I am in no way affiliated with DMT or any sharpening tool company. I'm just an avid hobbyist that has recently taken up woodworking. I found a new sharpening tool that i truely believe in and can recommend.

It's the DMT DiaSharp credit card sized sharpener. I got the red 600 mesh/25micron model.

I got it to keep my turning gouges sharp. I found last night that it also sharpened my hand planing blade to razor sharp. Today i tested one of my good kitchen paring knives. It worked amazingly. Up until now i have only used the hand held v shaped ceramic and tungsten sharpeners. They work ok, but take a long time to get a good edge and the ceramic wears quickly.

This DMT card has good quality diamond bits in the surface. I checked it out under a microscope and was impressed with the uniformity and amount of diamonds.

Pros:
-can be used dry; no water/oil needed.
-sharpens in any direction
-pocket size for easy transport
-good quality diamond bits. The booklet that comes with it shows the difference between other diamond bit sharpeners.
-price was reasonable; about 15 bucks for this card at woodcraft
-easily cleans with cool water and hand soap.

Cons:
-it works best if you have a cradle to let it rest in while sharpening. I held it with my left hand just fine but for bigger blades that require two hands to steady you will need to secure the card from moving


That's it. I can't find any problems yet. I plan to get the green 1200mesh/9micron sized card for the final sharpening finish. Right now im having fun getting all the knives i can in the house and running them over this card.

P.S. Im throwing out all my v shaped ceramic sharpeners. I'm done fusing with that.

 

update: it sharpened our kitchen knife set amazingly. My wife was very impressed too. I got a great edge on my leatherman knife blade and another cheap pocket knife. It fixed my rough edge on my Spyderco knife, but i need the higher grit sharpener to get the true razor sharp edge finish on the Spyderco. Can't wait to make another trip to wood craft to pick up the green sharpener card.

 

***Update--I bought the green 1200mesh/9micron sized card for the final sharpening finish. It works great. Now my kitchen knives are super super sharp! Awesome sharpening tool investment. I cant wait to try sharpening my pocket knives with both of these sharpeners.

 

Good testimony! Where can I buy one. Every knife I have is too dull to cut butter. LOL!

 

I got mine at my local woodcraft store. you can find them online as well. DMT also makes the larger sizes.