GATCO (“Great American Tool Company”) has been acquired by Bear and Son Cutlery. Their “Edgemate” and “Ultimate Diamond” kits are still the best for the $$. I’ve owned and used their diamond kit for over 20 years now, for kitchen knives to machetes, and the reason is because of the design of the hones. Unlike other kits where you have to assemble hones and guide rods - LANSKY comes to mind - GATCO hones are pre-assembled as one piece, and the guide rods extend from their holders for added reach. Each come color-coded for use, and the storage box provides a complete, neat little kit to take on trips. I recently e-mailed Bear and Son to suggest swiveling angle-guides for the clamping body as a nice touch for added flexibility, plus a file-sharpening kit for bowhunters to be offered as an accessory. Definitely worth the price! FYI - Kurt17
Good to know. Knives are my hobby and I have quite a few of them because I love variety. I learned to sharpen knives the old school way from a custom knife maker friend of mine and had gotten pretty good at it with Arkansas stones of varying grades then Japanese water stones and ceramic rods of different grades.
The a bunch of my friends recommended the Worksharp Ken Onion edition. Since I got mine I have put away all my stones and ceramic rods except for the super fines ones that I use for a final quick hone. You practice on a cheap knife until you get the hang of it but when you “get it” you’ll run out of knives to sharpen in a big hurry. I even managed to get an amazing edge on a few knives that I had almost given up on over the years.
I just inherited a OLD Marbles (1930s) knife that was all but trashed. It had lived in the owners garage for many years used as a general utility cutter and asked to do tasks such as opening paint cans. In less than 20 minutes I removed all but the most stubborn rust and stains off the blade working it flat against a fine polishing belt and then fixed the edge by taking all the nicks out with the coarse belt until I got to good steel. Then I reset the edge angle and sharpened to shaving sharp with little effort. It’s sitting on my nightstand and I’ll probably take it on my next hunt.