Smith's TRI-6 Arkansas TRI-HONE Sharpening Stones System.
by Smith Abrasives
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List Price: Our Price: $14.41 You Save: $15.54 (52%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Tools See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Smith's TRI-6 Arkansas TRI-HONE Sharpening Stones System.
Customer Review: Works Great with No Surprises
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought these stones to sharpen kitchen knives at home on a budget. I read lots of reviews before deciding to go with this product and Amazon users did not do me wrong. The pros and cons were all clearly laid out and there were no surprises when I used them the first time.
As has been said, the stones could be a little longer for working on full-sized knives. I knew that going into the purchase, though. So I can't complain. You just have to be a little more careful as you work. Working with larger blades might be difficult, however. My 7" is about as high as I'd want to go.
The tip about laying a towel under the plastic base was dead on, too. There are rubber feet, but they don't really provide much grip on smooth surfaces. The whole thing will slide around on you if you let it. It's a total non-issue if you know what you're getting into.
I recall being a little concerned that base was plastic, but it's actually fairly solid. If you aren't abusing the thing there shouldn't be a problem.
4/5 stars purely because I was on a budget. I'm sure some of the really expensive products are nicer, but for the price you can't go wrong with this one.
Customer Review: Even sharpens a Shun dude!
Summary: 5 Stars
Yes, I just touched up my Shun elite Santoku with the hard stone, the knife will now treetop hairs and get all the little ones with one stroke. I had this sharpener for a few months now, but just started to really get my technique down. I first practiced on my cheaper knives. The trick with bigger knives is to only use a straight back and forth motion (block positioned in a north-south position). Use the back and forth motion on one section of the blade for a few strokes then move up, repeat. Flip the knife over, repeat. I start by doing the heel of the knife, then belly, then tip, flip/repeat. This is the same as those little hones that attach to your knife (if you know what I'm talking about). They essentially grind one bit of the blade at a time, just like my method for large knives. You can still pull a large knife across the stone in one stroke to finish the edge, but I don't recommend it for any meaningful sharpening of a larger knife. Now small knives are a different story, there is plenty of surface to do the whole blade in one swipe. So I give this a 5 out of 5 for price and effectiveness if you know how to use this technique.Customer Review: Does what it's supposed to - sharpens a blade
Summary: 4 Stars
I spent a good several hours honing all the straight bladed knives in my kitchen. My wrist and shoulder weren't happy with me, but it was a long time coming. The lowest grain stone left a fine layer of grey dust on my counter top, but to get the dullest knives sharp, I had to use it quite a bit.
The angle guide is certainly helpful to initially check the angle, but with a few minutes of practice, your hand should be getting the angle without it. I never used the polishing stone as I'm not sharpening any $500 professional cutlery, but it's nice to have it if I felt the need to use it at some point.
It seemed a little more expensive than it should be at first, but when I think about it, the stones should last at least a few years, so it makes sense why it might be a little more expensive. There's not really much more to say about sharpening stones - it's about as low-tech as it gets because people have been using something like this for thousands of years. Thankfully, it's just as easy to sharpen knives as it was back then as well.
Customer Review: Talk about sharp!
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this sharpening system for my Henckels, they are the light of my kitchen and I use them daily for cooking. I hadn't sharpened them since I bought them and the honing just wasn't doing it anymore. I shopped around and found this item at my local hardware store for TWICE the price, so I bought mine here on Amazon.
I agree with one of the other reviewers on the size - they are a little small for full size knives, requiring the user to work just a little bit harder. This is the only reason I gave it 4 instead of 5 stars.
This sharpening system got my knives razor sharp - literally. I was able to shave hair from my forearm with my Santoku after sharpening with this product. The kit is well made, with the plastic parts being very thick and durable - I expect it to last a while.
Because the base is smooth and flat, I recommend putting it down on something non stick (I used a damp towel) when sharpening larger knives, it helped a lot.
Customer Review: A Good and Needed Product
Summary: 4 Stars
If you have kitchen knives, and don't have some sort of tri-stone sharpener, you'll be surprised to use it and find out how sharp a knife should be or could be. The pro's and con's are this:
Pro- comes with the stones already set in the unit, comes with the oil (don't ever skip the oil), good seatting for the stones. Good Price to move beyond an entry level single stone, but not as costly as the 10 inch, $100 models.
Con-I wish it was about 2 inches longer. A person has to be careful with a Santoku knife or butcher's knife to not run the blade off the end and nick it before you draw the entire length of the blade.
In reality, you should have an inch of stone to every inch of blade. This is a good starting point for someone wanting to sharpen their knives on an amateur level. (this is not idustrial in any way).