They are great sharpeners but I do not have experience with doing a 3 blade. I would call them. Jess shoots VPA's himself and I was thinking he shoots the 3 blade.
Done correctly, ceramic rods will get things wicked sharp and a very smooth edge too. the biggest thing is for the user to hold that blade perfectly straight and steady. Any rocking of your wrist or arm and you can ruin what you had going. That's a big rason why so many guys cant sharpen things well.
My Steamboat Sharpener came late yesterday and I ran a few of my knives through it and it was very, very impressive how great it did. Grabbed some dull kitchen knives and worked on them for hardly anytime and depending on the quality of the steel in the knife put an edge that will slice paper!
I'm a believer and ordered the strop block that is impregnated with buffing compound as recommended by one of our fellow trad guys.
I will break my self imposed ban on posting here for this. Rici and Jess are great people, and make an awesome product. I liked it so well, we formed an informal partnership. I sell the sharpeners and they sell my knives. All my blades are finished with the Steamboat system, it works really well. I think it says something when a knifemaker uses them.
I listened to The Broken Arrow Podcast and the owner of Steamboat Sharpeners sounded like a really down to earth die had traditional bowhunter and family man. One of the guys on the broken arrow said he was sharpening challenged and he got his knives very sharp really quick with the steamboat sharpener. One of the things they talked about is the difference in their ceramic material vs the normal ceramic rods on the market. Sounds like that may be the key of why these sharpeners worked so well. Anyway, I ordered one and it shipped quickly after ordering.
The popularity of these type sharpeners is that the "magic " of sharpening is simply being able to keep a consistent angle whatever the device. This is a whole lot easier to by holding the blade vertical rather than horizontal when you're doing it by eyeball as opposed to a fixed clamp device. The Sharpmaker I mentioned does include coarse and fine rods (diamond optional). Depending on whether you are working on the edge or the back bevel. It also allows you choose between 30 and 40 deg. (inclusive) angles (aka 15-20 deg. per edge bevel). You need to decide whether you're removing metal or simply touching up (realigning)the existing edge). For folks who call themselves "sharpening challenged" it's usually a matter of poor technique or not having a clue what the edge angle of their knife/broadhead was to begin with. I've always been frustrated by makers reluctance to divulge what angle their original edges are, but I assume it's because many are put on by hand with a belt sander and vary more than they want to let on.
