The beauty of the Spyderco Sharpmaker is you will sub-conciously learn sharpening while at the same time putting a razor edge on your knives. It's easy to use and very effective.

What I mean by "learn sharpening" while using the Sharpmaker is it will give you the confidence you'll need if you have to use a benchstone at some time...or if you choose to graduate to Arkansas or diamond stones. ("graduate" is not really the correct term, as you can get just as sharp an edge on the SHarpmaker as any stone or, at least, as sharp an edge as you'll ever need) Finding the edge and holding the appropriate angle will be easier after becoming proficient with the Sharpmaker. Angles, edge geometry, and sharpening is no big secret to you... but if you're like me, it's very daunting to sharpen a 3-1/2" blade (or longer) on a benchstone and end up with a super-sharp edge. While using the Sharpmaker, I for one, began to understand that, if I need to or want to, I can take my knife and sharpen it one benchstones....and I proved it to myself at Sportsman's Warehouse just last month.