I've had one for two months and have mixed feelings.

I've never been able to manage the accuracy required to sharpen anything freehand so I needed an aid to help me out. The Sharpmaker is really good at assisting with maintaining the two knife angles. It does take a little attention to make sure that you hold a blade vertical through the entire stroke, but it takes a lot less that holding a blade elevated off a flat stone. In that respect this product works really well.

However, it turns out I have a house full of neglected knives, scissors, etc. Not only are they not sharp, many are actually damaged with nicks out of the blade edge. In order to sharpen these edges, you need to remove quite a bit of material. The medium stones supplied with the Sharpmaker are fine for touching up a mildly dull blade, but they just aren't up to the task of removing lots of material, at least not quickly.

Further, it seems that most of the edges I have to sharpen aren't anywhere near preset angles that the Sharpmaker is designed to sharpen. I have some knives at just over 40 degrees. I have some kitchen knives that are chisel ground to around 12 degrees on one side (a little steeper than the 15-degree angle that the 30-degree edge is designed for). Of my 5 pairs of scissors (different brands), none of them is angle to match the 12.5 degree slot in the base of the shapener. For scissors, it isn't too hard to hold the cutting face flat to a stone since most are pretty broad. But for knives, if they don't match the 30 or 40 degree angles, you have two choices if you don't want to revert to free hand sharpening.

1) For edges that are a tiny bit steeper than 30 or 40 degrees
a) put a micro-bevel primary edge on them.
b) if you want to retain a nice chisel ground edge, the microbevel is not an option and you'll have to reprofile the blade by removing a lot of material at the blades edge.
2) For edges with an angle just over 30 degrees:
a) put a 40 degree microbevel on the edge
b) reprofile the blade by removing a lot of material at the shoulder of the edge.
3) For edges that are just over 40 degrees your only option is to reprofile the blade removing a lot of material at the shoulder of the edge.

Of course, reverting to free hand is always an option, but that sort of negates the system that this product offers.

If you do decide you want to reprofile or remove a lot of material to eliminate nicks, you are not going to be able to do it easily with the medium stones. I've tried, it's a time consuming affair. I have ordered a set of these to hopefully address this problem. I hear that they make re-profiling blades much easier.

I know this review sounded fairly negative. But it's not a bad product. It just works well only if you have edges that are already in good condition and are at the right angles. If your edges are, then you're golden. Use this sharpener regularly to keep them in good condition. If you have edges that aren't, then you are almost necessarily looking at spending another $45-50 on Diamond SharpMaker Stones or using a different product to do the rough reprofiling required to get an edge to exactly 30 or 40 degrees.

The Spyderco Triangle Sharpmaker is absolutely amazing! For years I have used stones for sharpening and always got a decent edge. Last year I bought my mother the Chefs Choice 130 Pro sharpener for Christmas, its much quicker and for kitchen knives it's probably the preferred sharpener. The Spyderco is a little more time consuming, but you are able to create an unbelievable edge with no skill.

For Christmas this year, my girlfriend gave me the Spyderco, claiming it was better than the Chefs Choice 130; I was apprehensive. The sharpener itself is surprisingly austere, while the included DVD is mindbogglingly boring. While boring and amateurish in quality, the DVD is comprehensive and quickly teaches you everything you could possibly want to know about sharpening with the Spyderco. On a side note: I believe the owner of Spyderco and his wife introduce the product in the DVD. During the whole video the owner looks horribly constipated and upset about his situation... it's mildly disturbing.

To test the product I pulled out several completely dull and slightly chipped knives. Following the directions exactly, I was able to sharpen the worst knife to a clean razor edge in less than 10 minutes. Left me wondering why anyone would buy the Ultra Fine Triangle or the Diamond rods, you really don't need them, you can turn rough junk into a hairsplitter with everything in the box. Wonderful product! I'm so pleased, I'm buying one for each of my employees next year for Christmas.

I've been sharpening edged weapons for over 40 years, (or trying to). This one works. It's easy to use and well made. I wouldn't want to drop the sharpening stones on a hard surface, but then I wouldn't be taking care of my equipment, would I? I bought another one for a Christmas gift.

I bought my Spyderco Tri-Angle Sharpmaker about a year ago at a local gun show. The couple man a knife sales booth at nearly every show I attend. I struck up a conversation and Jim recommended this unit and told me to watch the accompanying DVD.

He was dead on in his recommendation. I used flat stones for years and never really learned the skill of knife sharpening on a flat stone. Sometimes it would work; mostly not. However, learning to use this unit is pretty straightforward. Choose the correct pair of slot to get the correct angle, insert the proper stone for the condition of the blade (fine for rough work, extra-fine for finishing). Draw the blade down the stones, alternating sides, and test.

A trick Jim showed me is to use a soft rubber eraser to clear the stones about every ten strokes. I can tell a difference in the bite of the stones against the blade. This is a really good trick.

Be careful, though! The blade will be sharp when you finish. If you're accustomed to handling dull blades, you'll be surprised at how quickly they sharpen.

Hello, Just a short review about spyderco's sharpmaker sharping system. This thing is fool proof. There is an instruction booklet and a dvd training video. I didn't read the booklet but I did watch the video a couple of times, it explains the process really well. I have quite a few knives, sorta a collection. Most of have gotten dull. Hence the purchase of this sharping system. I put the dvd in my computer and the sharpmaker on my computer desk and just followed along. Now most of my knifes are scary sharp. I do 1 or 2 knives a day, usually doesn't take long and in no time my collection will be done. I would purchase again, In fact the holidays are coming up so I am going to get another or 2 for presents.