Perhaps the best product in its category! Sharpening requires a lot of experience and knowledge, the tool that will do the job can be a simple sandpaper or a broken ceramic, so it comes last. However, when you are out camping, on a long trip, or on a multi-day hunting trip and you want to always have your knife or anything sharp you use (e.g. scissors) sharp, then this product can meet all your needs, IF of course, you have the knowledge and experience required.
The tool works great even though due to experience, I use a simple ceramic, which I always have with me.
Since I mentioned it, the small ceramic it has is perfect for serrations and more! Also important, the large ceramic has a handle on one side, which if you remove carefully, the ceramic comes out so you can clean it more easily, or if you want, you can even keep only that to avoid carrying the whole system. (It is small of course, and the whole thing is quite light, the diamond plates make it a bit heavier, but it is still portable enough to fit in a pocket if needed, although it is a bit thick for a pocket.
Instructions for use and tips:
Dampen the diamond plates a little to keep them and NEVER apply force when sharpening the knife on them! Generally, the most common mistake I see is that people apply much more pressure than they should on the knife, thinking it will sharpen faster? better? I don't know why they do this, but it is a BIG mistake. Also, as you approach the final passes, reduce the pressure even more, especially when finishing the passes on the ceramic, the last ones should have even less pressure. The key is to do the exact same thing on both sides and maintain the correct angle, always the same, on each pass. As we go up in grit, we triple the passes on each different grit. For example, 10 passes on the coarse diamond, 30 on the fine, 90 on the ceramic, 300 on the leather (on the leather, and about ten correct passes are enough to remove any burrs on the edge. Personally, I sharpen in such a way that even though I create a burr, I remove it before reaching the leather, or it remains so little that with a few passes on the leather, it disappears and the edge is perfectly clean. The secret on the leather, although almost the same rules apply there, be careful not to apply too much pressure, the blade comes out of the leather and keep in mind, 1 to 2 degrees less angle than what you were sharpening at, because the leather folds over the edge, and the angle is not deceiving. So, have the knife slightly lower towards the leather, lock your wrists to maintain the correct and stable angle, but keep all your muscles relaxed, both in your shoulders and fingers. Don't squeeze anything. Especially from the elbows to the shoulders, have your muscles even more relaxed than in your hands. Always sharpen first as many cheap knives as you can find in the kitchen drawer, or from acquaintances and friends, and gradually move on to the very expensive knives because it requires a lot of practice (hundreds, if not more, knives) to be able to sharpen an expensive knife without damaging it! The sure thing is, everyone can do it!