choosing what type of stones to buy for EdgePro Apex

[The Lock Artist]

Hello all. i currently only own three knives, a usmc kabar, a short kabar, and a s&w m&p assisted opening folder. I want to expand my collection and think that first I should buy a nice sharpening set. I have already read the stickies on how to sharpen knives and After searching these forums I have decided to go with the Edge Pro Apex as I am not very good at freehand sharpening.. However, I was looking at articles on maintaining waterstones, and after reading around I realized that it seems a bit more complicated then I expected. So here are my points where I have questions.

1. I know that waterstones need to be cleaned and require leveling, but how often do I need to do this? How do I know when a stone needs leveling? I don't plan on doing any major reshaping of the blade, just regular sharpening as my knives see quite a bit of use.

2. What is the best method for leveling waterstones, I have seen people recommend an extra coarse diamond plate, but is there a particular size and brand that works the best? How often will I need to replace a water stone? How often will I need to replace a dedicated leveler?

3. Should I just go with diamonds for sharpening? If I am going to have to use a diamond plate to level my waterstones maybe I should just go for diamond sharpeners and throw out waterstones all together? How long do diamond sharpeners last compared to waterstones and what maintenance do they require? Are there any downsides to using diamonds over waterstones other than initial cost?

4. Kind of part of three. If I decide to get diamond sharpeners, what brands and grits should I get? Is the sharpening process and result the same as with water stones? Will only certain brands/sizes be compatible with the edgepro system?

Thank you for any help and if you don't understand any questions, I am sorry, my English isn't very good but I will try to clarify.

 

[Sadden]

1) This can vary quite a bit , steel type , surface area of the bevel , and stone type can all play a role. Harder stones such as shaptons require less leveling than many other stones. But any hard stone will require less leveling than a softer stone.

2)Atoma Plates , the best period (unless you feel like splurging on a shapton plate). You can get away with just the 140 , but the higher grit ones pair well with higher grit waterstones.

3)You can , for highly abrasion resistant steels this is actually preferred. They do wear out over time , I'm not sure how long though as I have never wore one out. Ken uses his atoma 140 to level stones that he cuts for the EP , WEPS and KME , and I think he just wore out his first one after leveling thousands of sharpening stones. So an atoma plate will last a very long time indeed. Other people like the DMT's , although I have always preffered the Atomas. Theres also Diamond films , they come in a wide range of grits , but are more delicate than plates.

Maintenance wise they only thing you need to do is scrub them off with a stiff brush and warm soapy water once in awhile.

The downside is that they scratch deeper than comparative waterstones , other than that you can get some pretty amazing results with even just an Atoma 140.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j032eLxxhzc

4)This should be answered above , but for the Edge Pro I would only buy the Atoma plates directly from Ken Schwartz , there have been some unfortunate attempts to reproduce what he does with the Atoma plates for the EP with less than ideal results.
http://www.chefknivestogoforum.com/atoma-140-ep-fake-knockoff-t8980.html

The DMT 2x6 ones that are sold by CKTG are still good so far as I know.

As for films you will have to ask what everyone else uses. I have been having great luck with the new ones over at www.jendeindustries.com

 

[The Lock Artist]

Thank You for the reply, it was quite informative. When you say that diamond sharpeners scratch deeper, what does this mean for the user? Just that more metal is removed?

 

[Sadden]

It just means that compared to a similar waterstone the scratches are deeper , The 140 atoma and 150 Nubatama are perfect examples , at nearly an identical "grit" the atoma 140 is faster , and more aggressive. It is common to do your stock removal with a 140 Atoma and use the 150 Nubatama to remove those super aggressive diamond scratches.