...you have to adapt your technique to it. I watched a video review of assorted sharpeners recently and this was considered best bang for buck. Since I was never impressed with the cheap little v-slot devices I've used for years, I figured I'll give this try. After reading directions and clamping the blade holder in a vise, I started sharpening some kitchen knives. Using the supplied hone oil on all the stones, and after completing a few swipes with each stone one side of the blade then flipping blade over to finish, I gotta say, this thing works pretty well. The blade clamp is a bit fussy to set up and I sometimes have to hold the knife handle while sharpening. I wonder about longevity of the clamp when adjusting the clamping knob repeatedly and stone life is unknown to me right now. Lansky instructions say to use hone oil all the time to keep stone from clogging so I hope this lasts for me, especially since I really like sharpening knives now. Every knife in the house cuts paper now.

Had a scoutmaster bring this to camp and suddenly my pocket knives were CRAZY sharp. Great tool for cooks or outdoorsy people. If you often use knives or pocket knives, this system is great

when it comes to some things, i am overly OCD, i don't know why i just am - knife sharpening is one of those things. Dull knives drive me nuts - i'll even sharpen knives that aren't mine because it bothers me to see them in such shape... a dull knife, what's the point?? When i say i like my knives sharp, i mean sharp.

That being said, the Lansky system is excellent!!!

Using the system:
overall, it is a pretty easy to use, however, it is not idiot proof and the set up is important. Make sure the knife is locked in place and is very secure. If it moves even a little, it will either mark the blade or throw your angle off. If you have teflon coated blades, it will probably mark the blade anyways, so tape it up. Do a good job cutting your primary angles, if you skimp here, it will take an exponential amount of time to clean up the mess and it will make it almost impossible to get a good edge anyways so take your time. Once a knife is sharpened properly, maintenance is a snap. I will then start off with a medium stone, then the fine and then LEATHER STROP. Using a strop is absolutely essential. If you don't take off those tiny teeth, the knife may seem sharp at first and yes, cut paper quite nicely, like the youtube vids so commonly posted, but the knife will not retain the edge. Once those teeth wear off, and they go quickly, the knife will be dull again. Get a strop after using the fine stone! 2 more things - put some oil on the rods that come with the kit - it helps, and use lots of honing oil - cuts way cleaner.

Pros:
If done properly, very sharp edges can be attained - hair shaving sharp. This is not that hard to get, but some practice is important - find what works best for you. Personally, i think this system is an incredible value too - when i think of how imprecise conventional sharpeners are, i cringe. Fast yes, but this is so much better, you have no idea.

Negatives:
one drawback is that this is a relatively compact system. It is possible to sharpen larger knives, but from my experience, you can't really PROPERLY sharpen more than 3-4" of blade at a time without having angle issues, so an 8" chef knife will have to be done in 2 stages - requiring a remount of the jig. On the edge, it will be noticeable where sharpening in one area stopped and another started. The blade will be plenty sharp, but you will notice the transition - minor issue, but if you are OCD like me, this may bother you a little. Only way to get rid of this is to get a larger system like an Edgepro... but of course, those are expensive ($250+) and not very good for smaller blades, so you will have to buy this anyways.

Overall, the value of this system cannot be beat! Nearly every blade i have has been sharpened by this system and is razor sharp as i type. Everything - even my multitools and tiny swiss army knife! I wish i could say that i am a wet-stone master, but i am not, for most of us, the lansky system is a much better option.

What are you waiting for - buy this kit!!

and get a strop if you don't have one - trust me, you need the strop

happy sharpening!

Edit: about a month or two in and lots of use later - this thing is awesome. Add a leather strop with some compound (white and green for me) and you can turn your knives into absolute scalpals. Seriously, I get them crazy sharp and I have NO skill at sharpening by hand. Only slight wear on the coarsest stone because I use it the most aggressively when reprofiling, the rest of the stones still seem like new. Sure you could find other products that will make your blades a bit sharper and might be somewhat easier to use, but at what cost. This thing gets my knives sharper than most people even know is possible at only $35 (clamp included, year 2014). Plus what I said (below) about blade length is only partially right. After some experience and a renewed consideration of the 3D geometry, I realize you can fairly easily get a consistent edge on even a larger knife (5-10 inches) with this. Highly recommended for the novice sharpener.

Pros:
Simple to use, easy to learn, difficult to screw up too badly (just stay sober while sharpening ;))
Will reprofile most knives fairly quickly.
Comes with everything you need to turn any dull piece of crap pocket knife you own into an impressive hair shaving sharp blade. I've only had this for a couple weeks and now my roommates are afraid of our steak knives.

Tips:
Buy the Lansky Super C Clamp to go with this. Highly recommended. You could alternately use the stand Lansky makes, or even fashion something of your own that will hold the knife clamp steady while you work. (a vice, or a mounted pipe that fits the hole etc). You REALLY will want something like this with the system so buy it or plan to make something.
Center your knife in the clamp so that the blade tip and bottom of the blade are equidistant from the hole in the clamp. This way you will have a fairly even bevel and wont have to grind off extra at one end. Plus a centered position is pretty easy to remember when you come back to sharpen again.

Downfalls:
As others have said, this system is gets worse and worse as blades get longer because the angle of contact with the stone and blade gets shallower the farther away from the clamp you are sharpening. The result is that you may end up having to create a VERY shallow bevel on the tip and/or the bottom of the blade, while having a normal one in the middle of the knife. The longest knife I would recommend using with this is about 4 -5 inches. I am sure you could move the clamp on larger knives, I have yet to try this out because it complicates things and doubles your sharpening time.
Due to the above limitation, keep an eye on the bevel at the points farthest from the angle hole - they will need more steel removed to account for the shallower angle, dont move down to the finer grit stones until the entire edge is ground down all the way.
The clamp does not do great with full flat ground blades, especially if the thickness of the blade is tapered towards the tip - I find the Spyderco Ambitious is VERY difficult to position in the clamp.

The fact that the angle of the stone is static throughout the whole length of the blade is excellent. It is very easy to use and the results are perfect.
I'm using it to sharpen my kitchen knives on 25° angle and my knives are razor sharp since I started using the kit.
Very recommended.