Lenny
Gold Member
- Joined
- Oct 15, 1998
- Messages
- 2,090
Well, I received my Edge Pro yesterday and was dying to use it. I completely read the instruction manual before attempting a sharpening. I chose a long kitchen knife as my first victim. Setup of the Apex was a no brainer. The suction cups really stick to Formica, and don't slide. I picked a slightly low angle for the kitchen knife, 18 degrees I think. Started with a 220 grit stone. At first, the sharpening motion felt awkward, with everything being free to float. You see, I was used to my Lansky where the knife is clamped rigid. Anyway, I kinda got the hang of it and slowly learned to avoid the death grip on the knife handle. Actually, this worked well as it lets the knife and stone find each other (if you know what I mean). The other thing that took getting used to was sliding the knife back and forth on the sharpening table to present the whole edge to the stone. This is not as hard as it sounds as you can stop the sharpening motion and then slide the knife to a new position, then start sharpening again. Well, I finished up with the 320 grit stone and checked the edge. It was definitely sharper than before, but I think I can get it sharper. I kinda rushed the angle choice and don't think I formed a burr on either side consistently. At least I know I can get it better.
Well, I was feeling somewhat confident, so I took out my large Sebenza. I used the magic marker on the edge trick to determine the proper angle. It fell somewhere above the yellow mark, 21 degrees. Well, I decided to go with the yellow mark anyway because it was close and I wanted a slightly heavier duty use edge on it anyway. Plus, it makes an easy reference point for resharpenings. The one thing I learned with the Sebenza, as with all hollow ground blades is that secure placement on the sharpening table is somewhat trickier than on flat ground blades such as kitchen knives. The instruction manual states that you want the max blade width on the table for support with just the edge hanging over for sharpening. Adjustment of the sliding bladeguide is critical when sharpening hollow ground knives. Once I got this dialed in, sharpening went smoothly. Not as easy as the flat grind kitchen knife though. Anyway, the secret is to avoid the death grip on the knife hanadle and sharpening stone knob. This lets the stone find the edge. Light pressure is all that's needed, and keep the stones rinsed and wet with water. It was easy to get a burr on the Sebenza and I finished off with the 600 grit stone. No reason to use the 3000 grit tapes as I don't plan to do too much shaving with the Sebenza. Well, I got a "scary sharp" "hair popping" edge on the blade. My one mistake was that I didn't rinse the masking tape off that covered the blade table, so I got marks on the sides of the Sebenza blade from the grit slurry. Oh well, it is a user. I'll be more careful next time.
Overall, the Apex is built extremely well. No bendy aluminum pieces like the Lansky clamp and rods. Everything is thick steel rods and heavy duty thick plastic. Changing the stones is a breeze. It just takes some practice to get the hang of it using both hands to alternately hold the blade handle and perform the back and forth sharpening motion. All in all, I think this thing, along with the Spyderco Sharpmaker for touchups is the ultimate in sharpening systems. I'll probably post a follow up after I've used it some more. If anyone has additional hints for me, feel free to chime in.
Lenny
Well, I was feeling somewhat confident, so I took out my large Sebenza. I used the magic marker on the edge trick to determine the proper angle. It fell somewhere above the yellow mark, 21 degrees. Well, I decided to go with the yellow mark anyway because it was close and I wanted a slightly heavier duty use edge on it anyway. Plus, it makes an easy reference point for resharpenings. The one thing I learned with the Sebenza, as with all hollow ground blades is that secure placement on the sharpening table is somewhat trickier than on flat ground blades such as kitchen knives. The instruction manual states that you want the max blade width on the table for support with just the edge hanging over for sharpening. Adjustment of the sliding bladeguide is critical when sharpening hollow ground knives. Once I got this dialed in, sharpening went smoothly. Not as easy as the flat grind kitchen knife though. Anyway, the secret is to avoid the death grip on the knife hanadle and sharpening stone knob. This lets the stone find the edge. Light pressure is all that's needed, and keep the stones rinsed and wet with water. It was easy to get a burr on the Sebenza and I finished off with the 600 grit stone. No reason to use the 3000 grit tapes as I don't plan to do too much shaving with the Sebenza. Well, I got a "scary sharp" "hair popping" edge on the blade. My one mistake was that I didn't rinse the masking tape off that covered the blade table, so I got marks on the sides of the Sebenza blade from the grit slurry. Oh well, it is a user. I'll be more careful next time.
Overall, the Apex is built extremely well. No bendy aluminum pieces like the Lansky clamp and rods. Everything is thick steel rods and heavy duty thick plastic. Changing the stones is a breeze. It just takes some practice to get the hang of it using both hands to alternately hold the blade handle and perform the back and forth sharpening motion. All in all, I think this thing, along with the Spyderco Sharpmaker for touchups is the ultimate in sharpening systems. I'll probably post a follow up after I've used it some more. If anyone has additional hints for me, feel free to chime in.
Lenny
