Smith's Diamond Edge 50386 | Knife Sharpener Reviews

Description

Some kitchen appliances are fantastic and deserve all the raving, some are poor and deserve all the critiquing, and some are just meh……average. You’ll see exactly what I mean as you read through the pros and cons below!

Pros – First The Positives!

I like The Idea Of Having A Pull Through Manual Sharpening Slot – This is by far my favorite feature of the Smith’s Diamond Edge knife sharpener. What Smith’s have attempted to do here is create a hybrid: an electric and non-electric sharpener in one device. I really like this because it allows me the option of using a pull through when I don’t necessarily wish to remove too much metal (which would be the case if you used electric stages 1 & 2). In fact, I wish other brands would take note and incorporate the same idea to their electric sharpeners.

It Has A Lengthy Warranty Period – You get a solid 3 years of warranty coverage.

Cons – Now For The Negatives!

It’s A Little Expensive For What It Does – The Smith’s Diamond Edge knife sharpener is slightly overpriced, in my opinion. And I say this based entirely on the results it delivers. The results are far from professional, and at best mediocre. This could be attributed to the 2 drawbacks I talk about below.

The Wobble Effect – Unsteady sharpening is a huge cause of concern. It can alter your edge profile and ruin your blade completely. This becomes much more of an issue when you consider electric sharpeners, since you only have a limited amount of control to begin with (not the same as a stone, for example). If the wiggle room is small, you can get away with it in most cases. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case here.

If You Have Pretty Thick Blades, You May Want To Reconsider – Smith’s Diamond Edge knife sharpener doesn’t work best with thicker blades unfortunately, as the slots are just not large enough. I don’t mean to sound like a broken record, but this is why it’s so important to have an understanding of what you’re going to be sharpening before buying a sharpener. Even if you don’t have this nailed down to a tee, just having an idea can save you from wasting money buying something that doesn’t serve you.

Some Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Question: What type of abrasives does this use for each stage?
Answer: According to Smith’s it uses Diamond – Medium (400) for the electric coarse stage, Ceramic – Extra Fine (1500) for the electric fine stage, and Ceramic – Extra Fine (1500) for the manual pull through stage.

Question: What should I use the manual pull through sharpening slot for? It’s recommended to be used for serrations.
Answer: Since the pull through slot uses an extra fine ceramic abrasive, I’d use this for anything that requires very light sharpening or polishing. I would not use it for serrations, as this is a special case. Click here to see how I would treat serrated blades.

Question: The sharpener stops running while in use. What may be causing this?
Answer: It may be that the motor needs to cool down as the device has been running for too long. Turn the device off, and try again after one hour. If no success, contact Smith’s and proceed accordingly.

Final Words

My final recommendation is to avoid the Smith’s Diamond Edge knife sharpener. At best, it’s an average product that produces average results. I am not particularly impressed with the pricing either, as I think it should have been half the price for what it does. By the way, this is probably one of the few sites that actually provides a negative impression of this device. I am not questioning anyone else’s review by any means, just worth noting as you continue your research. Again, these are my honest opinions and I try to put myself in your guys’ shoes. What would I buy if it were me? Would I buy this? If you don’t wish to spend anymore you have the choice of going for a 3-stage alternative in the Presto 08810 which is a much better product! Anyways, that’s it for now. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to reach out and I’ll be happy to respond. Below is a video from Smith’s showing how to use the product.