People who criticise this product simply don't know how to use them. My own experience as an amateur, who wants really sharp kitchen knives, is as follows:
For sharpening kitchen knives to that really razor sharp edge, you must use sharpening stones (I recommend Japanese waterstones, Shapton, Ice Bear or King brand all readily available) starting from medium grit and progressing to fine then extra fine grit. The final grit should be at least 6000 grit. Personally, I use a Shapton 12000 grit final stone, and finish off with gentle stropping on a leather strop, with Cr0 powder on it. This gives a true razor edge. We are talking about an edge of 0.5 micron width. This is the same as the best quality razor blade.
When sharpening blades to this fine an edge, it is critical that the blade MUST be kept exactly at a constant angle to the stone (usually about 15 to 20 degrees). The difficult part for most of us is to hold that constant angle just using your un aided fingers. Unless you are a real expert, you will be like me unable to maintain that exact angle constantly when sharpening freehand. Because human hands and fingers are too flexible!
The answer is these simple clip-on guides. They slide onto the back of the knife and hey presto there is your fixed angle. You can slide the guide onto the straight part of the knife (nearer to the handle) to sharpen it, then move the guide onto the curved part near the point) to sharpen that part of the knife. This means that you are sharpening the knife in sections.
The current guides (made in China) have plastic sleeves which prevent scratching the knife, older guides with no plastic can easily be made non scratch by installing your own sleeve from a cut down plastic milk bottle, folded in half and pushed into the guide.
I have used these guides on my Global knives and other Japanese kitchen knives and have found that the knives are much much sharper than new.
Incidentally, these guides, when used as directed, will give a blade edge angle of about 10 degrees. This different from what most sharpening advice (including Global's own)which is normally about 15 to 20 degrees. No matter the more acute angle gives a much sharper edge.
Also I recommend using a ceramic "steel" in particular the Kyocera CSW-18 which has a super fine grit and is far superior to diamond "steels"
If you've read this far you might be interested in doing some net research on knife sharpening. There are some very good tutorials there.
A "must buy" book is Chad Ward's "An edge in the Kitchen". This book has just been released. Available from Amazon and highly reviewed. Chad tells you all you ever need to know about selecting, using, and sharpening kitchen knives.
I've owned a Global chef's knife for almost 2 years. It continues to perform very well although it has lost its sharpness. Because of its impressive performance, I've given away my other knives and use the Global almost exclusively. Because the knife was expensive, I wanted to sharpen it properly and did a lot of research before buying the Minosharp sharpening guides. Based on experience, sharpening with a stone is still superior to fancy and costly ready-made sharpeners like the Minosharp plus. I can buy a new Global for the price of that sharpener. Although I know how to use a stone and had success with sharpening smaller knives, my hands are too small to maintain the right angle for the 10-inch Global. I used the Minosharp guides soon after receiving them in the mail and they worked like a charm! Great value for less than 15 bucks. My Global is now as sharp as the day I took it out of the box. Other reviewers pointed out that the guides can scratch the knife. I avoided scratches by covering my knife with 2 layers of transparent 3M shipping tape that was wide enough to cover the path of the sharpening guide (one layer could have done it but I wanted to be sure). I had no problem sliding a guide down the covered back of the knife. For those new to sharpening with a stone, I highly recommend that you watch Mino Tshuchida's knife sharpening tutorial on youtube. He works for Global and his video is the official tutorial from the company. The video can be a bit difficult to understand because of Mr Tshuchida's thick accent but after you watch it a few times you will learn a lot of tips. Happy slicing!
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I purchased this item with a $350.00+ knife. The guide rail leaves scuff marks on the top part of the knife, but it creates a perfect edge that I would have had problems making. I use my knife 10 hours a day cause I am a sushi chef so it is important to me to keep my knife sharp. I don't know why people are giving this item a bad review. Personally I don't think they know how hard it is to sharpen a knife with a whet stone. Trying to keep one angle on a double edge knife is extremely hard and could also damage a knife if sharpened from multiple angles. Anyways who cares if your knives get scratches on it. It's ment to chop and slice.
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Sure, they keep the knife at the right angle, but they only work well on the straight part of the blade. Where the curve is and where the blade gets more narrow the guide makes the angle steeper, which isn't good for the edge. You're better off just practicing and getting good at sharpening without the guides.
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Today I bought one with plastic insert and I can confirm it scratched my knife at the second and further insertion attempts. I could almost hear the sound :).
No matter how long I have washed it under running water.
Also when I set it aligned to the blade edge as instructed in the manual (not aligned to the knife end), I find it impossible for it not to move while sharpening...
The best knives I've ever owned, bar none. They come with a razor edge and are easy to re-hone with just a few strokes on the Kershaw-Shun steel (well worth purchasing to accompany this set). The damascus pattern and perfectly crafted profile slice through darn near anything (food-like anyway) with ease. I also got a 9" scalloped slicing knife and sharpening steel to round out the set. The weight and balance are perfect. They are designed for right-handed chefs with a d-shaped handle so if you are a leftie they may not be as comfortable or easy to use.
