Lanksy Blademedic 4-in-1 Knife Sharpener - PS-MED01

I always keep 2 of these handy and over the Christmas break I gave both of mine away to family members who wanted one on the spot. I still have to send out 2 more that I promised to others, and order 2 more for myself. These are the best value for your dollar of any pocket pull-through knife sharpeners on the market. In the picture it looks like it is made of cheap plastic like most other pull through sharpeners. When you hold this for the 1st time you will be surprised at how solid it feels. This is the main reason I pass it around for others to have a gander at it, I like watching the surprise on their face when they feel how solid this little sharpener is. The carbide sharpener will take a lot of steel off of your knife blade, so I would recommend using it sparingly and only when you have deep nicks to take out of your blade. The ceramic pull through sharpener is perfect for regular maintenance and is mainly what I use for on-the-spot touch ups. I find that usually I can touch up a knife in 10 strokes or less if maintained regularly. If I am working out small nicks it takes a bit longer. On bigger nicks I start on the carbide sharpener until the big nick becomes a small nick, then I finish working it out on the ceramic side. I like the that diamond rod is held closed and held open via magnets. It doesn't come open in my pocket and stays in place while opened and being used. It is great for serrations and sharpening scissors or other blades they usually require a file. Once again you have a ceramic rod mounted on the frame that can also be used in place of the diamond rod and will take off less metal. This is also great for quick touch ups on blades that are maintained regularly. This does not replace a full sharpening solution, but it is the best sharpener that I have found for everyday carry that will fit in my pocket.

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 use 20 deg = recommended for kitchen knives and probably good for most pocket knives 25 deg = recommended for "outdoor" knives, trades some sharpness for durability 30 deg = recommended for big heavy cutting tools where durability is more important than sharpness With 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.

This is a great sharpener to carry on a backcountry trip or in a bug-out bag, but keep in mind you're not going to achieve razor sharp high quality edges with a carbide style sharpener. It's solidly built and seems of good quality, but this type of sharpener is only good for restoring a truly very dull blade with a ruined/chipped edge or in an emergency when you just need an edge that will cut, but I wouldn't use it on a nice expensive knife when you have other options. Recently, I've become interested in knife sharpening and no professional sharpener will be using this type of tool. They'll be using a gradient of sharpening stones from course to fine to put a high quality edge on a blade probably using a freehand sharpening technique, which is a bit tricky and can take some practice to get right. This gets at another issue with this sharpener, the ceramic may be of little use since ceramic is usually a very fine (vs course) material used to polish an edge at the very end of a series of sharpening stones or materials. Since the carbide blades will put a pretty rough edge on the blade, it will likely take a very very long time to smooth that edge out using ceramic. What you really need is an intermediate material to use between the carbide and ceramic. With all that said, this is a good tool to have on-hand if you simply need to restore an edge either in an emergency situation or on an old knive that's not particularly expensive and is used as a utility blade etc and doesn't need a razor edge. Another thing to keep in mind is a carbide sharpener removed quite a lot of material so if you use this often your knife blade will get smaller and smaller over time. Just a word of caution! I give 4 instead of 5 stars b/c the diamond rod for sharpening serrations sometimes flops loose. It would be nice if it clipped into place a little better. Also, the ceramic block on mine came with a small chip in it which does affect the ability to use the long ceramic piece (to the upper right of the ceramic 'V' in the picture).

I just love the design and functionality of the little knife sharpener. It’s got everything you need in a travel (mobile) sharpener and does the trick of much more expensive tools out there. I also love that it has the rod for sharpening serrated knives as well. Overall, I’ve been super impressed with this gear, how easy it is to stow away, and the quality seems solid, and hope it lasts for a long time. Also, it’s very affordable!

This little guy really is amazing! It's very solidly put together, I don't think this thing will ever break. But even as robust as this little guy is, there's no problem taking it apart to maintain. The sharpening stones it comes with work perfectly, seem very tough, and sharpened my blades extremely well. And the extremely compact size is a huge bonus. I work as a stock person and use my pocket knife constantly to open boxes and junk. It continually gets dull, but having this handy new sharpener has definitely made it easier to keep my knife sharp. Oh, and the casing has a very impressive powder coat covering . I'd be surprised if it ever started to chip, or get scratched through to the metal. The only single complaint I have is that the tapered rod is a little tricky to get out. If you have long nails it'd probably be easy. But for me, it hurts my fingers to try and pry it out. Using a knife or something with a point to pry it is no problem at all. Should have just used a slightly smaller magnet to hold the rod down. EDIT: I am now buying this for the FIFTH time! Not because any of the other ones broke or stopped working or anything like that, but because they keep getting stolen. This one isn't going to be put in a publicly accessible spot anymore.

If you are looking for the ultimate blade honing system, this isn't it. But it doesn't advertise to be as such. This product is clearly marketed (and its literature supports this thesis) as a tool for providing urgent attention to hurting blades. That might be in the field, countless miles from whatever larger and heavier honing systems you own, or it might be a visit to a girlfriend's apartment, with a knife block in the kitchen full of five uselessly dull knives. In both areas, this product works with excellence! First off, this product is roughly the size of a medium-large folding knife, so it is easily packable into a backpack, BUG bag, or tool kit. Secondly, it provides 4 sharpening options, and you can use all or any combination of the 4 to get a workable edge. I have been sharpening knives since I was ten, and own a number of high quality systems for sharpening. I picked this item up for its compactness and simplicity of operation to add to my overall options. I've been very pleased with it. In order to test this product out, I put it to use against a 14 year old Buck folder that has been relegated to storage and an inexpensive Leatherman's primary blade. Neither were blades that I cared significantly about. In beginning my test, both were "functional dull"...capable of cutting, not capable of any sort of shaving sharpness. Using just the carbide and ceramic pull through systems, I was able to put an edge on both knives withing minutes that was capable of clean shaving hair with a few strokes of the blade. 30 seconds of leather work honed those blades even further. The carbide hone didn't remove excessive metal or damage anything. Were they "hair popping sharp"? No. Were they capable of accomplishing virtually every cutting task asked of each blade? I would say so. This little system worked extremely well, and if my knives could never get any sharper than it was capable of doing, I wouldn't lose sleep over it. It isn't the ultimate, but in terms of size, portability and economy of time usage, it's a fantastic combination.

I like this Lansky PS-MED01 BladeMedic pocket sharpener much better than the Smith's PP1 Pocket Pal Multifunction Sharpener that I purchased first. This unit looks and feels much more substantial than the Smith's does, and with my large hands, I find it easier to use. That said, the two sharpeners work about the same, though the Lansky model offers an additional ceramic hone for serrated knives, that will also allow you to fine-tune the edge of most any knife, if you know what you're doing. Keep in mind that any of these pocket field sharpeners with fixed-angle sharpening elements are not the answer for every knife you may own, since some knives may use an altogether different final angle to achieve the blade's cutting edge. Indeed, you could screw up a fine knife with a significantly differently angled cutting edge, by aggressively using a gizmo like this. Consider how you would sharpen all of these edges, with a fixed-angle sharpener like this \/, when your edge profiles may look like this: ^ /\ |\ /| This is a rough example, but it illustrates the point. Also, different knives use different steels, and different steels offer different qualities. Some are harder to sharpen, but hold their edges very well. Others are easy to sharpen, but require frequent sharpening. Some are rust-resistant... Some are flexible... Others are very rigid (but brittle)... Indeed, some fine blades feature one or more different steels laminated over one another, to produce a blade that possesses the qualities of several types of steel. Still, for most of the knives in your drawer or pocket, this handy tool will restore a sharp cutting edge, as promised, in just a few strokes through the carbide and/or ceramic slots. The secret here is to use this tool often, and never let your knives get dull in the first place! A good quality knife, kept sharp, will serve you a lifetime unless you break or lose it. Really, what we're most often aiming to do when restoring a knife's cutting edge, is to "realign that edge". Think of a piece of paper or a business card, viewed edge-on ------ ; now think of that edge slightly wrinkled, or zigzagged... Magnified, a dull knife's cutting edge when viewed edge-on, may look something like this: --*-^--*-^-- (* ^ represent burs and irregularities on the otherwise straight edge --- ) Drawing that edge across a hone or sharpening carbide/ceramic--or a sharpening steel--clears off the burs and realigns the edge, so that it looks like this again ------ and cuts as it should. This is an entirely different approach than grinding a new edge on the blade, and is a much better approach to maintaining a sharp edge. I think you can see where achieving the correct angle to realign the edge is of paramount importance! To fine-tune "any" edge to factory specs, you'll need something a little more sophisticated, like the Spyderco Tri-Angle Sharpmaker Knife Sharpener 204MF (available right here on Amazon). It comes with an instructional DVD and there is plenty of You Tube on how to use this system. Understand that using this device properly requires that you develop a skillset. I will review the Spyderco Tri-Angle Sharpmaker at a future date... For expensive, high-quality knives that require more than the edge to be realigned, you may best be served by having a pro do it for you. A prominent high-end restaurant in your area (or a quality butcher shop) can no doubt recommend a sharpening service. And some companies, like Benchmade, for instance, offer customers a lifetime blade restoration/re-sharpening service. In any case, for what it is and what it does, at the price offered, I give the Lansky BladeMedic a full Five Stars. For those planning to carry this tool at all times, you might prefer the aforementioned and lighter Smith's PP1 Pocket Pal. But I prefer this one. --RayB

Really wish I could give it 3.5 stars, but more 3 than 4 stars. Regular pocket knife is a Victorinox. With a whetstone or diamond block I can get a good edge though maybe not quite shaving good. However, what happens is I get a good edge and use it, and over half the time it isn't that good and sharp. Hoped this would help. It does. I can give it three or 4 strokes once a week, and keep a good though not great edge on it. Which means most of the time it is sharper than it otherwise would be. Quite handy. A couple of my real high quality knives can get a really nice shaving edge on them. And I haven't used this as it clearly wouldn't accomplish that. I use a diamond coated stone instead. Now if you have an abused or super cheap blade, this will dress it up fairly good, quickly and painlessly. You can stroke it a few times and get a decent usable blade. I have a cheap lockable folder I carry when kayaking. Not wanting to risk my fine knives, it keeps such quite decently, workable sharp edges without much time or fanfare. Some complain of the weight, it is metal, but it isn't really heavy. I like it myself. Much better than plastic encased sharpeners. The diamond tapered part is hinged in plastic. Really poor decision. Hasn't been a problem yet, but it would have been much nicer if that had a metal hinge point. The one I got had a knot or spot on the serrated long ceramic sharpener up top. I used a diamond stone on a another sharpener to smooth it out and all is fine. So for junk or abused blades the carbide can clean it up, the ceramic can put a workable good edge on it. Up top is a ceramic strip for serrated blades, and the conical diamond coated sharpener for fine serrated edges. In fact, if you are careful, that diamond coated pick can put as fine an edge as you have patience to produce. For not great blades you can easily get good edges, with patience the diamond pick can get as good an edge as is possible. It is a nearly all metal design, which is sturdy though handy and not too expensive. Well worth the money. Maybe I should bump it to 4 stars, but really 3.5 is about right. And here I am settling on 3 stars. It is better than maybe it sounds in my review considering the cost isn't too dear.