Smith’s TRI6 Arkansas Tri-Hone Stone Sharpening System Grey 6” Fine, Medium, & Coarse Stones 3-Way Honing Nonslip Rubber Feet Restore Tools, Hunting, Kitchen, Fishing & Pocket Knives

This is where it all starts. If you’re a knife enthusiast or for any other reason have been curious to try your hand at sharpening your own blades, this is the best tool with which to begin. And, like the best of tools, once you’ve moved pat the beginner’s stage, it will continue to serve you for many years. After 7 years’ use and all the time whetting my skills with it, I’ll say it is best and only tool you absolutely need for sharp, and thereby safe, blades. Course: Rarely used, but have set some new edges with it on cheap knoves that were little more than punched-out sheet metal. Medium: The starting point for seriously dull knives. Can take some serious metal off when needed. Fine: At 1k - 1.2k grit, it’s as fine as many of the more course water stones. If you’re looking for a functional blades tool outside the kitchen or very fine woodworking, this is probably as far as you need to go. I personally add a few passes on my 3k/8k water stone to get that elusive razor-edge, but the Tri-Hone is all you need, beginning to end, to shape a dull tool into a highly functional one. A few tips: - Use an angle guide starting out. No shame. Consistency in the angle is the hardest and most important thing to master in good knife-sharpening. - Use the whole stone. Whichever stone you use, try to use all part of it equally (back-to-front and side-to-side), or else you’ll end up with a concave middle that will prevent you from sharpening. - I use Rem Oil as a lubricant for the stones, for the moving parts of my knives, and for the blades themselves. Has worked well for a decade. I use the same to sharpen kitchen knives, but use mineral oil to coat the blades after a thorough cleaning (food safe and prevents rust). All it all, this is your desert-island sharpener. I use it weekly after a decade, and it predictably produces the results I need. And for the price (compare it to combo water stones), it’s a no-brainer. Tl;dr: If you want a tool onwhich you can learn to sharpen blades that will continue to serve you long after you’ve mastered the basics, this is it.

At the price range you can get this sharpener, it is a very good buy. Good water stones will cost you $40 a piece but are much larger so easier to move your blade across. This is under $30 for 3 stones and a stand but the stones are about 7/8" smaller in width and 2" smaller in length than a traditional Japanese water stone. If you are used to using larger stones, you may have a hard time adjusting to the size of these stones. If you are a beginner or someone used to more casual sharpening with a rod or a smaller pocket stone, this is a nice step up and perhaps a good introduction to stones especially if you own a few smaller blades or pocket knives. If you haven't used a sharpening stone before, it does take some practice before getting used to. The blade guide that comes with it can be helpful for some blades but not all. If you aren't sure of the edge angle on your blade, it's best to check with the manufacturer of your knife for recommendations on proper sharpening and edge angle. Most of my knives are a Scandi grind which has a very high bevel angle and sharpening them on these stones is super easy without the edge guide. Most importantly I think is using the right stone for the current condition of your knife. Most times you are NOT going to be using the coarse grit stone unless your knife is super dull (usually from not being maintained properly). I often start with the medium grit stone which removes minimal metal from the blade. The fine stone is for taking it that last little bit or maybe just for touching up a bit before doing some more serious work with your knife. You could then finish off with a leather strop block if you wanted but most of the time that is overkill in my opinion. Who really needs to split hairs anyway? Overall, I think this is an excellent sharpening system for someone that is a more casual knife user (camper, hunter, hiker, bushcrafter) that likes maintaining there own blades at home. A more serious user, or perhaps collector, of knives will want a more serious sharpening system like Japanese water stones or a precision diamond/ceramic set-up.

I am very happy with these stones. I have used them to sharpen up 4 knives so far and I have nothing but good things to say about it but I could use some practice. I've used them to touch up 2 to a nice a working edge, I'm not good enough for shaving sharp but I bet the stone is, and I've also used it to reprofile 2 knives that were to more or less butter knife sharpness, one of them a Buck 119 with a very damaged blade, chips all along it and a broken tip. I was able to reprofile and give it a nice magazine slicing edge and a new tip. The stone again has done very well, I don't have much experience with sharpening so my personal results could be better but i like it and think I could have done worse as a starter set. The set includes 3 stones in a triangle confirgtuion, approximately 400 700 and 1000 grit respectively, it includes a plastic base with rubber no slip feet and also a small bottle of Smiths honing solution. The solution is fine but I used it all with 4 knives and replaced it with mineral oil. After owning for a few months the mid grade stone has fallen off. I attribute this not entirely to bad quality but also my use of mineral oil as a lubricant. Other than that the stones are still decent. If you're just getting started sharpening or need to keep a few knives maintained this isn't your worst option. But it is worth keeping in mind the stones might fall off. I reattached with super glue, and at a certain point your skill may surpass the stones capability. As I understand you can only do so much with a certain grit and the stones go get clogged with debris. I use steel wool, soap and hot water to mitigate this. Additionally for longer or different shaped blades the cutting surface is somewhat small, fhisb is helped with technique and practice but more area is better. It is sufficient for a small pocket knife easily. I've also managed to sharpen and reprofile a larger knives and a hand axe. However doing this is a slow process even with the course stone. But it can be done.

I'll admit, I am a sharpening novice but with a growing collection of blades a good sharpener is a must. For the price this is an excellent system for a beginner or even a casual knife enthusiast. Free hand sharpening seemed a bit daunting at first, but with some practice on junk knives it is pretty easy to get the technique down. Smith's includes a small angled guide to help also which is very handy as well as a bottle of solution for the stones. It's not a huge stone to work with but sufficient for most kitchen knives, pocket knives and larger fixed blades. Sure, you can sharpen a machete or hatchet but it's geared more average sized stuff. As others have noticed the base occasionally slides around and placing on top of a towel or something with grip is ideal. The stones wash easily, too. Sharpening with the solution inevitably results in some "sludge". I give it a quick bath in blue Dawn and a quick scrub with an old toothbrush to get it clean and let it air dry. Just be careful handling it when wet. Overall, I really like this kit for the price. Sure, better systems probably exist but I wanted something to learn on without breaking the bank and with some practice I was able to get my Spyderco hair shaving sharp. I love my blades, but with so many other hobbies I can't really justify spending $100 on something. Its a pretty basic set up but it works. On a side note, while it was quite awesome to achieve enough sharpness that it could shave hair off my arm...the sense of accomplishment was quickly spoiled by the fact that I realized I completely lack hair on one arm. I'm sticking with the paper test to gauge sharpness and sporting long sleeves for a few weeks now....

I'm a chef and needed a sharpening stone for my home knives. After doing the research I purchased the TRI-6 (six means the length of the stones) three-stone sharpening system with plastic base, medium Arkansas stone (600 grit), fine Arkansas stone (1,000 grit), coarse synthetic stone, and bottle of premium honing solution were all excellent in quality. I want to point out that some reviewer's feel that the Tri-6 is too short for longer knives, if you place the stone in an vertical position towards 12 o'clock, and you're right handed, and place the heel of the knife facing away from you on the left at the right angle at the six o'clock position, and with your wrist you flick the knife away from you, you can control its length so that it fits the stone. As far as pressure, you can use up to 5 lbs. or so depending on the condition of the blade. There are many times that I use very little pressure much less than 5 lbs. it depends on the blades condition. You do not have to place your left hand on the blade for general maintenance, but you can if you need to (wear safety gloves.) If you use a steel it should be longer than your knife blade when you hold the steel secured on a towel in an upright position, and you use a downward wrist flick motion with the right pressure for the blade condition. If not you will hit the surface the steel is pointing on, or yourself! In the finest knife shop in New York City for Japanese knives (Korin) they use stones that are all shorter than the blade with no problem, but they use them correctly. Do not just watch someone on the internet and copy them. Use caution when sharpening your knives or let a professional do it for you. For those of you who have not use a stone at home the fine 1,000 grit is like a Diamond Steel, (not like the steel in your home kitchen set that is only around a rockwell scale 55 on average, and will not sharpen your knives only straighten them) either the Tri-6 or a Diamond, or Ceramic steel will sharpen your home knifes, and then you can use your home set steel to feather them as you use them. Then, you can sharpen your knives with the Tri-6 once or twice a week depending on how much you use them. If you don't use them you don't sharpen them. I also use sushi grade professional knives and I can't use the Tri-6 because my knives are (63 rockwell) which needs (whetstones) and/or a ceramic steel as well. The Tri-6 is excellent for the home chef or hobbyist, but don't forget the (safety gloves) and take your time. A great product at a great price.

I think the Smith's 6" Tri-Hone kit is great. I am a sharpening novice and didn't want to spend much on my first attempt at using sharpening stones.I found this and decided the price was right. I am very happy with my purchase. It got my stainless steel kitchen knives sharper than new! I decided not to use the included honing oil because it is not NSF. I am using water instead Mineral oil was an option, but oil is messy. I clean the stones with Dawn detergent and a toothbrush. I am definitely novice but I have learned a lot. Knife sharpening is not as challenging as it once seemed. and remember it gets easier with practice. 1. Technique - There are a ton of videos from experts on YouTube. Watch them and learn. 2. Consistency is everything - Keeping consistent angle is more important than the perfect angle you sharpen. 3. Keep it even - Pressure and number of strokes should be the same for each side. Be consistent as you draw the blade across the stone. The bevel should be the same thickness from heel to point. 4. Patience - Don't change from coarse to medium (or fine) until the Knife is sharp. A light touch is better. Go back to a courser grit if you need to. 5. Feel the wire - The wire is a burr that develops along the edge. As the knife gets sharp, you'll be able to feel the wire by running a finger across the edge (NOT ALONG the edge). Sharpening your knife reduces the width of the cutting edge thinner than aluminum foil. As you sharpen on one side, The super thin edge is pushed (ie folded) over to the opposite side. You can think about moving to a finer grit stone when you feel the wire. 6. Keep the cutting edge facing away from your hand when you wipe off the knife. The knife may be sharper than you think. A sharp knife will cut right through a towel and your skin before you feel it. 7. Don't let your knife get too dull once it is sharp. Once you get a kitchen knife sharp, you may only need the medium and fine stone. 8. Use a honing steel to align the cutting edge if the knife gets a little dull. 5 Stars.

It may be the only sharpener you should need, but I know that people who like to keep their knives sharp will have other sharpeners as well. However, this is on my bench all the time and for a quick sharpening, it is my go to tool. I really like the fact that you have an instant choice of coarse, medium, and fine stones by simply rotating them in the stand. Most of the time I start with the medium and finish with the fine, but the coarse gets used for things like chisels and garden tools. I like to take it with me when I am camping or hunting as well, as this one sharpener will do the job on almost any item that needs an edge. The only thing I need to warn you about is that the stones are by nature, brittle, and if you drop the sharpener, one or more may break. This happened to me. The other thing is that the stones will come unglued if you have it in a camping trailer and it gets hot and is subject to lots of shock and vibration. I learned this the hard way, hence this is my second Tri-hone sharpener. I'll treat this one nicer.

Although, I'm no expert knife sharpener by any means, I do have an idea about how to use stones. Given that - I'm not sure about this sharpener and have mixed feelings about it. It was packaged well and seems to be a solid item. It doesn't move when sharpening a knife as long as it's placed on a decent surface. The 'angle' tool (if you can call a piece of plastic about an inch long a tool) seems almost useless as it's not big enough to guide the knife across the surface. Best to use your own judgment with regards to cutting angle. The stones themselves seem to be decent enough to last some time. My main annoyance with this product is that the medium and the fine stones are EXACTLY the same in touch/feel. Obviosuly quality cotrol is an issue at Smiths since they put 2 of the same stones on and I don't know which is really wrong or missing - although I believe it to be the medium. Therefore I have a coarse and 2 fines! Not very good for those knifes that need a little edge put onto them without going right back to square 1 and putting a whole new egde on them. Since I didn't open the sharpener for a few weeks after receiving it, it was too late to return. Therefore check your stones immediately and return if they are not right. I'm a little dissapointed in this product.

Width of the stone is less than 2-inch, Fine stone is not fine, don't know what kind of stone?

I bought this knife sharpening set to use when I travel. I have the Wicked Edge sharpening system which is outstanding in my view. I decided I dont want to cart that around when travelling. The Smiths Tri Hone is easier to travel with. I hate using blunt knives and I get annoyed if I am at someones place and their knives are blunt. Not that this happens that much. Probably only at 98% of peoples places I visit. In use the Tri Hone does a good job. Going through the grits you can put a very good edge on a knife. For the price they are excellent value. It doesn’t replace my Wicked Edge but complements it nicely.

Afila muy bien los cuchillos, muy completo.

そもそもの仕様なのか荒砥と中砥は油を吸い過ぎてほぼ乾いた状態で研ぐことになる、仕上げの白い面まで研ぐと切れ味は必要充分になるが同じオイルストーンなら国内メーカーの方が研ぎやすい

Bought this sharpening tri stone for my carving knives. I used it two or three times did a great job, the knives came out sharp and ready to carve. Mind you one needs to learn how to strophe the knife on the stone to make it a positive result. You can find numerous videos to show how to.