The only minor "knock" on the WS for me is that for the same money you could get a decent 1" x 30" belt machine. The latter is more versatile and has a much, much wider array of belts. A regular grinder can used to fix tips or do heavy repairs, something the WS isn't really set up to do. But if you just want to sharpen a regular household-type volume of knives I would think the WS would work well.