Diamonds are a person's best friend

Sharpening tools? Then Duosharp diamond whetstones are the way to go. They are much faster than conventional sharpening stones, are easy to set up and use, and clean-up in a jiffy, since only water is used in the sharpening process. I particularly encourage the use of the larger (4" x 10") stones, since they allow longer, straight strokes and a complete range of stone grades. By first preparing the tool angle with the Extra Coarse stone, then progressively using the Coarse, Fine and finally Extra Fine stone, you will easily get a sharp, ready to use tool. Enjoy!!

Duosharp Whetstone - it's good but not great.

First off, the whetstone does a decent job of sharpening kitchen knifes. I purchased the 4" X 10" duo stone with one side being graded as a "fine" and the flip side of the stone graded as "very fine".^M
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The good news is the size. 4" X 10" is a decent size working surface. You can hone with long even strokes. The Bad news is the price. A hundred dollar sharpener it isn't. I dare say that if you can find a one of those rare old wet stones that are of comparible lenght and width, buy them. I could not beat the old wet stone with the diamond. ^M
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Speed - well, MAYBE the diamond is a little faster. Not much if any, but perhaps it is a little quicker. But remember this, If I had to choose between a short & narrow diamond stone or a old fashioned Larger wet stone, the wet stone wins everytime. Long smooth strokes make for ultra fine, concisely sharp edges. Short strokes cant match it - in MY opinion.^M
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Bottom line: The size of the stone is it's best feather. You pay dearly for that size. Dont waste your money on a smaller size, it may be cheaper, but every single time you use it, you'll wish you had a larger stone.

planes & chisel sharpening

I purchased this item to sharpen woodworking planes and chisels. Good quality item. Works just as advertised. The larger size allows me to use a Veritas roller jig to keep the blade angle steady (although the jig is not worth the money for other reasons). Water wash off and easy cleaning. The plastic base is worth the extra money IMHO, but the antistick plastic mat works pretty well.

I also used the "scary sharp" system to put a razor sharp edge on the blades. This is a automotive sandpaper on flat plate glass. The DMT fine whetstone is about a 15 micron equivalent where the "sandpaper" goes down to 0.5 micron. The chisel edge shines like a mirror.

My only disappointment was in flattening the backs of old chisels. A coarser grade of diamond is needed for this higher metal removal technique. I tried coarse grade sandpaper, but it wore out quickly. The finer sandpaper grades do not because they only recieve 5-10 strokes after the diamond stone.

For knives and general sharpening utensils, this diamond plate is great. For woodworking, I would buy the coarse / x-fine combination whetstone. Use the coarse side for the one time flattening and the fine or x-fine side for the intermediate surface grinding. Keep one 9"x12" glass plate of really fine micron sandpaper for the final polish.