stone and steel are the best way to go imo. as you said they wear out the knives quicker.if you pay good money for a good knife you want it to last. maybe go down to you local butcher and get them to show you how to use a stone and steel properly. you wont regret it

Have the 3000 it's good takes a bit of practice but does a good job very quick

good as gold imo. i have got the KE 3000 and i am more than happy with it. once you get the knife back to near new just use a stone ot keep the edge on it. 

Hi chookc a little tip for ya...buy of ebay in the USA I think by memory $280 delivered for the KE 3000 maybe be cheaper with the A$ at $1.08 to the USA$ alongside Master Butchers $440 price tag. Only small set back is you must purchase a 240volt to 110 volt reducer from Bunnings at a cost of around $25. I have both the Aussie 240volt and the 110volt both work fine. Hope this helps. Cheers

can buy local for around $300. i have had one for a while and highly rate it. never had sharper knives

Another positive comment, I bought both models a couple of years ago, the professional (KE 3000) for work (abattoir) and the small one (KE 198) for home. Whilst it will chew up the knives pretty quickly it does get them to a decent level of sharpness, not as good as by hand but for the time it takes and the result you get it will be ideal for you. Using them professionally we went through the belts quickly and had to replace them often, if your only using it occasionally the belts will last quite a while but it would be a good idea to order more belts when you buy the machine (be sure to get both coarse and fine belts). 

The smaller KE 198 uses stone discs and we are yet to replace them (it only gets used at home), the job is just as good and will be adequate for your needs but personally I like using the KE 3000

Here is a review i found which will help too

http://totalknifecare.com.au/Download-document/20-Fishing-WA-Review-Ke-198-and-KE-3000-Aug-10.html

As for other models there are other knife sharpening systems such as Bladesharpener or Lansky which work by clamping the knife and running a stone over the knife at set angles. I prefer these systems as they are great for getting a perfect edge and will give you the sharpest knives but they do take more time than the Nirey but not as much time as doing it by hand. 

See the following link: http://www.startfoodtech.com.au/shop/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=25_30

I get most of my knives/sharpening gear through the company in the above link called Start Food Tech, they are competitively priced and much cheaper than Master Butchers try their website for a whole catalogue of stuff, they have a huge range.

Hope this helps

I bought a Lansky sharpener kit through ebay a couple of years ago after having it recommended. (As much as I dislike using ebay)

It is brilliant. Sharpened the kitchen knives up and other than a touch up with the steel they lasted almost 12 months, the missus gives them a hammering (generally throwing them at me!!) but they still stayed sharp.