Okay so this system is not perfect. I had a few problems. But any problem was fixable and worth it.

The unit comes in a pretty sturdy rubbery plastic case which is nice. Everything really snaps in when you put it up. I had to use a wrench to get some rods out. This left me with a feeling that the sharpener would last a long time.
Yes it will scratch your knife so before clamping put some masking tape on the clamp to protect your blade.
When i put the unit together i noticed that the angle isn't nearly as fixed as you would hope. Primarily, the angle is strictly related to the position of the clamps in the blade. The closer the front of the clamp to the edge, the higher the angle. If you come back to sharpen a previously sharpened knife you had better remember where you mounted it. The guide says to mount it on the edge on the opposite side as the blade but that didn't have much grip. The angle also varies because the holes in the clamp are too large for the rod. Some tape can remedy this.
The attachment of the rod to the hone is also important. The trick is to insert from the hone side to the grip side, and don't push it all the way up, and tighten down lightly. Then try to push and pull up and down until it will find a notch that it will sink into to make the rod-hone a flat unit.
Once I got going I was grinding for maybe an hour to get the blade to a rough 17 degree angle. I would also suggest it be available with diamond hones. You can purchase these separately bu you must pay for additional shipping charge.
Finishing the other stages was much quicker and when i return to this knife with the sharpener it would be much faster the second time. The blade comes out very sharp so practice good knife handling even with your dull blades; if you don't with your sharp knives you can lose a finger easy.
Okay so this system is not perfect. I had a few problems. But any problem was fixable and worth it. The unit comes in a pretty sturdy rubbery plastic case which is nice. Everything really snaps in when you put it up. I had to use a wrench to get some rods out. This left me with a feeling that the sharpener would last a long time. Yes it will scratch your knife so before clamping put some masking tape on the clamp to protect your blade. When i put the unit together i noticed that the angle isn't nearly as fixed as you would hope. Primarily, the angle is strictly related to the position of the clamps in the blade. The closer the front of the clamp to the edge, the higher the angle. If you come back to sharpen a previously sharpened knife you had better remember where you mounted it. The guide says to mount it on the edge on the opposite side as the blade but that didn't have much grip. The angle also varies because the holes in the clamp are too large for the rod. Some tape can remedy this. The attachment of the rod to the hone is also important. The trick is to insert from the hone side to the grip side, and don't push it all the way up, and tighten down lightly. Then try to push and pull up and down until it will find a notch that it will sink into to make the rod-hone a flat unit. Once I got going I was grinding for maybe an hour to get the blade to a rough 17 degree angle. I would also suggest it be available with diamond hones. You can purchase these separately bu you must pay for additional shipping charge. Finishing the other stages was much quicker and when i return to this knife with the sharpener it would be much faster the second time. The blade comes out very sharp so practice good knife handling even with your dull blades; if you don't with your sharp knives you can lose a finger easy.