My thanks to all of you for your feedback & guidance. Very much appreciated!
Of all the systems or kits I researched & read about, I finally decided to invest in the TSPROF Kadet Expert. I wanted to order it directly from TSPROF's USA distributor but could not get them to respond to several emails I sent with questions about the system, availability and shipping. Their phone line was always busy, too. I was interested in the package that included the 5 diamond sharpening stones. GRITOMATIC never responded to my emails, either, but they answered the phone and were able to answer questions about availability and shipping. So, I ordered the Kadet through them with 5 silicon carbide whetstones. Ordering on-line through GRITOMATIC was a breeze and the package arrived 1 day ahead of schedule.
A couple of the Hapstone kits appealed to me because they were/are less expensive than the TSPROF Kadet. However, the Kadet looked a bit better machined & designed, to me. The Wicked Edge WE100 appealed, as well, but the info about it said it could only accommodate cutting bevels down to 15 degrees. My favorite Chef's knife has a 14 degree cutting bevel. Seemed like the WE120 would have taken care of that concern with its purported more precise settings but, in retrospect, I'm not sure how big a deal 1 degree would have been, anyway. Regardless, the Wicked Edge systems seemed way overpriced for what you get in one of their packages. Maybe this is a factor of the quality of their sharpening stones? No idea! However unlike TSPROF & Hapstone, it looks like Wicked Edge constrains you to using their stones and their accessories seem pricey, as well. Wicked Edge also looked a little more dangerous to use. If I had gone with them, I think I would have invested in a pair of those cut-protection gloves, just to be on the safe side. I don't want to imagine what could happen if your hand slipped off one of those sharpening stones! I really like the idea of being able to sharpen both sides of a knife simultaneously, though. Seems like this would be a time-saver. I wish there had been a store close by that would have allowed me to get up close & personal with some of these systems, instead of having to rely on internet info and videos.
Oh well! So far, I've only sharpened 2 knives with the Kadet (i.e. 3" pairing & 8" Chef's) and didn't achieve the results I was hoping for. I used a very accurate digital protractor to set bevel angles (i.e. 14 degrees for the Chef's and 18 degrees for the pairing knife), progressively went through all 5 whetstones from 120 to 2500 using a couple dozen passes (actually counted) on each side of the blade(s) and used as much of the entire length(s) of the stones, as possible. I was very careful to go only in the direction away from me, like sharpening free-hand on a whetstone; not sawing back & forth in both directions. I also honed each knife before putting them to the test. Sharpening the 3" pairing knife was a close fit. I can already see how small knives and thin-bladed knives are going to be a challenge with this system. My pairing knife is old but still has some life in it. The 8" Chef's knife is only a year old and I've taken very good care of it. Are the knives sharper? Yes. Razor sharp? No. Factory edge sharp? No. What am I doing wrong, folks? Is it my technique? Do I need to do more passes; spend more time on the blades? Would good diamond stones be better or quicker than silicon carbide whetstones? Would stropping help, even after using 1000 and 2500 grit? Would switching to a ceramic honing or sharpening rod help?