A while back I got a bit upset with Work Sharp over their new Angle Set knife sharpener because there were reviews placed on Amazon 2 full months before it's actual release. To be clear I do own many Worksharp products some better than others but none of them truly bad like so many other gimmicks on the market.
One member here got their nose bent out of joint over my strongly worded opinions.
Can't say I felt great about that and as time went on I thought you know what you are shooting your mouth off taking the side of the negative reviewers based on an algorithm that spots fake reviews and not putting my money where your mouth is and you even advised another member not to purchase the latest sharpening device called the Angle Set knife sharpener.
Based on the algorithm and the behavior of early posting was my real beef. I also viewed the way the sharpening arms rotate without a fixed lock as a design flaw assuming that they would move during sharpening.
I also was defending the Spyderco Sharpmaker and it's often copied design in this market space.
So I set out to rectify this and did purchase the Angle Set knife sharpener.
I have to formally apologize for my strong words, I will not apologize for the truth however the reviews should never have been placed on Amazon 2 months preceding the release and I do believe their are many fake planted reviews for the device.
All that being said I have to say my first thought after using this device was Uh Oh I think Spyderco has a problem on their hands.
To be clear this will not be able to replace the Sharpmakers ability to sharpen serrated knives. Big point to the Sharpmaker.
This device however is ah gosh durn it I hate to say this but in a word Incredible.
The device is sturdy it does not feel like a pice of junk.
Set up is fast and secure.
The rotating rods do have sufficient resistance that they are not going to move despite lacking a ratcheting locking mechanism. I was very wrong about this being a design flaw.
The Abrasives: Two diamond sides and one ceramic are in a word among some of the best I have ever used.
For the test I used a Spyderco Hundred Pacer in CTS-XHP it is a dedicated Kitchen folder and was dull.
I used the fine diamonds instead of the coarse because there was no reason to re-profile.
I gave it 5 passes on each side followed by extremely light alternating strokes and then did the same with the ceramics after rotating the rods in place, which is indeed a stroke of genius in the design.
Than came time to cut the 18 inch Pizza which is never cut all the way through molten cheese etc.....
I was shocked to see just how sharp the knife became after that little bit of tinkering. Not only did it slice the pizza like a laser but also cleanly cut the wax paper betwixt the pizza and the box even though I was using light pressure.
I am extremely satisfied with this purchase and can firmly say these abrasives are superior.
Furthermore I do not see this in competition with th Spyderco Sharpmaker any longer. I view it as the evolution of what Sal created but not a replacement. Of the two the Sharpmaker is the most versatile.
In my opinion the two belong together in ever persons tool kit and if you had this device from Worksharp and the sharpmaker for the things it ccan not do IE Spydie Edges then you are done no need to purchase any other guided sharpening system unless you want to go for polished bevels etc then get a Wicked edge pro and or a Hapstone 7.
While it is true it is not possible to thin out the secondary edge on any of these guided systems you can most certainly touch up, change the degree of the primary edge and create back-bevels. Thinning out the Secondary edge behind the blade is still the providence of free hand sharpening.
So In closing please find below a picture and Vivi go ahead and get this you will like it, sorry I advised against it with out actual experience of the device.