AZ4 Angle Guides Combo, Blue for Sharpening Stones, Orange for Rods

I cannot imagine why every new freehand sharpener would not buy this inexpensive set of angle guides. Well made and easy to use. They give you the correct angle to use while you build up your confidence and muscle memory. Great idea and well worth the money. The blue angle guides are a good reference , they get strapped to your stone then lay your knife at the fixed angle . Since they are affixed to the stone they don't move with the knife and it's up to you to keep the angle across the stone. There is a learning curve but the work excellent if you know what angle your shooting for with your knife. The orange cone definitely help to keep you knives in good shape and allows you cut vegetables, fruit, and anything else may ever you need to cut easily. Nobody wants to use excess force while using their knife for daily activities. I was able to feel like a real fruit ninja. Just be careful not to cut yourself in the process.

See my question at the end of my review. Hope the supplier sees this. I'm so impressed with these angle guides! I highly recommend them! I've been sharpening knives and tools for years with waterstones & oil stones and I know the biggest hurdle to creating a razor sharp edge is maintaining a consistent angle on every stroke! These guides ensure you do that, saving much time with your learning curve! I have 1 question though: what are the stickers for? Are they for affixing to one's knives so one remembers the right angle guide to use for each knife? And what are the stickers with the icons of an angle wedge and honing rod guide? Is that for the situation where one is applying a micro bevel with the honing rod, so one is, for example, applying 20° bevel with the stone and 22° on the honing rod? So one needs to remember this, so one applies the correct stickers to the bolster area of the blade? Am I correct?

I have been sharpening / honing both knives and woodworking tools for years using waterstones, diamond plates and ceramic rods. I have reached the point through repetition and experience that I don't use guides when sharpening knives, although I still use honing guides when sharpening chisels and plane irons. Recently, my sons' both wanted to learn how to sharpen freehand on my diamond plates - both of course without experience the trick was how to hold a consistent angle, and what that angle should feel like. This is where these guides came in handy. Tying one to the end of the stone, they were able to get a feel from tactile feedback what a 20 degree, or 15 degree angle felt like in the hand while sharpening. These guides will help them develop the muscle memory, and periodically check to ensure they are staying close to the angle. I will admit also recently I wanted to sharpen one of my Japanese knives to 17 degrees, and having the guide helped. So, these can help the experienced sharpener also when trying to get the feeling of an odd angle they may not have sharpened before. Good product - I knocked off one star as they could be a little heavier / sturdier - as they stand they are very light weight and cheap plastic, would like to have seen more weight put behind the finished product for both durability and so they stay put better when in use. One thing to note for the beginning sharpener - your ceramic rods are more for honing an already established bevel / edge, and are not good tools for setting bevels or reshaping an edge that is beat up. Use your stones for setting the bevel, or when the knife was allowed to get very dull and needs some attention. Use your rods to maintain the edge frequently, use it as a hone, treat the edge gently and keep it sharp!! Thanks for reading.

I got these angle guides when I got a set of fancy Japanese kitchen knives as a gift. Sure I can eyeball a ~22.5 degree cutting angle for a standard knife, but felt lost when trying to duplicate the 10-15 degree cutting angles recommended for the thinner, sharper, Japanese knife profile. Most of the time when your kitchen knives seem like they need sharpening (e.g., using the whetstone or diamond stone), what they really need is a few passes with a honing rod and leather strop to bring them back to the razor cutting edge you expect. These angle guides have been amazing for both. For my Japanese knives I'll do the 14 degree honing guide and finish up with 11 degrees on the strop. For my inexpensive, utilitarian cleaver I'll use the 20 degree honing guide and finish up with 17 degrees on the strop. The angle guides come with a groove to fasten them with an elastic band to the end of the stone (if your knife is super dull and you are 'push' sharpening), but I've never used them. For tune-up sharping and stropping (all I've had to do at this point, even after having my knife set for more than a year) you want to pull the blade across the strop, rather than push. I put the angle guide under the blade to get the correct angle, hold in place, remove the angle guide, and then pull across the strop. ~5-10 minutes per blade 1-2 times a month with the honing rod and strop is all that is needed to keep all of my knives paper-cutting sharp. In all, a great investment to get the precise blade angles you need and keep yourself happy in the kitchen, pocket knives, and beyond.

I got some sharpening stones so I could have more control over the different edge angles on different knives, and how much metal is taken off when sharpening. While learning to use the stone, I found that I had trouble finding the 15 or 20 degree angles I needed and keeping that angle consistent. A YouTube video by Helen Rennie recommended these guides. The guides work great to create the muscle memory to know what 15 degrees or 20 degrees looks and feels like. I tried them out on my stone and honing rod and I was able to maintain pretty close to the correct angles. My knives are super sharp now!

It easily slides off. Angles are not accurate. Cheap plastic. Included set uses some strange angles for kitchen knives. I won't buy again

Many people think that a sharpening rod is for sharpening. But no, a sharpening rod can never make a dull knife sharp. That's why many people are disappointed with sharpening rods. With a sharpening rod you can take a sharp knife and make it super-sharp. That's the purpose of sharpening rod. If it doesn't work, your knife is too dull and you should be sharpening on a stone. If you understand these basics, the rest is easy. That's where this lil beauty of a product comes in; Use the blue angle guides for sharpening dull knives on stones. Use the orange angle guides to *maintain* super sharpness on sharpening rod. There are a wide range of angles for whatever edge shape you want, and can fit most stones with the included elastic; and, well, if you got a bigger block, just get a bigger rubber band. Stay sharp!

Works very well, metal springs fit well, seem like they might wear out over time. It takes a bit of getting used to, but it keeps the angle very well

Sehr praktisch für Anfänger wie mich um ein Gefühl für den richtigen Winkel zu bekommen. Insbesondere um einen neuen Winkel zu setzen!

The pieces are very well made. Very accurate and tidy mouldings. I’m impressed with the quality of manufacturing AND by the design. The materials used are, clearly, well chosen. Lovely. I’ve been accustomed to fiddling about with an assortment of coins (of as many different thicknesses as possible), a micrometer, a rule and a calculator. It’s possible to do get the angle on the stone this way BUT the wedges are SO MUCH MORE CONVENIENT. The cones are a brilliant solution to the question of quite how to use the steel.

Very functional tool, will need to know the blade edge angle before using your sharpening implement. Will probably need replacing as it will be abrading with the blade as it is being sharpening.

Cumple su función a la perfección y las guías online son realmente útiles, se merecen 5/5

These little angle wedges work as described and the circular wedges for honing rods are great and keep a constant angle so that you don't damage your edge. The only thing it was expensive for items that are made of plastic. Only time will tell to see how long they last.