This thing is the best knife sharpener I have ever bought. And it only takes a few passes in each groove to make your blade razor sharp. The carbide spike is great for serrated hunting knives and steak knives. Compact design great for throwing in a hiking or camping bag incase your knife gets dull. I'm going to buy some as stocking staffers. Can't go wrong with lansky.

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

I bought one of these about 2 or 3 years ago and sharpened every knife in my house with it. My kitchen knives, pocket knives, and even a butter knife that I but an edge on. This sharpener will sharpen your knives so well it will take the hair off your arm! Take your time and be patient. If the blade is really dull I start with 20 strokes on the carbide side and once it's audibly sharp by running your finger over the top of the blade, I switch to the ceramic and do 20 strokes until it ends up shaving the hair off your arm.
I lost the sharpener a couple of weeks ago and bought a Smith's one from Walmart because my knives had gotten so bad. That was terrible! It was 6 bucks and an absolute waste of time and dulled the crap out of my blades!
I reordered this sharpener after confirming that it was the same sharpener from my past orders and found the old one about a day before it showed back up. This one was like 18 bucks but worth the money after that 6 dollar waste! I love this sharpener and advocate for it as much as I can!
Buy this thing!

Better than nothing, but not as good as a sharpening wet stone.

Lansky's PS-MED01 looks very much like Smith's Pocket Pal, which I have used and recommended as a good kit item for blade repair and quick sharpening of most blades. But the Smith has a plastic body while the Lansky's is metal, so the Lansky is heavier.
The Lansky is also longer, which means that its tapered diamond rod is longer as well - a good thing. As with the Smith, the tapered diamond rod can be pulled from its stay and rotated 180 degrees to a locked open position for use as a diamond file (sharpening hard to reach items, serrations, etc.). The Lansky rod's longer length gives advantage in use.
The Lansky's length afforded mounting an almost 2 inch length of exposed ceramic bar on angle to the sharpener body. This ceramic bar has a rounded-point cross section to engage and sharpen most serrated edge scallops; of course it can be used as a ceramic rod to fine-sharpen any edge as well. I've done both with good result.
The Lansky, like the Smith, also includes "Vee" sharpening notches of carbide (for edge repair or sharpening a rough-use edged knife) and of ceramic (for easy fine sharpening to a good edge). These Vee's are set at 40 degrees compound, which means the sharpening surfaces are at 20 degrees from the center line of the Vee; this is standard for a sharp, yet strong edge. Not all knives have secondary grinds of 20 degrees, however. You may be blunting a knife with a super fine bevel of 15 degrees, or only grinding away at the bevel shoulder of a "hard use" knife with bevel of 25 degrees.
Caution using these Vee's - the body is metal versus the Smith's plastic, so take care not to press downward strongly when using a Vee; these are meant to be drawn through, not sawn through.
All in all, The Lansky Blade Medic is a more useful field sharpener than the Smith Pocket Pal, and would serve well; but it would likely ride in pack or kit, not in pocket due to weight and size (as would the Smith, too, for that matter). The difference between them is weight versus increased usefulness; this is a user preference. I've given the Lansky 4 stars only due to its weight (I'd give the Smith 4, too, due to its lack of a sharpening bar surface).