Smith's CCKS 2-Step Knife Sharpener - Yellow - 2-Step Preset Coarse & Fine Slots - Outdoor Handheld Knife Sharpener - Fishing, Hunting, Fillet, Pocket Knives - Compact Plastic Portable Keychain Tool

I own several of these, so that already tells you what I really think about them.They are inexpensive, portable and easy to use.They handle curved blades easily, even a reverse curve blade which is challenging to sharpen with a stone.This is not meant to be a replacement for a sophisticated sharpening system, but it's quick, requires no setup or waiting for stones to absorb water and does the job well enough.I use it for kitchen knives, as a quick touch up of the edge, using the ceramic side, and also for outdoors knives. Again, I use the ceramic side mostly, as I don't wait for the edge to get too blunt before sharpening.The carbide side works well on very dulled edges, but all carbide sharpeners remove a good amount of steel from the knife edge, so I try to use sparingly.Cons:A few minor limitations that I am willing to live with include:- Because of the compact size (which is a plus, in my mind) the handle is small and you can only use 2 fingers to hold it in place.- Edge angle is fixed and cannot be changed or effectively controlled.- The ceramic rods are hard to reach for cleaning purposes, so they do accumulate steel residue from the knife edge. I am not sure how much of a problem this is in reducing the effectiveness of the sharpener over time. I will try some other methods of cleaning them and I'll update this review.Overall, it does what it's designed to do with no fuss and meets my everyday needs quite well especially in a portable situation.For me, it's also one tool among several that I use, depending on what I want to achieve.I have other, more sophisticated (and much larger, heavier and/or more delicate/breakable) sharpeners, if I want to spend more time and give that "special" blade more attention or if I just want to control edge angle.

Worked perfectly, sharpened all my knives in a matter of minutes.

If you are looking for an inexpensive knife sharpener that does not take up space in the drawer this is great! Haven’t had it long and wonder when the rods will be dull and not sharpen anymore

> The most convenient, compact, knife sharpener that I've found.> I use the ceramic side (with the little white cylinders) for sharpening kitchen knives (and my pocket knives). I hold the knives edge-up under running water in my sink with my left hand, and lightly move the sharpener with my right hand along the blade. About 10 very light strokes is usually enough to touch up an already fairly sharp knife.> I've nicked and scratched my kitchen countertop trying to sharpen long chef's knives using sharpeners that I have to place on a countertop and drag knives through. I appreciate that I don't have to set the Smith's sharpener on a countertop.> A few other reviewers claim that the ceramic rods broke when they were trying to sharpen knives --- if so, they were using WAY too much pressure. Use only a very light touch.> Generally speaking the carbide (metal) side should NEVER be used on chef's knives or other fine blades. The carbide takes off too much metal. In quality knives, only the very edge is treated to be hard enough to hold a very sharp edge --- grind that off (or scrape it off with a carbide sharpener), and all the sharpening in the world is a waste of time. Don't misunderstand, you can sharpen such a blade to razor sharpness --- but the blade will not hold the edge, it will quickly dull. A couple of other reviewers claim that the carbide chips fine blades -- in which case the blades are permanently ruined.> Use the carbide side for axes, machetes, and other utility blades made of comparatively softer steel. But even a utility blade can be damaged by using too much pressure with a carbide sharpener --- the edge of the blade becomes wavy and irregular.> You can touch up a utility blade, (that is, make it a little sharper) using the ceramic edge afterward --- but that extra step is usually a waste of time for utility blades, which will dull quickly in use anyway.> Maybe "medium quality" blades (such as an average quality hunting knife) might benefit from carbide followed by ceramic, but try the ceramic only, first. If, say 30, swipes with the ceramic side does not adequately sharpen the knife, then try 5 light swipes with the carbide sharpener, followed by 20 light swipes with the ceramic, and so on.> There is another option for truly fine blades -- a honer. If you see a chef "wiping" two chef's knives against each other, that's what he/she is doing -- honing. But it is better to use a honing rod (and follow the instructions which come with it, or watch a U-tube video). Honing straightens up microscopically bent or folded portions of the edge, and can dramatically "sharpen" a knife without removing any metal. If you use a honer, maybe once in 5 or 10 times that you hone the knife, you'll probably need to sharpen it with a ceramic sharpener -- albeit only a few strokes, 10 at most.> Caution, large rod-like ceramic sharpeners are sometimes described as (or sold as) "honers" -- maybe they hone and sharpen at the same time, but, if so, they are removing metal from your blade. The purpose of a honer (or a leather barber's strop) is to sharpen without removing metal. I recommend using a metal honer, followed (if necessary) by minimal sharpening with a ceramic sharpener.> How can you tell when a chef's knife is sharp? If (with a light sawing motion) the blade can cut a ripe tomato without depressing the skin, then it is sharp. I recommend that you forget about trying to sharpen blades sharp enough to shave the skin off your arms -- in the real world, there is no use for chef's knives, table knives, hunting knives, or pocket knives that sharp, and the weakened blades are more likely to chip. I doubt that you could get a knife that sharp with a Smith CKK sharpener. That's not criticizing the Smith CKK sharpener -- it does what it needs to do quickly and easily.> Do NOT use on scissors, bypass garden sheers, or grafting blades, or any other blades that are sharpened on only one side. Doing so will permanently ruin the blades.

I tried a whetstone first. It worked but it took a while and was complicated to do right. Now with the Smith's CCKS 2-Step Knife Sharpener everything in my house is sharp. Kitchen knives, and my pocket knives. I can tell when my kitchen knives need a touch up and it is fast and easy. Just a few pulls through each side. I have had it for about 8 months and it seems durable enough. If it ever wears out I am getting another for sure.

Love smith sharpeners, always get the job done

I go through several of these a year. They’re inexpensive and do a good job. The problem with these inexpensive ones is they don’t last very long. Typically, they last anywhere from six months to a year. This depends upon how long you use them. The nice things about these is You can use them on your expensive knives and they don’t ruin them and they do an excellent job on sharpening with both the course and the fine adjustments. I keep one in the shop for my fishing knives and one in the house for the regular knives.

This works very well. Hopefully it will last longer than some say.