Apex Ultimate Deal

Doug C

Doug C

Joined
Mar 15, 2005
Messages
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Getting ready to pull the trigger on EdgePro's system.Anyone have one,use one?Any input would be greatly appreciated.Thanks!
 
It is a decent system if you leave it set up and the stones soaking, otherwise set up can be a bit of a pain.

For the price, a belt sander at under ~100 for hogging off metal and a Spyderco Sharpmaker for final sharpening will give results just as good and MANY times faster.


I have the pro model, and use it for scissors (I know several hair dressers and scissor sharpening earns me free hair cuts), as well as reprofile of edges where I want very consistent grind lines on an edge bevel.
 
I just purchased the Apex complete last week directly from Edge Pro, having been frustrated by the Sharpmaker. The latter works well enough on blades that are already sharp, and that have bevels that correspond to one of it's two preset angles, but even with the ultra-fine rods I can't bring an edge to the sharpness I get with the Edge Pro 600 stone. I know the Sharpmaker is popular around here, but I've been a little disappointed with it.

I think the Edge Pro sets up reasonably fast, and I haven't felt it necessary to soak the stones before use. I just wet them and start in. The one downside is that the process is a bit messy. Okay, another downside is that casual use can result in minor scratches on wider blades like chef's knives, but care and use of painter's tape on the blade fixes that problem.

All in all, I HIGHLY recommend it, and recommend getting all the stones. Customer service is great too. They sent me an email a week after I got mine just to ask how I liked it.
 
leatherbird said:
Getting ready to pull the trigger on EdgePro's system.Anyone have one,use one?Any input would be greatly appreciated.Thanks!
Click to expand...

Excellent choice!!

JackJ is right... a little messy. I set mine up over a towel (except for the rear suction feet of course)... takes care of the mess and give me a convinient area to wipe the blade as I go.

Also, occasionally wipe the 'table' off as you sharpen... especially with the coarse stone... to avoid scratching the blade. I give mine a quick swipe when I flip the knife over. Not as important with the finer stones.

When I set it up (which is easy BTW...) I set the stones in a plate of water first. All the soak time they need.

I've tried several sharpening systems... I think the Edge Pro is a great value. Very versatile... easy to use... and puts a great edge on a knife.

Good luck!!
 
My Edge Pro ended my search for an easy-to-use, high-results sharpening system. After a short learning curve, I can quickly reprofile or put an extremely sharp edge on any knife or scissors. The bevels are even and the edge is centered--all with a minimum of steel removed.

I set up over a towel and don't have a problem with water spilling. After my first few knives, I don't put scratches on the blade (sharpen a few beaters until you get the hang of it. The video really helps). Plus, with 3000 an 4000 grit polishing tapes, my edges have a mirror finish! They look great.

One thing I found useful is lapping the stones every couple of months, especially the higher-grit stones. This keeps them flat, and gives them more "bite" on the steel blades. Just get an ordinary plate of glass (about 1' square), put on about a teaspoon of sand, and rub the grit in a figure eight. Can do this with sand on a sidewalk, or if you want to spend more money get a glass plate and lapping grit (Al02) from Lee Valley Tools. Keeps you cutting fast.
 
RobbW said:
One thing I found useful is lapping the stones every couple of months, especially the higher-grit stones. This keeps them flat, and gives them more "bite" on the steel blades. Just get an ordinary plate of glass (about 1' square), put on about a teaspoon of sand, and rub the grit in a figure eight. Can do this with sand on a sidewalk, or if you want to spend more money get a glass plate and lapping grit (Al02) from Lee Valley Tools. Keeps you cutting fast.
Click to expand...

Agreed. This isn't just useful, it's a must. I ran into all kinds of problems before I learned about lapping my stones. Once you dish out a stone, and the lower grits stones will dish faster (the extra coarse, coarse), you will be sharpening at a different angle than you think. Say you set the Edgepro to 15 degrees and reprofile with the coarse stone that is dished. You maybe putting a 20 degree or greater angle on the edge. Then you switch to the finer stones which are not dished and are now working at 15 degrees, but you are now polishing the shoulder of the edge and not the edge itself. You will get really frustrated wondering why the edge isn't getting sharper. This is where a loupe or pocket microscope will come in handy as you can check the edge. You will see the edge has a rouger scratch pattern from the coarse stone and farther up the edge you will see a finer scratch pattern from where the finer stones were making contact. You can also use a black maker to help make the contacted area more visable.

So keep those stones FLAT! :)

I use a piece of plate glass from leevalley with their silicon carbide lapping grit, it works fast. You want to do this on a regular basis so to reduce lapping times. I let my coarse stone get very dished and it took awhile to get it flat again. I think my extra coarse stone is still dished and by the time I get it flat there won't be much of it left. :) This is due to my own poor techniques when I was first learning with the Edgepro. I need to order some new stones one of these days.
 
Here's a quick sketch of how a dished stone will screw up your edge's angle.

dished.gif
 
WadeF said:
Here's a quick sketch of how a dished stone will screw up your edge's angle.

dished.gif
Click to expand...

Whoa! Nice illustration, Wade.

Another tip for lapping: You can tell when the hone is flat, because the abrasive will all be the same color. With the black Lee Valley Tools abrasive, it will get lighter in color as it gets smaller. You will see an oval "ring" of lighter color around the outside perimeter of the stone. It will grow towards the center until the abrasive is all one color. Then you know all of your hone is in contact with the glass, hence flat.
 
Gentlemen,Thank you all.You've made up my mind for me.Will post results as soon as I get them.WadeF,thank you particularly.A picture is worth a thousand words.Mr.BadExample,Bronks it is.Again,thanks to all.Leatherbird.
 
Best Sharpening investment you'll ever make. I just called their Office and the Owner Ben Dale answered and we got into a very casual 15 minute conversation on sharpening. He's a great guy and I know that he is very busy right now as their business is booming. A testament to his making a "better mousetrap"
 
WadeF said:
I use a piece of plate glass from leevalley with their silicon carbide lapping grit, it works fast. You want to do this on a regular basis so to reduce lapping times.
Click to expand...

Or spend 80 bucks and get a 4X36 belt sander and lap it in seconds. Or, better yet, use the sander to put the edges there ;)

WYK
 
WYK said:
Or spend 80 bucks and get a 4X36 belt sander and lap it in seconds. Or, better yet, use the sander to put the edges there ;)

WYK
Click to expand...

How effective is using a belt sander to put an edge on a knife? Isn't it generating a lot of heat at the very edge which could ruin the temper of the steel?

Also when using a sander do you point the edge into the forward motion of the belt (like you would hone a knife on a stone) or away (like when you strop)?
 
Very effective.
Dip in water between passes, use fresh sharp belts, and very light pressure.

Practice on scrap knives.

It is very easy to ruin the temper if you are not careful, so you need to be careful.

It is so fast though, with virtually no burr forming. Once you use this method, you will be hooked.
 
Note that if temper is your concern. Cliff Stamp and others have placed the belts on wood slats and used them as large hones. You use a very course material (think 60 or 80 grit to really hog off metal) with a big surface area, you can really remove a lot of metal fast. You can even change the primary grind profile of a blade in short order using this manual method.
 
WadeF said:
How effective is using a belt sander to put an edge on a knife? Isn't it generating a lot of heat at the very edge which could ruin the temper of the steel?

Also when using a sander do you point the edge into the forward motion of the belt (like you would hone a knife on a stone) or away (like when you strop)?
Click to expand...

A belt sander is very effective for sharpening a knife. I bought a 1x30 sander from habor freight...under $30...and works excellent. I use a 600 grit followed by a leather belt treated with 'white rouge'. You have to pay attention to heat buildup.... but you don't get near the heat you get on a grinder. Usually I make a pass... look at what I did.... and make a pass... and the blade never gets more than warm.

I sharpened an old khukuri... that had never been sharpened... figured it would take me at least an hour... literally in under 10 min. I put a convex edge on it that would shave hair. It surprised me how easy it was and how well it worked.

You have the belt running away from the edge. I mounted mine so I could lay it flat with the belt running away from me.

I've tried and used several sharpening 'systems' as well as freehand... and I think all have their pros and cons.... which is why it's hard to answer the 'what's the best sharpener' question. I like the Edge Pro for it versatility, control, ease of use, and excellent results. Sharpmaker good for maintaining an edge that conforms to the preset bevels (or learn to adapt). Belt sander puts a great convex edge on a knife with minimal effort... although have to watch the heat. (Could get a slower one but cost seems to rise dramatically). Freehand has more of a learning curve. Mousepad/sandpaper also puts a great convex edge. I think (to get this back on track)... the average household, wanting to sharpen and maintain a few kitchen knives, pocket knives, hunting/fishing knives, would be pretty happy with the Apex.
 
Does anyone that has an Edgepro use it without water? Is this possible if you are doing mostly light to med sharpening and touch-ups? Also would the Spyderco 8x2 benchstones fit this rig ? ......William
 
wmk1228 said:
Does anyone that has an Edgepro use it without water? Is this possible if you are doing mostly light to med sharpening and touch-ups? Also would the Spyderco 8x2 benchstones fit this rig ? ......William
Click to expand...
I have never used water on my Pro model EdgePro(except to clean the stones).
I use mine at work between my computer and keyboard, so water would NOT be a good idea!!!
 
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