For a while we’ve been highlighting mostly electric and manual sharpening products, but we thought we would start showcasing traditional sharpening stones as old-school enthusiasts consider them the best knife sharpeners of all. The 8″ Diamond Tri-Hone 1 from Smith seemed like a great place to start.
Our Smith’s Tri-Hone Sharpener Review
The Tri-Hone Bench Stone measures 8″x2.5.” It weighs about 9.6 oz. The larger surface allows for sharpening larger knives and tools. It has a micro-tool pad that sharpens smaller tools, as well.
Since it is a tr-hone system, it uses three stones to hone blades to a sharp, cutting edge. The stone rotation makes it easy to see which stone is in use. The base of this product also has a rubber foot to prevent slipping. The included angle guides allow for more precise knife honing.
Best Uses for the Tri-Hone
This sharpening system is used to sharpen a variety of knives. It works on kitchen, hunting, fishing, and folding pocket knives. It can also sharpen large and small tools. One special characteristic of this system’s stones is that two of them has interrupted surfaces, while the third has a fine natural finish. It starts with the 325-grit coarse and 750-grit fine diamond stones.
Their unique design has several overlapping holes. These hole are used for collecting metal shavings that often occur during sharpening. This allows blades to sharpen clearly and cleanly. The finishing stone is an 800-1000-grit Natural Arkansas Stone. It takes off a moderate amount of material to polish a blade to a cutting edge.
Sharpening Performance
The clever base design’s effective combination of diamond and Natural Arkansas Stones make blades sharp. The base is also solid and heavy enough when paired with the rubber foot to not move during use. This system is so finely designed that it generally takes mere minutes to achieve a sharp and polished cutting edge. It is sturdy and well-made for its price, which is comparable to, if not slightly higher than, similar models.
The angle guides work well for most basic sharpening needs, but a finer stone may be necessary for a truly polished edge. However, the fine natural stone can leave blades dangerously sharp. A knife or tool that has been recently sharpened with this system can cause injuries if care is not taken. Regardless, it is able to make many old and dull blades like new again. To achieve those results, there is a learning curve with this sharpening stone when using it for the first time.
If you’re looking for something that locks the angle in, check out our review of Tormek’s electric water-cooled sharpeners.
Great for Kitchen and Work Knives
While it is effective at sharpening the majority of kitchen and sports knives, it is not for sharpening serrated knives. There is also a possibility that it can dull or burr some specialty knives. For some professionals, the results from using this product may not meet high standards of sharpness, so it may be necessary to obtain single stones with the desired coarseness or fineness.
This is an ideal tool for chefs that use knives regularly in the kitchen, along with hobbyists that use cutting tools and knives regularly outdoors. This product comes in black, white, yellow, and orange to reflect that target audience. Sharp knives and tools are essential for use on food, wire, wood, and more, so these individuals need a premium cutting edge to make cutting easier.
This sharpener is able to revive dull blades that would be otherwise thrown out, making it an essential companion to anyone that frequently uses knives. Used properly, this system will help blades maintain their sharpness over time. The unit’s compact design also allows for easy storage, making it ideal for those with small kitchens or small workspaces.
This Smith’s Tri-Hone is an effective three-stone system that cleanly sharpens knives and tools to an edge that can handle most indoor and outdoor cutting jobs. While it does not work on serrated or most specialty knives, it does work on many tools and knives used for cooking and other hobbies that involve cutting. The compact, slip-proof design keeps it steady and makes cleanup easy no matter the size of your kitchen or work space. Along with the Norton Japanese water stone, this it one of our overall favorites.
Since 1886, Smith’s Consumer Products has been a leader in the sharpening industry. This company has thrived on making quality tools and products that sharpen effectively, but are also easy to use. It is based in Hot Springs, AR. The company is popular today for its KitchenIQ and Smith’s lines. This product is a Smith’s brand diamond sharpening stone. It’s design is no exception to the innovative, precision-based lines that have been produced by Smith’s Consumer Products for over 125 years.