Edge Pro plus Sharpmaker?

B

Bob N

Joined
Oct 4, 2010
Messages
61
Hello folks, I'm new here and this is my first post. After much reading, research, and toiling, I finally pulled the trigger and ordered the edge Pro Apex 4 with the works today.

Cooking is one of my hobbies and I like sharp knives in the kitchen. I am not a knife collector, but do have a few pocket knives that I also like to keep sharp and well tuned. My kitchen knives are the J A Henkel 4 star line.

Being a woodworker, I am not totally new to sharp edges, bevels and proper angles, and have a pretty good arsenal of sharpening equipment in the shop including belt sanders and water/oil stones. I ordered the EP so that I could more easily keep a good and proper edge on my kitchen knives without the added time and guess work of freehand and other means. I can also keep the EP in the kitchen rather than chase to the shop everytime I need to sharpen a knife. I don't mind relying on guides to keep things as they should be and assist my shakey old hands.

All things considered, I was wondering if I would benefit by also getting the Spyderco Sharpmaker for touch ups between sharpening? Could it be used in place of a steel?

Thanks for any suggestions and I look forward to being a part of this forum and learning from you great folks that are so kind to share what you know.
 
The Apex 4 kit comes with a ceramic rod... and Edge Pro provides instructions on how to maintain your edge with it. You might try that before getting a Sharpmaker... and see if that meets your needs.

cbw
 
Bob N said:
All things considered, I was wondering if I would benefit by also getting the Spyderco Sharpmaker for touch ups between sharpening?
Click to expand...

That is precisely what I do. I use the EdgePro Apex a few times a year to set the proper bevels, then keep the Sharpmaker set up on a kitchen shelf for weekly touch-ups. Just 5-10 strokes on the Sharpmaker each week does the trick. Just be sure that when you do your major sharpening with the EdgePro, that you are using the same angles that the Sharpmaker will use afterwords.

Could it be used in place of a steel?
Click to expand...

No. Knives still require a daily steeling before each use. Nothing keeps an edge on a knife longer than proper maintenance. These days I prefer to use a glass rod rather than a steel, but I think that's just personal preference. I imagine either works equally well. :thumbup: I'm not particularly fond of using a ceramic stick for this purpose, but then again, that's probably personal preference too. I just don't think there is need to remove metal every day, and a ceramic stick does that.

Stitchawl
 
Great info Stitchawl, this will help me a lot with my decision.

Many thanks!
 
I just got my Edge Pro in the mail last week and over the past few days sharpened all my kitchen knives and even my Strider SNG.

My thoughts...

This is a great system but I will say that the 120 grit stone is useless... it didn't cut out of the box or after I ran it over the silicon carbide. That being said... the 220 stone worked just fine for reprofiling my knives (and I did on each one).

As a hint: make sure you take each side to a burr before moving to the other side... then do the same to that side... then move to the next stone without taking the burr off. I did this all the way to the 1000 grit stone and this gave me very good results.

Ski
 
Thanks Ski, mine has not arrived yet, but I'll keep your tip in mind when it does.
 
ohski said:
This is a great system but I will say that the 120 grit stone is useless... it didn't cut out of the box or after I ran it over the silicon carbide.
Click to expand...

Don't throw it away. Use it as a 'blank' to mount wet/dry sandpaper of low grit sizes. Some 100 grit paper applied to a stone with a white paper gluestick is great for a fast re-profile, comes right off and washes up with plain water when your done.

Stitchawl
 
stitchawl said:
Don't throw it away. Use it as a 'blank' to mount wet/dry sandpaper of low grit sizes. Some 100 grit paper applied to a stone with a white paper gluestick is great for a fast re-profile, comes right off and washes up with plain water when your done.

Stitchawl
Click to expand...

That is a good idea... I was just going to buy another 220 but... I like the way you think.

Thanks, Ski
 
i don't cook, so my needs may differ from yours. i have the Edgepro, Sharpmaker, and a Lansky. i haven't used any thing except the EP, since i got it. i, PERSONALLY, think the SM is a waste of time and money which makes selling mine difficult because i tend to talk people out of buying it. (IMO) there's a lot better ways to spend 40bux than on a Sharpmaker :(
 
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