KMFS RIVAL Diamant Stealth - symmetrical angle guide system for precise hand sharpening (honest review)

 KMFS RIVAL Diamond Stealth (honest review)

symmetrical angle guide system for precise hand sharpening

 in colaboration with www.rucnibrouseni.cz 

Czech symmetrical precision grinding system for knife sharpening with precise angle adjustment

 

That's right, you buy a great kitchen knife. It's perfectly sharp for a couple of weeks, but then it kind of starts cutting less and less as it dulls with use. And not just the kitchen knife, but the one we use the most, right. It's the one that shows it the most. The sharpener does straighten the blade, but unfortunately it doesn't sharpen the knife.

We can use several methods to correct the sharpness of the knife. We can either find a model sharpener or we can do it ourselves. I took the path to a perfect edge, which at first glance is quite complicated. Grinding stones, you can buy a plethora of types and qualities, the most important thing to look at is the coarseness, where you use the coarser grit to clean up a facet, or remove teeth, or to completely resharpen to a different angle. The angle of the facet grind is the most important thing to keep if you want a perfect edge, and also the hardest part of the actual grinding. 

 

The neat case contains everything you need.

Accesory include in the package, with diamond stones - by two for left and right hand - symmetrical sharpening

The knife in the clamp, which hold it very tightly

So I started by buying grinding stones of different grits of 240/800, a second stone of 600/1500, a third stone of 2000/4000 and then a uniform grit of 6000. One stone comes out to plus or minus a thousand to three thousand crowns depending on the coarseness or quality. But you simply need different grits because with a higher grit you always smooth the facet after a previous cut with a coarser stone. It's simply a necessity, and if you follow the sequence, you will achieve excellent sharpness. The knife will be razor sharp, that is if you can keep the angle you want. If you don't, in some cases you can simply ruin hours of work and have no choice but to start again.

But I have to say that after a few months of using it and re-sanding it, I got a feel for it and then managed to keep the angle, but it's a struggle and not everyone can do it. So after months of more or less successful attempts you suddenly get the feel and the results are really razor sharp. That is, until you somehow accidentally try a professional sanding set from the Czech manufacturer Mr. Lambersky. Suddenly your grinding efforts seem like a futile attempt. This manufacturer is such a jack-of-all-trades, and he manufactures the whole equipment at his factory in Lanškroun.

 

The device is called KMFS Rival. It costs six thousand crowns, (around 250€/260$) but more on that later. The KMFS sharpening system is actually a blade holder, a machine clamp that can catch and not let go of straight pressed knives, and also, for example, forged knives that slope towards the blade, so the grip is really perfect and that's important because if you want to achieve a perfect sharpening, the blade must not move.

Solid construction and the heart of the grinding set, the clamp with adjusting screw.

The whole set is sold in a neat little case that contains everything you need. You can place the blade holder, a sort of stand, on a ponk, table, anywhere where you can attach it with the included screw clamp and secure it tightly.

 Insert a grinding plate into the holders

Then attach the knife to the stand with the tip apart and the blade up. We try to keep the sharpened blade flat. Hold the blade approximately halfway down the blade. Tighten firmly. The stand contains a longitudinal screw from which two arms protrude. Basically, two rods on which you slide the diamond abrasive insert holders. The case contains three grits, two each of 240, 600 and 1000 grit. This is a fine enough grit for fine finishing. You turn the longitudinal screw and the abrasives are basically brought closer together, this way you set the same angle on both sides to grind the facets.

 

Insert the knife into the clamp and tighten securely. 

In package is also semi-angle guide, but if you clamp higher knife, the angle is not corresponding, I'll rather do trick with sharpie on the facet trick

To find the ideal angle for grinding, you can hold the mounted grinding wheel with the grinding wheel against the facet and find the original cut by lightly sliding it over the facet painted with an alcohol marker (sharpie), when you wipe the marker off the facet with the grinding stone (lightly touch) across the entire width of the facet, you have set the original angle of the cut. So we have the angle set, the diamonds set at 240 grit, and we can begin to cut by lightly applying the bevel, alternating between one hand and the other with both handpieces in alternating strokes. I have found it useful to cut from the shank to the tip. The light strokes sand the material quite briskly, once the two bevels meet in the center, you move to a higher grit. It's starting to polish the bevel a little. With this system, you are grinding both facets symmetrically and essentially at the same time, so there is no blade sharpening to one side or the other. Grinding is really brisk and importantly, it is accurate from the blade to the tip keeping the same angle. How perfect, how simple yet ingenious. 

 Dosah brousících destiček je vysoký, lze bez problémů brousit i velmi dlouhé nože.

What's next? The set contains these three griths, but you can of course go on. You can buy 3000 grit stones to go with the set, which are already starting to polish the edge to razor sharpness, they cost less than twelve hundred. A must when sharpening, for example, Japanese high carbon knives. This way you achieve the original sharpness in one piece and really easily. You can then strop the blade with a purchasable set of leather holders that you put on like a diamond sharpener, you just have to paw at the blade or the blade will cut into them. You can apply a paste to the skins for belt wraps. The dressing leather is sold in pairs and comes out to less than four hundred crowns and will smooth the facet into a mirror. Each blade will then shave without a problem. Really.

 One of the optional accessory 3000 fine abrasive natural stone.

The whole set sells for a decent six grand, but if I do the math on buying the stones and the intricacies of grinding on them, that investment seems more than adequate. When you factor in the design, which is as solid as a tank and made in our little republic by one handy gentleman so that it is maintenance-free and will last a lifetime, I'm not afraid to say that it's the best you can get for sharpening almost any knife, that is, as long as it's not the serrated one for slicing bread. Even in design, KMFS does not compromise on quality or workmanship, the sharpening system is efficient and even with heavy use shows no signs of any play or flaws in the workmanship. After the first use I was already completely enchanted with the simplicity and grace with which an absolutely perfect result is achieved. The only downside I can see is unpacking and re-packing the product into a compact case.

And this is, with apologies, really the only thing I can evaluate negatively about the system. No lengthy experiments, no trying to see if it will ruin the blade. Just straight and full on, no worries, the system is so simple that even a complete beginner who can insert a dull knife into the machinist's clamp, tighten it with the included Allen wrench, and sharpen a goosebump-inducing blade in a few minutes can do it. Whether it's a kitchen stainless, or a Japanese santoku, or a pocket knife with tool steel. Diamond sharpeners don't really care what steel you're sharpening. Just don't push. However, if you push really hard on those grinders and grind off the diamond coating, you can get replacements. But don't worry, it's not a big deal, they're pretty durable and can take a lot. Overall I'm very happy with the set, the initial higher investment is balanced by the precision workmanship where there is no play, the ingenuity and precision of the design is felt through every inch and when compared to other sharpening systems this is the king of the Czech Republic. KMFS is a set I would recommend to anyone who wants to have enviable perfectly sharpened knives. 

 

 

 

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