Edgecraft Chef's Choice eXact-V 415 - Manual (Page 3)

Description of the eXact-V ®
The eXact-V Diamond Hone Sharpener shown fully assembled (page 2)
consists of a support base (2) which doubles as a storage case for the knife
guiding assembly (3) and the two sharpening rods (4). Raised hand-guards (5)
are provided in order to protect the hand that steadies an end of the base while
the other hand is sharpening the knife. For your safety the use of these guards
is highly recommended and they can be conveniently folded down flat against
the base when not in use.
The knife guiding frame (3) mounted slidingly on its support post (6) can be
readily deflected sideways to the left or right by the sharpening action of the
knife blade, but normally it is restrained by a leaf spring mechanism (7) in a
center position. A red spring tensioner (8) mounted on the support post (6)
can be raised up to increase the spring tension which in turn increases the
sharpening force and the force needed to slide the guiding frame from its
center rest position.
In order to sharpen the knife edge the face of the knife blade is alternately
placed in intimate contact with the left or the right vertical frame guiding
surfaces (9) and moved down that surface while the knife edge contacts and
slides down the inclined abrasive surface (10).
Each of the two abrasive rods (4) has a coarser grit diamond abrasive coated
pad (Coarse) on one side and an ultra fine diamond abrasive (Fine) coated pad
on the other. These rods can be readily pulled out of the supporting base and
reversed which exchanges the diamond grit size from Coarse to Fine and
simultaneously changes the sharpening angle on each rod by 4 degrees. The
change in angle allows you to create a strong double bevel facet (resembling a
Gothic Arch design) on each side of the edge and hence a more durable edge.
The knife is sharpened by first making a number of alternating guided pulls
across and down the two Coarse diamond pads. The blade face must be aligned
with the vertical guide surface (9) on the right side as shown and then on the
left side. The abrasive rods are then rotated in order to sharpen the edge further
on the Fine abrasives to develop a razor sharp edge.
See following section “How to Sharpen” for detailed instructions.
3