6" Arkansas Tri-Hone Stone Sharpening System

I think the Smith's 6" Tri-Hone kit is great.I am a sharpening novice and didn't want to spend much on my first attempt at using sharpening stones.I found this and decided the price was right. I am very happy with my purchase. It got my stainless steel kitchen knives sharper than new!I decided not to use the included honing oil because it is not NSF. I am using water insteadMineral oil was an option, but oil is messy. I clean the stones with Dawn detergent and a toothbrush.I am definitely novice but I have learned a lot.Knife sharpening is not as challenging as it once seemed. and remember it gets easier with practice.1. Technique - There are a ton of videos from experts on YouTube. Watch them and learn.2. Consistency is everything - Keeping consistent angle is more important than the perfect angle you sharpen.3. Keep it even - Pressure and number of strokes should be the same for each side. Be consistent as you draw the blade across the stone. The bevel should be the same thickness from heel to point.4. Patience - Don't change from coarse to medium (or fine) until the Knife is sharp. A light touch is better. Go back to a courser grit if you need to.5. Feel the wire - The wire is a burr that develops along the edge. As the knife gets sharp, you'll be able to feel the wire by running a finger across the edge (NOT ALONG the edge).Sharpening your knife reduces the width of the cutting edge thinner than aluminum foil.As you sharpen on one side, The super thin edge is pushed (ie folded) over to the opposite side.You can think about moving to a finer grit stone when you feel the wire.6. Keep the cutting edge facing away from your hand when you wipe off the knife.The knife may be sharper than you think. A sharp knife will cut right through a towel and your skin before you feel it.7. Don't let your knife get too dull once it is sharp.Once you get a kitchen knife sharp, you may only need the medium and fine stone.8. Use a honing steel to align the cutting edge if the knife gets a little dull.5 Stars.

This is where it all starts. If you’re a knife enthusiast or for any other reason have been curious to try your hand at sharpening your own blades, this is the best tool with which to begin. And, like the best of tools, once you’ve moved pat the beginner’s stage, it will continue to serve you for many years.After 7 years’ use and all the time whetting my skills with it, I’ll say it is best and only tool you absolutely need for sharp, and thereby safe, blades.Course: Rarely used, but have set some new edges with it on cheap knoves that were little more than punched-out sheet metal.Medium: The starting point for seriously dull knives. Can take some serious metal off when needed.Fine: At 1k - 1.2k grit, it’s as fine as many of the more course water stones. If you’re looking for a functional blades tool outside the kitchen or very fine woodworking, this is probably as far as you need to go.I personally add a few passes on my 3k/8k water stone to get that elusive razor-edge, but the Tri-Hone is all you need, beginning to end, to shape a dull tool into a highly functional one.A few tips:- Use an angle guide starting out. No shame. Consistency in the angle is the hardest and most important thing to master in good knife-sharpening.- Use the whole stone. Whichever stone you use, try to use all part of it equally (back-to-front and side-to-side), or else you’ll end up with a concave middle that will prevent you from sharpening.- I use Rem Oil as a lubricant for the stones, for the moving parts of my knives, and for the blades themselves. Has worked well for a decade. I use the same to sharpen kitchen knives, but use mineral oil to coat the blades after a thorough cleaning (food safe and prevents rust).All it all, this is your desert-island sharpener. I use it weekly after a decade, and it predictably produces the results I need. And for the price (compare it to combo water stones), it’s a no-brainer.Tl;dr: If you want a tool onwhich you can learn to sharpen blades that will continue to serve you long after you’ve mastered the basics, this is it.

These stones work very well. They took a dull set of chisels and made them sharp enough to cut my arm hair. The are easy to use and learn.The only drawback I have is their size. They are very narrow meaning my plane iron has to be skewed a bit to fit and rarely the chisel will fall off.Rather a neutral thing, but the course and medium grits need oil to “prime” them I guess? They are up the 3-in-1 oil I put on them for a good bit. Not a problem for the fine stone. Still worked great after that so just be aware.

Great sharpener. I have bought other sharpeners this one out performs the most. This particular sharpener is sold in major retail box store but once again it’s sold on Amazon same product same brand cheaper.. It comes with instructions, but as always be safe when you’re sharpening a knife.