SHARPAL194H Whetstone Knife Blade Sharpener Sharpening Stone Angle Guide, Chisel/Plane Iron Blade Honing Guide, Knife Edge Angle Finder, Knife Sharpening Trainer (Angle from 15° to 45°)

I LOVE this thing! I use this level/sharpening angle finder device on my leather working tools. I am new to leatherworking, and have quickly realized that 85% (or more!) of this craft is actually tool sharpening! I also quickly learned that I am not so good at sharpening tools. I had gone as far as I could with cheap tools and made the leap and upgraded a few key tools. However, when these new tools got to the point that they needed sharpening - well even just stropping, I didnt want to mess things up. So I searched and found this device! It is a tool saver (not to mention sanity and pocketbook saver too!). Supper easy to use, right out of the box!Now when I use it on my edge beveler, the rod or neck of the tool is very narrow and so this angle finder does sit slightly eschew. Because of this, the actual sharpening angle may not be completely accurate. to me this doesn't matter that much. The magnets are powerful and keep its position steady, even when it has to sit slightly off center. The biggest advantage to me is it helps me attain consistency. I know that as long as I keep my eye on the bubble of the level (which is easy to do with the design of this device), and keep the bubble centered as move the tool down the strop, then I am maintaining a consistent angle! Using it on my skiving knife is more straightforward. Overall, it has a clean design. Easy to see and read level bubble. The magnets are powerful enough to keep its position every time I have used it. And it stays at the setting that I set it to. The settings are in increments of 5s. So, for example, when I use it on my skiving knife, I just set it right below the 15 degree marking. I am not certain if I am then sharpening at a 13 or 14 degree angle, but I do feel very confident that each pull down the strop will be the same angle and in the ball park of where I want it, within less than a 5 degree error, and that is way better than I was achieving free hand!!

Holds proper angle would work best with large stone

So easy to use and gets a razor sharp edge on your knife. I worked in professional kitchens and went to culinary school and, despite my best efforts, I've always been terrible at sharpening by hand. I've tried the wedge angle guides but it's very easy to go off course with those. This little gadget keeps me on track every time. Highly recommend, even if you just want something small to check your angle every so often

Why did you pick this product vs others?:It will work but hard to maintain angle

I'm terrible at using a stone for my knifes. I'm hoping this will be a great tool in helping me get better. Seems legit, sticks to the knife, I just wish the magnet was a little stronger.

I used this recently and the experience has me re-writing my review (1st review wasn't bad, just not as good as it should've been)This tool is so much better than I realized. I used to use a system with a clamp, guide rods, and oilstones, but it was messy, complicated, and worst of all the angle was inconsistent from heel to tip. I switched to freehand sharpening, but I always got slightly rounded bevels. Even if I used angle guide ramps to set my angle, I was varying angle slightly throughout each stroke, causing rounded bevels. Even the angle ramps have their fault, as they end up covered with fine abrasive, which wears marks on the blade from repeated contact.Once I used this guide I was able to see exactly what I was doing wrong, and correct it in real-time. It helped me to form muscle memory of a correct pass, and after a while I was keeping the bubble level without trying. I was able to get a bevel so clean and flat, it looks like a machine did it.It's meant to be attached to a flat area on a blade (parallel to centerline), so If you have to put it on the grind face the angle will not read true, as the grind face will be a few degrees from centerline. No big deal, just compensate. With the guide attached, hold the knife steady at desired sharpening angle (like on an angle ramp). Level the guide so the bubble is centered. The guide will be set about 2 to 3 degrees higher than the angle you're holding, because the angle of the grind face has been added to it, but you will be hitting the stone at your chosen angle. Once you know exactly how many degrees to add for that knife, just set the guide accordingly for future sharpening.

I have better, but I was curious about this one. Sharpened my knives for about 30 years on Arkansas Stones. It has been a long road of experience...failure to success, but, sometimes I do well free-handed, but I have a system that keeps me on track. I just received my SHARPAL today, 07/27/24. Given the negative reviews, I was cautious in removing the SHARPAL. It is firmly packed in a plastic frame. Once removed from the securing frame, with gentle care, I lifted the angle base using the fingernail of my thumb. It is tight so you must adjust the pressure in lifting. Here I can understand how these things can be broken. The bubble arm rises one click at a time. You can independently determine the correctness of the angle with whatever tool you might have. Mine appears to be accurate. The bubble arm goes one click at a time, but, it is somewhat tedious to do. The magnet is fine on mine. SHARPAL will take time and practice. I warn you to be gentle with this tool. Do not force any part as the plastic is not of a quality grade. Does it work? I have no idea as I have not tried to sharpen a knife with it yet. I do suggest you make sure the angles are correct. If not adjust ti the correct angle. That is all folks. Continued 1Oct24. Now I would NOT RECOMMEND.

This is a clever and inexpensive device that can help you get a consistent edge. However when I checked its accuracy against my Wedgek wedges it seemed off. Then I realized the wedges were measuring the angle of the bottom of the knife (the part being sharpened), while the SHARPAL was measuring the angle of the top of the knife, which is effected by the thickness of the knife spine. So the SHARPAL was slightly off. I fixed this by ignoring the scale on the SHARPAL and adjusting it until the bubble was centered on the wedge I was using. Then just sharpen as you normally would.