James Lovern
Inyokern, Ca

Jun 01, 2011

Pros: Effectiveness, Overall Quality, Ease of Use

Cons: None

DMT Aligner

Excellent sharpener.. I like it better than Lansky..

Canoeman
Kokomo, Indiana

Oct 25, 2009

Pros: Ease of Use, Effectiveness

Cons: None

Great sharpener

I use knives alot so I sharpen alot. This is very easy and quick to set up and gives an edge that is hair popping sharp. Cons- I wish it was less expensive but I bought one anyway. :)

John
Charlotte, NC

May 21, 2013

Pros: None

Cons: None

Aligner is EXCELLENT

I love this system it is my second favorite system #1 being my WE. The diamond stones in this system are second to NONE. I am a huge DMT fan now due to the quality and agressivness of their diamond stones. I like the fact that the clamp is plastic and will not scratch my expensive knives. Some complain that it does not have enough clamping force if you set it up correctly and use it correctly it has enough just be careful not to hit your knife or the clamp on anything. I like the concept of the stone holder being one piece. The lansky for example putting three different guide rods in three different stones your always bending and double checking the correct angle is being applied its a darn hassle the Aligner does not have. I love the pouch and its ease of travel. I also purchased the XX-fine stone (the tan stone) and it takes the edge one step beyond hair shaving. I also purchased the X-course stone (black) to make shorter work of reprofiling higher end harder steels. I like this system more than my paper wheels,Lansky,Smiths, and my Worksharp. The only system that I have owned and used and like better is my Wicked Edge. If you cannot afford the WE then IMHO the DMT Aligner is the ONE.

Hgc
Port Au Prince, Haiti

Apr 02, 2010

Pros: Effectiveness, Durability, Overall Quality, Ease of Use

Cons: None

HGC

I really like this sharpening system. I have a Gatco, Lansky and Smith's sharpening systems, they all seem to have one good thing about them. The DMT system is very compact uses the same holder for all the "stone" and the knife clamp doesn't slip as much as metal ones. The knife clap doesn't stay in place on thick blades (.25") and doesn't allow you to put the blade into the holder very far. This systems stones are great, ive noticed no reduction in metal removing ability. The stones still "cut" as well as the first day i got them. The stones cut so well they don't need to be any wider either.

Markg
Sweden

Aug 20, 2009

Pros: Ease of Use, Effectiveness

Cons: None

Easy to use

Easy to use and it works great.

Dlepez
Concepcion, Chile.

Mar 26, 2011

Pros: Effectiveness, Durability, Overall Quality, Ease of Use

Cons: None

The solution

I was a bit skeptical about this product and I am very bad sharpening, but with DMT aligner it is very easy to get very sharp blades. And knifecenter service it's simply excellent.

D
Phila, Pa

Jul 21, 2010

Pros: None

Cons: None

Absolute best guided sharpener under $100

First thing, great job to knifecenter! Received my order in 2 days. As for this product, wonderful results. To those that have broken the fixtures, you are misusing the product. to those that cannot get a scary edge...Learn to sharpen correctly! Easy to use. Very fast. I have several D2 blades and these stones cut very quickly. No pressure on the stone is required. Perfect, straight beveled edge. I also ordered the extra extra fine stone. it was not great at first. The secret is settling it in. I did this buy rubbing it against first the course stone, and then on my Shapton 6000grit bench stone. You could just rub it and the extra fine together as well. The quality of the edge produced is far better than one done on a Lansky kit(which I have been using on my D2 knives.) Every single one of my Benchmade knives is now sharper than factory new.

Dave Terry
Connecticut

Jul 11, 2009

Pros: Ease of Use, Effectiveness, Overall Quality, Durability

Cons: None

This is a great product!! I have and still own numerous sharpening stones and equipment and find the DMT to be the best. Its very easy to use, does not require any lubrication and you get a sharp blade every time. It has it all over the Smith stone system. The sharpening blocks are friction fit and not glued as in the Smith. I have had 2 stones come free and yes Smith will replace them for free but why the hassle of having to go through that.

Rock Head
New Orleans

Sep 24, 2010

Pros: Effectiveness, Durability, Overall Quality, Ease of Use

Cons: None

Works as advertised

Worked great on knives and scissores the DMT videos for how to are a must view.

Kurt H.
Largo, Fl.

Sep 19, 2012

Pros: Effectiveness, Ease of Use

Cons: None

Sharp Knife

If you have never bought a sharpening kit before, I recommend getting this one. Just follow the easy insrtuctions and you will be pleasently suprised. No complaints. Like the blue pouch. Gets my knives razor sharp!

Random Chance
USA, Earth

Sep 04, 2009

Pros: Effectiveness, Durability, Overall Quality, Ease of Use

Cons: None

Works great (after break-in period)

This system is great for re-profiling edges and resetting badly worn edges. However, it takes quite a while to get the hones "broken in" and until they are, your edges won't be as sharp as they should be because the hones are still not at optimum smoothness. After that however, you can get scary sharp edges very quickly with this setup. I find that the clamp holds blades more securely than the all-metal ones and is a bit easier to adjust. Advantages are that it WORKS and works QUICK on just about every kind of steel there is. Once the hones are broken in you can get super-fine edges that easily shave even without stropping. You can even freehand with the hones in the holder without the clamp for touchups. You don't need any oil or even water to use them, just wipe them with a cloth or brush them off with an old toothbrush periodically to remove the metal dust. Drawbacks of this system are the same that are common to all clamp systems: 1) Setup is a bit involved for simple touch-ups, get a dia-fold or similar pocket sharpener for that 2) Don't believe the angles listed in the documentation - measure yourself and do the math - and pay attention to where you place the clamp on the length of the blade because distance from edge (contact point) to pivot point will affect edge angle 3) It won't do recurved blades effectively without the curved hone (sold separately) or serrations without the serration rod (sold separately). The pouch that it comes in is decent and will hold more stuff than comes with it - I have a brush and cloth for cleaning the hones, the curved and serration hones, and the original kit parts all stuffed in mine and its still small enough to take with you. This is a great system and DMT hones are the best - they last forever and stay flat. I've re profiled dozens of blades with this setup and it works better now then it did new! Sharpening systems are a matter of preference, but this one is, in my opinion, the best of the clamp-type systems.

Doc
KCMO

Oct 04, 2010

Pros: Effectiveness, Ease of Use

Cons: None

product is as described

product works the way you would want. its smooth, effective and user friendly. if you keep knives maintained it doesnt take long to keep edge

Ron C.
Chicago Heights,IL

Dec 28, 2009

Pros: Effectiveness, Durability, Overall Quality, Ease of Use

Cons: None

Awesome sharpening system!

Very easy system to use.It took me about 3 minutes to set up the unit, and after about 8-10 strokes per side, the knife was as sharp as a tack.I've owned 2 other systems in the past, (lansky etc.) but this DMT is by far the best.

Mr. Jones
Riverview, Florida

Dec 30, 2009

Pros: Effectiveness, Overall Quality, Ease of Use

Cons: None

Simple precision sharpening

This is the easiest most precise shapening system I have used. The diamond sharpening stones worked very well even on D2 tool steel, which is dificult with natural stones.

Kiwimark
Auckland, New Zealand

Dec 17, 2010

Pros: Effectiveness, Durability, Overall Quality, Ease of Use

Cons: None

Excellent value, great results

For this money this is a great sharpening tool - it is possible to get VERY sharp edges using this. I have bought extra stones (courser & finer) and have used mine to completely re-profile the bevel on some knives. I've take a knife that my cheap junk sharpeners were doing nothing to and gotten that knife 'shaving sharp' and then some. I've actually learned quite a lot about sharpening while using this tool. I'd recommend it to anyone - you won't get a better sharpener for this money.

Bullosa
Kuching

Jan 25, 2011

Pros: Effectiveness, Overall Quality, Ease of Use

Cons: Durability

Simple and Easy To Use

Very easy to use, constant angle sharpening. Great for re profiling.

Mike B
Mckeesport

Mar 03, 2013

Pros: Effectiveness, Durability, Overall Quality, Ease of Use

Cons: None

Works as advertised for me.

I managed to find one of these for under 40 bucks. It's great to use when you have a very beat-up neglected edge. Or have to reset an improperly honing or setting a new angle on an edge.Especially if you're working a super hard wear resistant blade. Also helps save some time honing say CPM440V,M390,Elmax and so on. I Start the hone with this. Then put the finally mirror polish on them by hand. I'd recommend this too as it's a good price.It does the job as advertised. It would also be good for someone who isn't very experienced in sharpening. It's fairly straight forward to use.

Ambaal
Australia, Sydney

Sep 28, 2010

Pros: Effectiveness, Overall Quality, Ease of Use

Cons: Durability

Cheap, excellent stones, nasty plastic hardware

Excellent buy for it's price - it's cheap and it will give you 3 stones and one diamond rod in worst case scenario. Unfortunately, plastic bits of this kit are not really strong, my clamp lost of of it's angle rods in the first sharpening session. Stones are really good though, and with a holder they can be used with any similar sharpening system, be it lansky or gatco. Overall, it's a good buy for a price, stones alone well worth it.

Ron In Sarver
Sarver, PA

Oct 19, 2010

Pros: Effectiveness, Overall Quality, Ease of Use

Cons: None

Dull Knifes BEWARE

Always wanted to sharpen my knifes professionally. This product comes close! I noticed the product while ordering another sharpening product at the Knife Center. There is a great video online to learn how to use the kit. Simple and easy to use.

John Doe
NJ

Aug 13, 2010

Pros: Ease of Use

Cons: Effectiveness

Guide Only

I use these sharpeners on their own and tried the guides to be more consistent. I t helps but is not precise. you still have to know how to hand sharpen

Jack Sh
Richmond VA

Mar 21, 2014

Pros: None

Cons: None

great stones, great aligner, bad angle guide

I really like the fact that the system uses the standard plastic base DMT pocket whetstones. I can just carry the stone for touching up when out and about, or when at home use the kit for re-aligning the edge angle. The angle guide however does not clearly label the angle settings, and it is easily warped. The plastic is kinda flimsy. So I actually use my old angle guide from a previous lansky set.

Charles B
Oxnard, Ca

Feb 03, 2015

Pros: Effectiveness

Cons: Overall Quality

review of dmt aligner kit

I've used the aligner kit to sharpen bothkitchen knives and folding knives. I find the aligner to be hard to adjust, both so it will hold the knife to be sharpened, as well as the angle adjustment. It works fine after it is adjusted. It's basically just cast in plastic. the stones fit nice and tight into the holder, but are hard to remove once there. The stones seem to be very high quality. I think more thought should go into the design of the aligner, but am ok with the stone-holder.

Milton
MORGAN CITY, LA

Jul 14, 2009

Pros: Ease of Use

Cons: Effectiveness

I AM UNABLE TO GET THE RESULTS ADVERTISED

I AM UNABLE TO GET THE RESULTS ADVERTISED.

Disappointed
Midwest

May 03, 2010

Pros: None

Cons: Effectiveness, Overall Quality, Ease of Use

problems, problems, problems

First, the stone holder's brackets are too tight, so the stones have to be jammed in, and then the diamond plates bow visibly. Second, the guide rod does NOT extend straight from the holder. This lack of straightness changes the effective sharpening angle as you sweep from end to end. You cannot get a specific angle this way. Instead you'll round off the bevel. Third, the clamp's two guideposts are visibly warped (cheap plastic injection), and the two will not hold the same angle even though they're both set to the same number of notches. Fourth, even if the two guideposts were straight and consistent, they don't have enough notches for fine adjustment. Fifth, the whole clamp is too flexible, being cheap plastic. You can crank that knob until the jaws are bowed, but the clamp can still slip off, and then you have to start over. FRUSTRATING! Sixth, my tapered rod for serrations has a couple of defects: big gouge on the outside, plus it seems the internal threads got coated with diamond - I can force the guide rod on for only one or two revolutions. Nothing about this system inspires confidence. The theory is sound but the actual execution is woefully lacking. I do like the stones, but I've resorted to using them freehand.