Horl 2 roller grinders walnut and magnetic grinding gauge

The Horl Knife Sharpener is a quality product (hence price) and easy to use. Makes sharpening knives straight forward and enjoyable. Shame I had to wait 3 months for delivery though - having paid for it at the start!!

ProsTerrific idea for holding small to medium sized knives at the correct angle whilst rolling a grinding disc along the blade. Unlike most sharpening systems, the knife remains still whilst the sharpening medium moves along its edge.The magnets in the knife holder are wonderfully strong and hold small to medium sized knives effectively.The process is completely intuitive with the need for little or no skill, the polar opposite of, for instance, using a steel where the operator must learn to move the steel and the knife in a highly coordinated means at precisely the right angle.ConsUnfortunately, the cons outweigh the pros and the first one is fundamental: the grinding material wears off the disc rather quickly and, after a disappointingly short time, the grinding disc becomes smooth and ineffectual. I suppose, and this is only a theory, that the grinding dust is held onto the disc with an adhesive and it's that very adhesive which fails.The magnet strength is impressive but is limited to a rather small surface area of influence. If the knife to be sharpened is of a similar surface area ie a small to medium sized knife, then it will be held securely. However, if the knife has, say, double the surface area of the magnetic block then the leverage inevitably applied during the action of sharpening will wobble the knife and thus creation of a perfect sharpening angle isn't possible.The selling price is extraordinarily high.I'm experimenting with a work around to overcome the grinding disc wear problem. I have cut circles of wet & dry paper of various grit finishes and am adhering them to the Horl2 discs with a temporary adhesive. It works. I'm using the grinding paper wet (not dry) and it's lasting well. The process is simple and my knife sharpening is back in action. When the paper eventually wears smooth, I change it. So far, I'd say this is very effective and very inexpensive: just pennies for each piece of paper.A new Horl2 disc, on the other hand, is sold at around 70 pounds sterling.This does not solve the ability of the magnet to effectively hold large knives completely still and at the correct angle but, because you can choose to use very coarse wet and dry paper to begin the sharpening process, you can be very gentle and not apply too much leverage.