I owned the first version but did not have the Blade Grinding Attachment. I ended up not liking the results I got and found it wasn’t as foolproof as I had hoped. Fast forward to the release of the Mk.2: I bought it just because it came with a limited edition badge. That’s how ridiculous I am. I found the cassette with the guide to be just as difficult as the first time around. However, this version came with the Blade Grinding Attachment, so I figured I’d give it a whirl. It ended up being awesome. There is a learning curve, but I swear it’s less steep than using that guided cassette. I first practiced on my brother-in-law’s knives because he sucks. They turned out to be pretty sharp, and I didn’t screw anything up! With practice, I started to feel more confident and began to sharpen my own kitchen knives, then my pocket knives, and even some random things like a machete and a karambit. Now, I feel confident using it and love that I can use it as a belt grinder for flattening the spine or even thinning a blade. More on reddit.com

Unbelievably faster with the grinder. You have to balance pros and cons though. The grinder you'll need to replace belts, if you want to use diamond they're extremely expensive, you can only have convex edges, you have potential to burn edges. The WSPE most agree you need to upgrade parts but that gives variety, you'll have diamonds always at hand, it gives you a true V grind. But you also have to learn how to clamp, big and flexible knives are an issue (people do literal swords on the grinder). I have (or used to have) most styles of systems. If time isn't an issue and it's only for personal use I think a KME/TSProf gives the perfect edge with tons of practice. My favorite edges have come from my Tormek as a side note but that's another story. The blade grinder is the single most versatile system especially if you get a belt splitter. Lots of rambling sorry, ask any questions and see what others say. Plenty will disagree. More on reddit.com

I have had the WSKO for 6-7 years now and really like it. I still consider myself a novice with other setups (I would be starting from scratch with stones). I was a total newb when I got my WSKO and I got my knives razor sharp the first time I used it. Could have been beginners luck but I have never had any issues getting knives as sharp as I wanted with basically no learning curve. While a belt style sharpener can take more material than a stone or the precision adjust type setups, the KO version has a variable speed belt. You can go as slow as you want and use lighter grit belts while you are learning and you won't have any issues. The variable speed motor is why the the KO version is so much better than the original. That and the fact that is has adjustable angle guides (15-30 degrees) which are invaluable to me. Me and some buddies by a few fancy pigs a year and break them down for charcuterie and sausage. I have a set of Dexter commercial plastic handled knives I use for things like this (nothing over $30). I also have several Shun Ken Onion knives and a Kramer Euroline which was more than $30 :) I use it on all of them at different angles depending on the job they are meant to do. I can't speak for the other systems as I stopped looking once i got the WSKO. I can say that if you follow the directions exactly, you will have razor sharp knives and you will not take too much material when you sharpen them. It tells you exactly where to set the speeds for what you are trying to accomplish so there is no guessing. The one thing they don't tell you (or didn't when I got mine) is that you need to tape your knives up above the edge when you use it. All the dust from the belts and material from the blades coat the angle guides and will etch your knives as you pull them through. I did learn this the hard way on a decent Shun. You also need to really pay attention to the tips as well. you can round them off if you do not follow the instructions (stop the belt while the tip is still on the belt- if you just run it through while the belt runs, it will round off your tip). I did have to correct that on one knife early in the process. I keep telling myself I need to grow up and learn to use stones but the WSKO works too well and is too easy to keep all my knives razor sharp and tuned up. I usually sharpen 2-3X a year and just hone in between. Maybe a couple of pulls through with the finest belt in between sharpening if it gets a little jagged. The convex edge does last a long time if you have the right boards and use the knives as they are intended. Good luck and just know that you really can't go wrong with any good system as long as you follow the directions and learn to use it properly. WSKO works great for me, but like I said above, maybe I just don't know any better Oh yeah- and always practice with a beater knife when learning a new setup. More on reddit.com

These are good but almost require the blade grinding attachment which is another $80. You can blow through a kitchen knife set with it. I use the blade grinding attachment for knives and the regular sharpener for axes, mower blades, etc. so it paid for itself pretty quickly. More on reddit.com