Recommendation? Edge pro proffesional vs. Wicked edge

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facewizard13

Joined
Jun 29, 2015
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62
Title.

Been using a wicked edge for years now and I'm tired of the cost of their proprietary diamond plates. I was hoping I could get someone's opinion on the edge pro vs the wicked edge. Ideally, someone with experience with both, and the reasons why they went one way or another.
 
You can have your own stones cut and then mount them to the paddles ... I've done it before it's not too difficult. Plus each set should last around 300-400 knives,at least in my experience
 
Edge pro and hapstone use the same stones and alot are available. I'd suggest getting bonded cbn or diamond stones. Edge pro make a line that should last a long time without having to keep buying more because you can refresh them. Venev and also various other brands make all sorts of different types of bonded stones. I just got some metallic bonded diamond stones I'm going to be trying soon from hapstone and gritomatic.

Bonded stones should save you big money.

If you can get those for your wicked edge that would be great.
 
Could you glue EP style mounted stones to Wicked Edge paddles after removing their diamond plates? I have never played with a Wicked Edge so I don't know much.
 
Diemaker said:
Could you glue EP style mounted stones to Wicked Edge paddles after removing their diamond plates? I have never played with a Wicked Edge so I don't know much.
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You can buy empty Wicked Edge paddles… Unscrew the outer pieces of plastic from the paddles and glue your preferred stones to the empty paddles.

The main problem in gluing Edge Pro stones onto the Wicked Edge paddles is that the resulting paddles probably will be considerably thicker than standard paddles. If you possibly can, remove the aluminium bases from the Edge Pro stones before gluing them to the paddles. If your custom paddles are thicker than your other paddles, you will have to adjust the sharpening angle before you grind away, so you will need an digital Inclinometer like Angle Cube to get the right angle right. The stones will be some what longer than the paddles, but I do not think it will be a problem.

Spyderco’s medium and fine ceramic pocket stones can also be glued to empty Wicked Edge paddles. However, these stones will result in paddles, that are thinner than the standard paddles. To avoid this, I glued 2,5 mm aluminium plates (or was it 3 mm?) to the stones, before I glued them to the paddles. The finished paddles have exactly the same thickness as the standard Wicked Edge diamond paddles, so I can switch from diamond to ceramic stones without adjusting anything.

I know that standard Wicked Edge stones are glued with hot glue, but I used standard Araldite, so my paddles should not come apart no matter what happens.

I think some suppliers even offer Wicked Edge paddles with Spyderco ceramic stones (try contacting Jende Industries or Ken Schwartz). I really want to have a set of paddles with Spyderco ultra fine ceramic stones, but unfortunately Spyderco does not offer ceramic stones these stones in a format that will fit Wicked Edge paddles, so I will try one of the mentioned suppliers in the future.
 
I didn't know you could unscrew the plastic parts on the wicked edge paddles. I must have not looked at them too closely. If the plates are glued on with hot glue, it will be easy to get the old paddles off. I need to figure out what the dimensions of the wicked edge stones are so I can shop for ones that can fit on the paddles. If I can get edge pro stones and remove the aluminum on those, thatd be great because those stones are cheap
 
facewizard13 said:
I didn't know you could unscrew the plastic parts on the wicked edge paddles. I must have not looked at them too closely. If the plates are glued on with hot glue, it will be easy to get the old paddles off. I need to figure out what the dimensions of the wicked edge stones are so I can shop for ones that can fit on the paddles. If I can get edge pro stones and remove the aluminum on those, thatd be great because those stones are cheap
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You can buy unmounted EP stones with no backing... they're on their website.
 
BTW... to answer your original question... I've used both the EP and the WE over the years. While I enjoyed using the WE... and it is a great sharpener... I also like to experiment a bit, and the proprietary nature of the WE made that very difficult, and/or expensive. With the EP... especially testing stones... I could go the the hardware store, buy a length of aluminum, make my own blanks with simple tools, and experiment with a wide variety of stones to my hearts content. Pretty easy to mount some other stones too... for example, I've used a 2x6 DMT stone on my EP, with no modifications... just clamped it in.

A couple of other 'advantages' to the EP (IMO)... it's easier to see what you're doing, and using a platform vs. a clamp makes it much more versatile. Just seems a bit more "natural" way to sharpen, if that makes sense.

Not saying you should get rid of your WE necessarily... it does a good job... and there's pros & cons to every system and method... but I can say, my WE (parts) are in a storage box... my EP is still set up for occasional use (and actually mounted on the WE base haha). :)
 
How long do the diamond plates normally last and are you using them too hard and pre maturly wearing them out?
 
Mo2 said:
How long do the diamond plates normally last and are you using them too hard and pre maturly wearing them out?
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The diamond plates last about 3 months I'd say. I typically replace a whole set once a year. By a whole set I mean all the grits (100,200,400,600,800,1k). I had a new set at one point and tried the really light strokes but it didn't seem to make a difference to me as to how long the plates lasted. Right now I'm staring down a good $400 if I want to replace all those stones, that's why I'm looking for something cheaper.
 
I'm going to have to agree with you on being able to see what you're doing. I mostly sharpen my own knives for work, so I dont really worry about scratch patterns or even bevels. I do plan on getting a USB microscope to use in the near future so I can see what I'm doing using that anyway.
 
I've owned both.
Sold the EP
Bought the WE and never looked back.
The WE does everything I need it 2 and has never let me down!

I've been able to get consistent results with it...

something some say (and I have tried in the past with very good results) is to buy a pack of wet/dry sandpaper assorted grits... and you can actually cut them to the size you need to fit it on to a paddle for the WE.
Then simply tape the top and bottom to the paddle and you have a new grit..
It's not the BEST solution (would be better overall to buy blank paddles and create your own with a stone you cut to size and glue in...)

However the wet/dry sandpaper will actually do the trick with a little extra work... and its as cheap as anything... I mean with $20 you can have enough to last a very long time.
 
facewizard13 said:
The diamond plates last about 3 months I'd say. I typically replace a whole set once a year. By a whole set I mean all the grits (100,200,400,600,800,1k). I had a new set at one point and tried the really light strokes but it didn't seem to make a difference to me as to how long the plates lasted. Right now I'm staring down a good $400 if I want to replace all those stones, that's why I'm looking for something cheaper.
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ONLY 3 MONTHS!?
Wow.. that is wild!
How many knives are you sharpening per month?????

I've had mine for years and with minimal effort i've kept them in tip top shape... no sign of needing new 1's anywhere in sight!
 
facewizard13 said:
The diamond plates last about 3 months I'd say. I typically replace a whole set once a year. By a whole set I mean all the grits (100,200,400,600,800,1k). I had a new set at one point and tried the really light strokes but it didn't seem to make a difference to me as to how long the plates lasted. Right now I'm staring down a good $400 if I want to replace all those stones, that's why I'm looking for something cheaper.
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Holy cow, that's crazy fast. How many knifes does equate to?
 
facewizard13 said:
Typically 6-7 knives a week. More if a co worker wants me to sharpen theirs
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I do about half that with my WE 130. I've had it over a year now and I'm still on the original set of stones. I don't do a lot of re-setting bevels to different angles. Most of what I do is sharpening at the original angles, but I'm nowhere near needing new stones yet.
 
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