Lanksy Blademedic 4-in-1 Knife Sharpener - PSMED01

Wow! My father and grandfather were both carpenters. I grew up using a whetstone, oil, and a leather strop to sharpen blades. And that works great when you're at home on a bench. But it's not really an option when you're far from home in the woods. And it takes me about 10 min to put a razor sharp edge on a blade that's in good shape. For some tools in some circumstances it's just not worth the time to go use a whetstone.So I bought this as my first pull through sharpener not really knowing how well it would work or if I'd like it. It's great! I just got it today and used it to put an edge on some cheap steak knives and a couple of cheap chefs knives. And I touched up a couple of new Smith & Wesson assisted folding knives I just bought.How did it work? Fast! If you need to put a quick edge on a dull blade the carbide in this BladeMedic will do that. The ceramic will polish it reasonably well with a few more strokes. The ceramic for serrations and the tapered diamond rod work as advertised. Does it produce an edge like a whetstone? No. The carbide is pretty aggressive and leaves the blade a bit wavy. But the ceramic can polish the final result to a decent smoothness relatively quickly.The end result is probably 90% of the way to a razor sharp blade produced by a whetstone for someone with the skill to use it. But this takes far less time and almost no skill. And the thing is tiny. For a survival situation or putting an edge on a work knife quickly , this thing is great! I'm not throwing away my whetstone but I'm keeping this BladeMedic in my pocket or my pack from now on. This is perfect when time counts and you need an edge to get something done whether that's a chore around the yard or a survival situation.It's well made and solid. It's just big enough to grip safely. The metal frame makes it heavy but also very rigid. Four different sharpening tools ensure that you can sharpen just about any blade. And the carbide as well as the ceramic rods can be replaced easily. For less than 10 bucks this thing is a great value.Edit 01/18/2020: I've had such good service from the blade medic the past 4 years that I recently ordered the Lansky QuadSharp and C-Sharp. I just received them today. They are identical in size and shape to the Blade Medic but where that tool has a single fixed angle at 22.5 deg for both the carbide and the ceramic, these two tools ditch the fold out diamond rod in favor of 4 different sharpening angles, 2 on the top and 2 on the bottom.The 4 sharpening angles are.....17 deg = really thin blades with a razor edge but not durable under hard use20 deg = recommended for kitchen knives and probably good for most pocket knives25 deg = recommended for "outdoor" knives, trades some sharpness for durability30 deg = recommended for big heavy cutting tools where durability is more important than sharpnessWith the QuadSharp you get those 4 angles in carbide sharpeners. With the C-Sharp you get those 4 angles in ceramic sharpening rods. Both tools also include the same big piece of angled ceramic that's on the Blade Medic which Lansky calls a bench stone. That can be used to sharpen serrations in a blade. I use it more often in place of a strop to put a final polish on a blade and remove the microscopic burr that the pull through sharpening stones invariably leave.LOL, I'm not a salesman for Lansky. But I liked the Blade Medic so much I figured with the three tools, I can sharpen just about anything in the house whether it's in the kitchen, my toolbox, the garden shed, or my backpack. And I can hone my pocket knife to a sharper edge if I want sharpness instead of durability. My whetstone was inherited from my father and will probably last my lifetime. I may be getting lazy but that whetstone is seeing less and less use. I pull it now more for nostalgia and to keep my skills than any real need.

It can be carried in the pocket, backpack or whatever and is an essential tool for “out in the woods” survival whether it’s just in the chicken coop or whenever you need to refresh the edge on your blade in a survivalsituation. Wouldn’t be without one and may well order a second or a third one.

Lansky's PS-MED01 looks very much like Smith's Pocket Pal, which I have used and recommended as a good kit item for blade repair and quick sharpening of most blades. But the Smith has a plastic body while the Lansky's is metal, so the Lansky is heavier.The Lansky is also longer, which means that its tapered diamond rod is longer as well - a good thing. As with the Smith, the tapered diamond rod can be pulled from its stay and rotated 180 degrees to a locked open position for use as a diamond file (sharpening hard to reach items, serrations, etc.). The Lansky rod's longer length gives advantage in use.The Lansky's length afforded mounting an almost 2 inch length of exposed ceramic bar on angle to the sharpener body. This ceramic bar has a rounded-point cross section to engage and sharpen most serrated edge scallops; of course it can be used as a ceramic rod to fine-sharpen any edge as well. I've done both with good result.The Lansky, like the Smith, also includes "Vee" sharpening notches of carbide (for edge repair or sharpening a rough-use edged knife) and of ceramic (for easy fine sharpening to a good edge). These Vee's are set at 40 degrees compound, which means the sharpening surfaces are at 20 degrees from the center line of the Vee; this is standard for a sharp, yet strong edge. Not all knives have secondary grinds of 20 degrees, however. You may be blunting a knife with a super fine bevel of 15 degrees, or only grinding away at the bevel shoulder of a "hard use" knife with bevel of 25 degrees.Caution using these Vee's - the body is metal versus the Smith's plastic, so take care not to press downward strongly when using a Vee; these are meant to be drawn through, not sawn through.All in all, The Lansky Blade Medic is a more useful field sharpener than the Smith Pocket Pal, and would serve well; but it would likely ride in pack or kit, not in pocket due to weight and size (as would the Smith, too, for that matter). The difference between them is weight versus increased usefulness; this is a user preference. I've given the Lansky 4 stars only due to its weight (I'd give the Smith 4, too, due to its lack of a sharpening bar surface).

This is a must have! Very satisfied with my purchase. I really like the quality, it will last a long time. You can’t go wrong with Lansky. I always have it in my vehicle and it’s a great product for the outdoors. Thank you!