DMT W250ECNB DuoSharp Double-Sided Diamond Sharpening Stone - Extra Fine & Coarse Grit - 10 Inch Professional Knife Sharpener for Kitchen, Hunting & Woodworking Tools

I'm a person that has a whole lot of hobbies. Several of them, including machining, woodworking, gunsmithing, fishing, hunting, bushcraft, knife collecting, etc., demand sharp knives & tools. And I always try to get the best quality tools in the first place, as I figure that you can only do quality work with quality tools, and that cutting corners somewhere always winds up hurting you somewhere in the end, usually in the pocketbook due to replacing tool after tool.I demand a lot from my tools, especially my knives. Over the years I've tried countless ways and used various types of stones to sharpen knives and tools including ceramic, silicon carbide, aluminum oxide, diamond, synthetic oilstones, natural oilstones, synthetic waterstones, natural waterstones, cubic boron nitride, tungsten carbide, diamond files, steel files, Tormek sharpeners, Kalamazoo belt sanders, Baldor grinders, etc. I have more sharpening equipment than many, if not most, full time sharpening services.In my opinion, for general sharpening, especially by hand, nothing beats diamond. And nothing beats DMT in diamond stones. Their 10" DuoSharp stones are their best stones for everyday use. I've used these for about 15 years now, and all of my DMT stones sharpen just as good as when new. I can't recommend these stones enough. I've even given these away to family members for their own use.They cut fast as they are diamond. They don't clog up as long as you use a little water on them because of the little islands of dished out pockets. They clean easy under the faucet. They store easy as they are very thin. They are extremely durable because of the materials and construction (US made). They don't slip and move when used with the optional base (recommended). They are light enough even that you can take the stone to the tool instead of the tool to the stone (the optional base has a handle on the bottom). Best of all, the 10" ones are enormous, with plenty of room to sharpen anything. They simply can't be beat for most tasks. Considering how long they last, the fact that you are actually buying two stones in one, how good they work, the physical size of them, and the ease of use, dollar for dollar they are a bargain, too, even if they are a bit more expensive than other stones initially.A few suggestions for you are:1) If you are able to, try to use distilled water with them. If you can't do this, that's OK. But if you can you will limit any minor amount of rusting that will occur when non-stainless steels are sharpened with water. And don't use oil with them, it isn't necessary or cost effective.2) Clean them when you are done and when the particles build up enough. Otherwise any non-stainless steel particles from sharpening will rust on the surface. Although it doesn't hurt the stone itself, it just isn't good practice. Just wash them under a sink and then dry them with an old rag and then let them sit out in a breezy area for an hour or so to dry. The rag can be used, once dry, to separate them when you store them. And always use an old rag, as the tiny bits of metal sharpening stones naturaly take off will stain/darken fabrics permanently.2) Store the stones either separately, or with padding between them so they aren't grinding at each other if you have more than one stone in a box. Those inexpensive plastic boxes you find for a few bucks are great to store them in.3) Lastly, let the stone do the work. If it isn't going fast enough, either you are using the wrong grit or you have let way too much time pass since you last sharpened.I hope this review helps, all though it was a bit long. Happy sharpening!