Arkansas SharpenersCeramic Sharpening

I'm not huge into sharpening knives. I've read other reviews, and in some of those reviews, other reviewers are talking about using multiple sharpeners and stuff. I'm not that guy. I was just looking for 1 rod. I bought this. It's a ceramic rod that comes to about 7 inches not including the handle.It does a really good job at sharpening knives. Longer knives will be a pain because it's just too short. Many knives will be a pain because it's just too short. This isn't designed for someone spending long days sharpening knives. This is designed for someone like me. Someone who was looking through Amazon Prime items for a really cheap ceramic sharpening rod to bring a knife back from the dead.It'll make knives sharp if you sharpen them properly. I mainly bought it because I have a flat choppy kitchen knife that my girlfriend used to the point that it won't chop anymore. I'm not a knife guy so I can't really describe it well - it has a flat blade and it's good at choppy motions, and after 2 minutes of googling, I think it's a santoku knife. Fits the bill. But that knife was so dull it'd pop tomatoes, and I tasked myself with making that puppy useful again.Anywho, I bought this for that, and after running it through a dozen passes on each side, I was using the little santoku knife like a letter opener, crisply cutting every letter I could find. And it was crisp. Just a nice crisp line through paper. I held up a banana with my right hand and santoku-ed that banana with my left hand, cleaning cutting that banana down piece by piece. Then I ate that banana. I cleaned off the knife and dried it with a microfiber cloth. Guess what happened to that cloth? Santoku-ed. And I almost cut my finger off. I lost skin. I tried to see if I could actually cut that microfiber cloth so I rubbed it against, but went a little too fast and the cloth gave really easily and the next point of resistance was my finger, but by that point I was pumping the brakes.Anyways, I give this thing 5 stars. It's super cheap and for anyone just trying to bring a knife back from the dead, this thing will make it almost razor sharp. And for someone like myself who isn't a knife guy, almost razor sharp and razor sharp are pretty much the same exact thing. It'll make a knife so sharp it'll cut through paper without grabbing and tearing that paper. Super sharp. For super cheap. 5 stars.

Ceramic rods are reasonably compact (but long), lightweight and durable- but brittle so do not drop on hard surfaces!. You need not worry about "flattening" them as regular maintenance like a stone. There is a learning curve to holding the rod or knife at the proper angle but I still find it easier than using a flat stone; with the added benefit they will sharpen an inside or re-curve much easier. Rods like these are difficult to use in re-establishing a particular cutting angle or to duplicate what came from the factory- for that get yourself a more precise sharpening system. But it is also not difficult to get a hair shaving edge with this rod! As stated previously it is something like 1800-2200 grit or 9/8 micronsWhat we naturally tend to do is run the knife back and forth at a slightly different angle each time which begins to form a convex edge which many prefer and is unquestionably a durable edge. Used in conjunction with a courser diamond rod like the Eze-Lap and you have a fine field sharpening duo that can take care of most sharpening needs away from civilization. I carry both the Eze-Lap as well as a cut down version of this ceramic rod (without the handle).Clean-up of steel clogged abrasive is a snap with a 3M pad and soap and water.This is my go to sharpener for daily touch ups on my carry knife before I go to work.An excellent rod for the money that I suspect will outlast me if I am careful not to drop it on concrete or tile.

I was looking for a slightly more coarse stick than what I had. While not coarse by most standards it is more coarse than what I had. Look good and work as expected.For those wondering if you can sharpen long blades: Stand under a bright light, hold the blade in front of you side up, twist the blade slowly and watch the blade edge. When the reflected light on the blade edge is brightest maintain that position and run the stick along the blade edge holding the stick horizontal...flip and get the other side.Con: One came broken and could not be replaced due to being sold out

I was skeptical to get a ceramic rod. I have some bread knives that are past their prime and had become a safety hazard. I looked up “how to sharpen a Bread knife” and found that a ceramic rod is the best way to go. Some of these rods are $30+ and I was hesitant to spend so much on something I never used. This Rod comes in at just over $5 and I thought I would get this before upgrading to a “higher tier” if I found it useful. It’s shorter than the more expensive rods and is a no frills product, but that’s exactly what I needed. It’s super easy to use, has a suiting diameter for your average Bread knife, and it is literally a ceramic rod with a wooden handle (and that’s all it needs to be). The more expensive ones say they’re balanced, have a rubber tip in case you drop it, ergonomic handle…. You get the idea. I don’t need all that. This is short and light enough to work with easily and I wouldn’t want to get a higher tier rod, in fact, I’m buying another one of these.

12" is the total length of the sharpener, not of the sharpening section. Thought the description was a little dodgey - most other sharpeners list the length of the "steel" (or not-steel, in this case), not the steel and handle together. The price puts it in the same group as the other short ceramic sharpeners. Just don't expect a foot of ceramic to rub your knife on.Aside from that gripe, the product seems fine, and is sharpening my knives (although is a bit more of a struggle to use on the larger blades).