a sink to rinse the stone and keep it lubricated with water. It just makes things faster.For knives, hold the blade at a 22 degree angle to the stone (halfway from perpendicular is 45, and halfway from that is 22.5) and move in the direction the blade is pointed. Sweep along the blade as you sharpen to get the whole blade in each pass. On one side, you'll be pushing the blade away from you, but to get the other, you'll need to pull it toward the handle. This is a little dangerous, but if you use a little caution it should be fine. If you need to remove a lot of material, feel free to move the blade in circles and really grind the metal off.Once you're close to the final edge, start making lighter and more 'graceful' passes, being sure to alternate the sides every couple passes. This will ensure that you won't get any burrs or roll the edge over.

I have sharpened my own blades for years and own a Lansky kit which is getting a bit old but still has some useful life. I have several good-sized old rectangular stones but its been so long I've forgotten where I got them and who made them.I selected a diamond sharpener as I found they work best on some stainless steel alloys I've encountered. I don't ordinarily use a diamond on anything else as it tends to remove metal more aggressively than stones/ceramic and the diamond sharpeners tend to wear out rather quickly. But admittedly diamond types do the job faster than stones.This is a replacement for my last diamond sharpener, which of course wore out.I've already given this item a preliminary workout by sharpening a stainless blade that was surprisingly hard and giving my Lanskys too much of a workout, but the edge was almost done. It took a bit of sweat and patience but the DMT performed well and now that tough stainless blade is a hair splitter.I then used this DMT on some other knives for a quick, couple of swipes edge touch-up.This DMT fits the bill. The handle fold conveniently and protects the sharpener surface when not in use, but when deployed offers a good size hand grip. I have no worry about the durability of the plastic, it will probably outlast the diamond.The sharpener rectangle is good enough size for small to large blades although I wouldn't use this for machetes, axes or even a CS Laredo. For blades that big I'll use something else.Because the two sides offered are Fine and Extra-Fine, this sharpener is primarily relegated to light touch-up. I have only two tests to determine if my blades are sharp to my satisfaction. 1) the ease of shaving hair; and 2) the thumbnail test.I like this product and do recommend it. I'm just curious on how long the diamond will last.

Great item

I was about to spend $400 for wusthof cutlery. Then I discovered DMT before I hit the buy key in amazon. i read as many recent reviews as I can and then go to the DMT website to read more of the functionalities of its product line. Well, I received my DMT fine/coarse file a few minutes ago. I started testing on all my scissors and kitchen knives.I followed the process of sharpening. So far so good. It seems worth the money and I can continue to use my non-wusthof knives. I was thinking about spending $9/unit for my kitchen knife at a local sharpening shop but I don't have to anymore. YaySaving $$$ is fun and wise.