Customer Reviews

DMT ADELUXE Aligner Deluxe Knife Sharpening Kit

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This kit works very well. I'm a meat cutter by trade and once a week I run my blades 6 passes on the red (600) and green (1200) grit stones to restore the edge. The blue stone was needed to first create an edge that was at the proper angle. The roll up carrying case is very convenient and fairly sturdy. I haven't tried the serrated sharpening attachment so I can't comment on it's quality but the stones are great. If a blade is too long for the 4" stones you can sharpen one "section" then move the clamp down the blade and run the stones over the parts that were missed. I haven't tried this but I sent DMT an email asking what to do if the blade was too long and this is their suggestion. I don't see why it wouldn't work since you are forced to apply the same angle on every pass. The blades on my knives are wearing much slower than that of the meat cutters who are using the store bench stone. Realistically, it will take a few years to pay for itself in terms of knife life but the convenience of getting a razor edge in 12 strokes is more than worth the modest price to me.

Update 6/20/09 - I've used this for quite a while now. It still works great however a couple things to note. Part of the twisting knob that helps hold the stone in the aligner broke off. I can still turn it the opposite direction and it hold firmly even without it but it broke without being dropped so it's a fragile. Also, once while sharpening I went a little faster than normal and the folding aligner collapsed and I almost cut myself. As sharp as this gets the blade, it could have been very bad. I'm much more careful now. I recommend getting the A4X stone as well. The blue stone is coarse enough to fix a damaged blade but it takes a long time to first create an edge at the angle this is using. I spent 20 minutes on a piece of home cutlery and it still didn't have the edge formed so I could switch to the finer stones. If you plan to sharpen more than one or two knives you really need that extra coarse stone or you'll spend forever creating the initial edge. I would still buy another if I lost it tomorrow.

Update 10/18/09 - The roll up case is still perfectly intact, it's sturdy and wearing well. I bought the extra coarse stone from DMT. It's really the only way to go. Trying to set the initial edge of a blade with the blue stone just takes too long. The black extra coarse stone really takes off the steel and forms the edge quickly. My red and green stones which receive by far the most use are still almost new. Since the edge is set by the coarser stones, the finer ones have less to do and still only require 6 passes or so to restore the edge. Meat cutting has become a part time job instead of full so I don't use this as often but it has held up fine. 2 minutes per knife and they are quite literally as sharp as new.

Update 8/23/10 - I just wanted to post an update. This is still working great and it only takes a few passes to create a razor sharp edge. My opinion on the black A4X stone still stands. You really need the rough grit it has to grind off enough steel to create the initial edge angle. Also, it adjusts quickly so you can have different angles on different knifes. For instance one on a boning knife and another for produce. Too sharp of an angle on a boning knife will ding up and dull almost immediately. I still consider it one of my more useful purchases.

First, the good. For many years I tried just about every sharpening system out there. The early ceramic rod sharpener that had only one fixed angle for sharpening, the one with only one ceramic rod and a spring with a plastic guide that worked by moving the knife up and down, the small sharpeners that had two pieces of steel that worked by pulling the blade in the "V" formed by the steel, and finally, the venerable Sypderco Sharpmaker.

There were also many purchases of regular bench stones, but these require skill in maintaining a constant angle, either by look or feel, and I eventually learned that I was "angle challenged."

The Sharpmaker is a good sharpening system and I regard it highly. The only "problem" is that the system only gives you two choices for the sharpening angle: I think it's 30 degrees and 40 degrees (I'm not positive so verify if you're considering buying that system. It's a very high quality, well-thought-out system if you plan to sharpen only at those two angles.

As I became more interested in knives and wanted to sharpen at angles less than 30 degrees, I decided to try the DMT Aligner system. For the first time, I began to produce edges that were very, very sharp. I use a Sharpie marker to coat the blade and then sharpen a few strokes to see how close the selected Aligner angle is set. The freedom to choose a variety of sharpening angles, combined with the very effective different DMT diamond stones, is really great. Now it's actually fun and easy to sharpen knives. And the half-round sharpener (available as an extra component that must be purchased separately from the kit) works great on concave blades. Highly recommended if you have knives with concave edges.

Now for the bad. The part that clamps the blade, which also houses the two plastic guides that set the angle, is made of cheap, flimsy plastic that breaks easily. I've had the kit for two weeks and I've already broken the one that came with the kit. Luckily, replacements for this part only cost about $12, so my advice is to buy the kit AND an extra blade clamp. I just purchased two so I will have an extra when the next one breaks. Maybe DMT will eventually come out with a more durable clamp, but for now we're stuck with the flimsy plastic model.

All in all, the DMT Aligner is a good sharpener at an affordable price and I will continue using it. For its price, it's a very good value.

This knife sharpener is great because it takes the need for talent out of the equation. Sharpening the blade at the exact same angle for every stroke allows you to get a razor edge on anything. I am really happy with this kit. I also ordered the A4X Extra Coarse stone and the A4EE extra extra fine stone, so I have a total of five stones. Everything fits in the blue bag. I am convinced I could get a razor edge on a hammer. Highly recommend.

Inexpensive, well-made product.

This sharpening kit works very well. I got it yesterday, along with the A4X (black, extra-course) and A4EE (tan, extra-extra fine) stones.

To repair a damaged edge, you can use the included course (blue) stone, but the black works much faster when you have a bad edge to fix. The tan stone hones an already-sharp blade to a mirror-finish, razor edge.

All the pieces, including the two extra stones, fit easily in the bag.

All the knives in my house look and cut like new again, and I have tha bald spots where I shaved my arm to prove it.

Overall, I'm pretty satisfied with this product. I was a little disappointed, since I'd done some web research and found a couple of sites that recommended this set. I was excited about setting an angle to grind into the blade--I just wish I had known that there's only 6 angle options. The actual angle isn't quite controllable; it depends on the width of your blade. For the same setting on the sharpener, you could be putting a 20 degree angle or a 25 degree angle on your blade, depending on how wide it is. I'm ok with the product, but perhaps I had just hyped it up too much in my mind. I will probably end up buying the black grinding stone for it as well, since I have an old Chinese cleaver that has been difficult to sharpen with the included stones--it must have a particularly hard steel.

I'm satisfied with this because I've tried sharpening knives using stones before. I can get great variability sharpening free-hand, but it's tough to get an even edge angle along the length of the blade. This kit fixes that.

Never have been able to master sharpening knives freehand. Tried this type of aligner system years ago with standard sharpening stones and was able to get a good edge but with a lot of work and time. With the DMT diamond stones I was turning out arm shaving edges in 5 minutes on really dull carbon steel and 440 stainless blades. A Queen knife with a D2 tool steel blade took a little longer but I would never have had the patience to finish it with my old conventional stones. I love this product and highly recommend it.

This kit is considerably cheaper than similar kits by Gatco or Lansky, yet delivers outstanding results. I used the kit the day I got it to sharpen my entire kitchen knife set - and it really didn't take very long to do so. Using the stones in the kit I was able to produce an edge easily the equal of the Wusthof ceramic sharpener I had been using - when I did a final hone with the "extra-extra-fine" tan DMT stone I bought at the same time, the blades became "scarey sharp". It was also really easy to produce a micro-bevel edge, which was impossible with the Wusthof.

I had none of the issues cited by others - including with the serrated sharpener. All in all, very very pleased. (plus it has a lifetime no-BS warranty: if it busts, they fix it. Nice)

DEC 3 UPDATE: So now I have had this system for a month and used it regularly and become very adept at it's use. It's easy to learn on and use and my knives are sharper than ever, especially my Japanese knives - truly scary sharp.

As to my critique - I maintain my original assessment. The guiding rod portion of the aligner is not long enough - they should add another 3 or 4 inches to it. This would be a really nice improvement for it's use on full sized knives (chef's knifes, nakiris, santokus - anything with a width of 2" or so.

For smaller knives the aligner is fine as it is - steak knives, petty knives etc. For cleavers, you will only be able to engage 1/3 - 1/2 of your stones, as the rod will fall out of the guide if you try and go further. I suppose that it might be possible to extend the guide rod with a piece of stiff wire and electricians tape - but I'd rather not mess with it.

I'm glad that I bought the xx-fine stone to go with it. The 8000 grit is a nice jump from the x-fine 1200, and is a reasonable upgrade for about $14 or so.

ORIGINAL REVIEW:
I've only had my set now for 4 days but I've sharpened EVERY knife that I own and that's a pretty significant amount. I even completely rebeveled my cleaver with a 24 degree (total) primary bevel and 32 degree micro-edge bevel. It is now RAZOR sharp ... equal to any of my non-Japanese blades.

If you need to completely re-bevel your knives, the xx-coarse is helpful. Otherwise, you won't need that stone. The xx-fine stone is awesome - it really takes those edges to the next level.

The key is use very little or no pressure with quick light strokes - let the diamonds do the work! Especially when using the x-coarse or coarse stones - they are very aggressive, especially the x-coarse.

DMT could be better about posting more useful videos on youtube but whatever. I figured out a really good technique over the first day on my cheap knives and then made pretty quick work of everything after that.

The Aligner could stand some improvement. My big complaint would be that the guide rod is simply too short when I'm doing larger knives. And really too short when doing cleavers. I'm only able to engage about half my stones when doing a cleaver. I'm considering using electricians tape to use some 12 or 10 guage wire to extend it a bit so that it can't slide out and I'd then get full use of my stones with larger blades.

So 4 stars but not 5. The Aligner itself would need to be a better design. But it's good and functional. I'm pleased.

I've used a variety of systems, but nothing is as simple to use as a decent bench stone. Bought this 5-10 years back, but the aligner was pretty much useless from the start and broke after a few months. The diamond stones are still ok, though, and I use them to sharpen my Global and other knives with harder than normal grades of steel.

I have bought this kit and two extra stones DMT A4EE 4-Inch Diamond Whetstone and DMT A4X 4-Inch Diamond Whetstone.
The system is very good. If you are not having "time+patience+300$ for japaneese stones" it is the best way to make your knife almost ideally sharp.
BUT the DMT does not have customer service!!!
Read my review for A4EE 4-Inch Diamond Whetstone.