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- May 18, 2005
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- 22,966
Thanks, that sounds like it will do the trick.
Edge Pro VS EZE Sharp
- Thread starter bigbcustom
- Start date
Does any EZESharp user (or non-user) have any ideas how to make our own stone holders. They cost US$25.00 for a small holder, the large holder isn't for sale on it's own - they only come with the kit. Since we tend to have more stones, it would really be very convenient if we can have all of it mounted and ready.
Thanks very much.
Thanks very much.
- Joined
- Dec 8, 2004
- Messages
- 67
If you can get Ben Dale to sell you a stone arm, that works the best. I have both systems, so I just use the Edge Pro stones/arm. I hate the stone holders with the EZE-SHarp.
D_R_Sharpening
Banned
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- Dec 23, 2005
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- 157
louisianacook said:
Leave it to you Lee.....great idea!! :thumbup:
--Dave--
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- Dec 8, 2004
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- 67
Yeah, you can't imagine how much I felt like a dumba** after flopping around for 20 minutes trying to get a benchstone in that holder. For some reason, I guess cause the two systems are like 2 feet apart, I just grabbed the Edge Pro Arm and went to town.
- Joined
- Dec 8, 2004
- Messages
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I use the EZE Sharp system with the Edge Pro arm and edge pro stones. The pictures should help you see what I am doing.
- Joined
- Nov 23, 2005
- Messages
- 50
Cool! I'm glad someone found a use for the edgpro. I was about to get rid of mine. Now I may have to get an EZ sharp and use the edgepro for parts! I should not be so hard on the edgepro, I just dislike the blade table. I find it extremely difficult to move the blade around on the table while mainaining a consistant edge. This is especially challenging when using my left hand to hold the knife. I guess if I used it more often, I might get the hang of it.
I'm interested in hearing how Louisianacook and others end up liking the EZ sharp system as compared to the edgepro.
I'm interested in hearing how Louisianacook and others end up liking the EZ sharp system as compared to the edgepro.
- Joined
- Dec 8, 2004
- Messages
- 67
I am guessing you have the Apex right? I had the same issues you describe above with the Apex, unless your table height is just right it will be difficult to control the blade on the table. Now that I have the pro, and have it adjusted to my liking, I don't have any more control issues. I have been churning out very sharp blades very quickly and easily with my current setup(s).
Even with the Edge Pro arm and stones using the EZE Sharp is proving to be a slower process from start to finish.
Even with the Edge Pro arm and stones using the EZE Sharp is proving to be a slower process from start to finish.
Ahhhh ok... I thought you were just using the arm and rigging standard stones in it some how. Which is possible I suppose.
I have a few techniques available for the Edge Pro that do help with some of the control issues. Seeing as I can't post attachements however.... You'll have to contact me direct.
A primary one is the work surface height. The Edge Pro blade table and your elbow should be at approximately the same height. This solves a LOT of control issues.
I have a few techniques available for the Edge Pro that do help with some of the control issues. Seeing as I can't post attachements however.... You'll have to contact me direct.
A primary one is the work surface height. The Edge Pro blade table and your elbow should be at approximately the same height. This solves a LOT of control issues.
- Joined
- Nov 23, 2005
- Messages
- 50
Yes I do have the edgepro apex. Louisiana, I am curious as to the difference in controll with the pro model versus the apex.
Quietone, I just checked my setup on the edgepro blade table height. Currently, I am setting the unit on top of the kitchen counter, which puts the edge of the blade table just about one to two inches below my elbows. Is this too low?
Thanks for your help.
FBF
Quietone, I just checked my setup on the edgepro blade table height. Currently, I am setting the unit on top of the kitchen counter, which puts the edge of the blade table just about one to two inches below my elbows. Is this too low?
Thanks for your help.
FBF
You can get a copy of Edge Pro Techniques here
http://tinyurl.com/drl2c
or if that doesn't work try http://www.knifeforums.com/forums/showtopic.php?tid/752011/
For some reason none of tools on the message pane here work. Probably because my antivirus keeps showing an infection when ever I go to write a message. Something on these pages it views as a virus. script or cookie or something.
The biggest difference in the Pro and the Apex is the head and tensioning unit on the Pro. Other wise over all size immediately pops to mind. Email me if you can't get a copy of the tips, or want the last revision. Dwade_Hawley@hotmail.com
Exerpt from the tips:
Mounting Surface. The surface should be as smooth as possible where youre going to stick it down. This is less important with the Pro than the Apex but it still benefits from a solid lock up on the surface. Normally I use a two drawer rolling file cabinet the top is a Formica/Arborite surface which Ive coated with automotive polish, this makes for one slick surface and the suction clamps down so hard on this that I can lift the file cabinet off the floor without breaking the suction. Clean up is easier, wipe dry and youre done. As it becomes scratched with girt just buff the surface with another coat of wax. The suction on the Pro is something else, I actually have stuck it to a butcher block bench table that was anything but smooth I used a squirt of water then locked it down. This held until too much water was absorbed by the bench top. In that period of time I sharpened 3 knives with no stability problem. The Pro will stick to about any flat surface, least that Ive tried.
Tensioning the unit. Follow the directions. When you have it adjusted correctly for you lock the head down tight use both hands. Then lift the rear of the table with your fingers and push the support rod down with your thumb and tighten the set screw with the other hand. Between the suction, the locked head, and the tension in the rear supporting the unit it will not shift at all. I mean rock hard stable.
Height adjustment. Ive found that the working height can influence the sharpening considerably. Ive found that having the edge of the Edge Pro support at about the same height as my elbow gives me the most consistent stroke pressure. If the edge is too high there is an increase in downward pressure by the fact my elbow is lower than the knife edge and the pressure is therefore downward.. If the edge is too low the stroke can lift and/or twist by the natural stroke of the forearm and there is a tendency for lifting causing the stone to skid or skip.
Body positioning. I find for me that if I position my body to the corner of the work surface at almost a 45 degree angle to the Edge Pro facing the direction of the knife tip I get the most consistent result. This way the arm is free to move towards the off side of the knife support table, a push and sliding motion is very natural. This does necessitate repositioning my body from side to side as I flip the knife but is no big problem standing or sitting on a high rolling bar stool/drafting seat.
Standing or sitting. Standing is easier to do. However there is a tendency to not hold the exact same body position each time. Without the consistency and repeatability the results are not as good. Sitting locks the body position more. Less shifting of the feet or twisting of the hips. The arm is in a more locked situation and the movement of the arm almost has to be consistent. This can feel un-natural and the movement from side to side requires that you use a chair with wheels. This can be a good thing, you use too much pressure and youll start pushing your chair around, you know immediately youre trying to use force and not letting the stones do the work.
I honestly keep flip flopping on this. Sometimes I sit. Often I stand. Standing I find I need a higher work surface than sitting. I need a higher surface than that provided by my roll away file cabinet and for this Ive started using an old high school desk. I do find that standing for total re-profiling is quicker. However when I get down to the point where Im trying for the ultimate in smooth with polishing tapes. The lighter touch and consistent -repeatable control I get sitting is better. For general sharpening where I am only going to 320 grit it is difficult to tell the difference. After that there is a noticeable difference. Sitting is slower and finer control but to what degree it is needed I cant make up my mind.
Edge rocking and blade stability. Blade stability equals better sharpening. I think this may be more difficult to achieve than getting used to the Edge Pro shuffle. Some knives just do NOT want to stay steady. Twisting up and down like a piece of flagging in a strong wind sort of just flapping around. Most knives are easy to hold steady thats the plus side. The few that dont hold steady can drive you nuts thats the down side. Ive gotten a few that about made me scream in frustration.
Putting a strip of painters tape on the blade support table can help. In truth I put painters tape on my blade support table every time I sharpen. It helps protect the plastic and I feel it gives more control all the time. If the blade is thicker than the guide, use the guide clip if it doesnt get in the way. (low angles or thin width blades you can end up scraping the guide clip. BTW order extra guide clips when you buy your system. Its going to be the first thing you lose or that gets damaged.) Some knives just dont seem to have a flat that you can rest on or the flat is only in one spot on the blade and once you get off that spot there goes the stability and the blade edge is flopping around like a fish out of water. Try placing a strip or two of painters tape on the blade to provide the flat. As well the friction between the tape on the blade and tape on the blade support table will help make things more stable. You can always adjust the arm height to take care of any angle discrepancy.
Lock your wrist. Rock the blade on the blade support table until you find the flat and get the most stable position. Once you find that. Lock your wrist angle, adjust your hand so its comfortable but lock your wrist so it doesnt twist forward or back. Hold it and feel it so you recognize the feeling. Dont squeeze the handle too hard. If youre choking the handle to the point you are getting cramps youre gripping way too hard. Dont push! Not on, in or down. Just hold the blade steady so that the angle of the blade on the support table is always the same. Sometimes on longer knives youll find that as you pull back past the half way point on the blade you start to introduce a twist. This is an indication that your work height is wrong. If the twist is up the table surface is to low, if its down the surface is too high. If your wrist is locked the twist is less likely to occur. Keep your stroke flat. I dont want to push the stone up or down but in and across the width of the table support.
Nothing saying you cant use your fingers on the top of the blade pushing down slightly to hold the blade flat either. Experiment and find what works for you. What gives the results you want. The result is what counts. You can train your muscles to use the same technique all the time. Find what works and then perfect it. It is much easier to learn good reliable repeatable techniques than to try and correct in-grained techniques that hinder the end result later. Watch the video that Ben provides several times before you start and once every few weeks after that as a refresher. Watch his technique in slow motion on your DVD player. Try your best to copy that exactly. I cant but I have to stand differently to get the consistency I want. I think my stroke is good and I work at trying to do it the same way every time. Use the full length of the stone through the full width of the table and make the stroke as flat and smooth as possible. Dont try to force it. Let the stones do the work. Its hard to describe the pressure required but you feel or hear it clearly. Best I can say is youre trying to shave the stone on the knife edge.
Go slow! Its not a race! A smooth, steady, consistent stroke is much more conducive to an even edge. Even edges are going to be sharper. When you first start move the stone across the width of the table. Stop. Lift the stone off the blade, reposition at the edge of the blade then push across the width of the table. Corner to corner. Stop. Lift. Place. Push. Think about what youre doing when you start. After awhile it will become automatic. Your speed will pick up and you will start sharpening on the pull back stroke too. The progression is really quite rapid if you start properly.
That's snipped from the first few pages. Hope it helps. I don't own the Apex I have used one. I do think the Apex may be the best bargain in Sharpening. The Pro however just that step above everything.
But with the price reduction on the Eze-Sharp it becomes attractive. Myself if I couldn't own an Edge Pro I'd get an Eze-Sharp. I'd not be as happy but I can get sharp edges with the Eze-Sharp.
http://tinyurl.com/drl2c
or if that doesn't work try http://www.knifeforums.com/forums/showtopic.php?tid/752011/
For some reason none of tools on the message pane here work. Probably because my antivirus keeps showing an infection when ever I go to write a message. Something on these pages it views as a virus. script or cookie or something.
The biggest difference in the Pro and the Apex is the head and tensioning unit on the Pro. Other wise over all size immediately pops to mind. Email me if you can't get a copy of the tips, or want the last revision. Dwade_Hawley@hotmail.com
Exerpt from the tips:
Mounting Surface. The surface should be as smooth as possible where youre going to stick it down. This is less important with the Pro than the Apex but it still benefits from a solid lock up on the surface. Normally I use a two drawer rolling file cabinet the top is a Formica/Arborite surface which Ive coated with automotive polish, this makes for one slick surface and the suction clamps down so hard on this that I can lift the file cabinet off the floor without breaking the suction. Clean up is easier, wipe dry and youre done. As it becomes scratched with girt just buff the surface with another coat of wax. The suction on the Pro is something else, I actually have stuck it to a butcher block bench table that was anything but smooth I used a squirt of water then locked it down. This held until too much water was absorbed by the bench top. In that period of time I sharpened 3 knives with no stability problem. The Pro will stick to about any flat surface, least that Ive tried.
Tensioning the unit. Follow the directions. When you have it adjusted correctly for you lock the head down tight use both hands. Then lift the rear of the table with your fingers and push the support rod down with your thumb and tighten the set screw with the other hand. Between the suction, the locked head, and the tension in the rear supporting the unit it will not shift at all. I mean rock hard stable.
Height adjustment. Ive found that the working height can influence the sharpening considerably. Ive found that having the edge of the Edge Pro support at about the same height as my elbow gives me the most consistent stroke pressure. If the edge is too high there is an increase in downward pressure by the fact my elbow is lower than the knife edge and the pressure is therefore downward.. If the edge is too low the stroke can lift and/or twist by the natural stroke of the forearm and there is a tendency for lifting causing the stone to skid or skip.
Body positioning. I find for me that if I position my body to the corner of the work surface at almost a 45 degree angle to the Edge Pro facing the direction of the knife tip I get the most consistent result. This way the arm is free to move towards the off side of the knife support table, a push and sliding motion is very natural. This does necessitate repositioning my body from side to side as I flip the knife but is no big problem standing or sitting on a high rolling bar stool/drafting seat.
Standing or sitting. Standing is easier to do. However there is a tendency to not hold the exact same body position each time. Without the consistency and repeatability the results are not as good. Sitting locks the body position more. Less shifting of the feet or twisting of the hips. The arm is in a more locked situation and the movement of the arm almost has to be consistent. This can feel un-natural and the movement from side to side requires that you use a chair with wheels. This can be a good thing, you use too much pressure and youll start pushing your chair around, you know immediately youre trying to use force and not letting the stones do the work.
I honestly keep flip flopping on this. Sometimes I sit. Often I stand. Standing I find I need a higher work surface than sitting. I need a higher surface than that provided by my roll away file cabinet and for this Ive started using an old high school desk. I do find that standing for total re-profiling is quicker. However when I get down to the point where Im trying for the ultimate in smooth with polishing tapes. The lighter touch and consistent -repeatable control I get sitting is better. For general sharpening where I am only going to 320 grit it is difficult to tell the difference. After that there is a noticeable difference. Sitting is slower and finer control but to what degree it is needed I cant make up my mind.
Edge rocking and blade stability. Blade stability equals better sharpening. I think this may be more difficult to achieve than getting used to the Edge Pro shuffle. Some knives just do NOT want to stay steady. Twisting up and down like a piece of flagging in a strong wind sort of just flapping around. Most knives are easy to hold steady thats the plus side. The few that dont hold steady can drive you nuts thats the down side. Ive gotten a few that about made me scream in frustration.
Putting a strip of painters tape on the blade support table can help. In truth I put painters tape on my blade support table every time I sharpen. It helps protect the plastic and I feel it gives more control all the time. If the blade is thicker than the guide, use the guide clip if it doesnt get in the way. (low angles or thin width blades you can end up scraping the guide clip. BTW order extra guide clips when you buy your system. Its going to be the first thing you lose or that gets damaged.) Some knives just dont seem to have a flat that you can rest on or the flat is only in one spot on the blade and once you get off that spot there goes the stability and the blade edge is flopping around like a fish out of water. Try placing a strip or two of painters tape on the blade to provide the flat. As well the friction between the tape on the blade and tape on the blade support table will help make things more stable. You can always adjust the arm height to take care of any angle discrepancy.
Lock your wrist. Rock the blade on the blade support table until you find the flat and get the most stable position. Once you find that. Lock your wrist angle, adjust your hand so its comfortable but lock your wrist so it doesnt twist forward or back. Hold it and feel it so you recognize the feeling. Dont squeeze the handle too hard. If youre choking the handle to the point you are getting cramps youre gripping way too hard. Dont push! Not on, in or down. Just hold the blade steady so that the angle of the blade on the support table is always the same. Sometimes on longer knives youll find that as you pull back past the half way point on the blade you start to introduce a twist. This is an indication that your work height is wrong. If the twist is up the table surface is to low, if its down the surface is too high. If your wrist is locked the twist is less likely to occur. Keep your stroke flat. I dont want to push the stone up or down but in and across the width of the table support.
Nothing saying you cant use your fingers on the top of the blade pushing down slightly to hold the blade flat either. Experiment and find what works for you. What gives the results you want. The result is what counts. You can train your muscles to use the same technique all the time. Find what works and then perfect it. It is much easier to learn good reliable repeatable techniques than to try and correct in-grained techniques that hinder the end result later. Watch the video that Ben provides several times before you start and once every few weeks after that as a refresher. Watch his technique in slow motion on your DVD player. Try your best to copy that exactly. I cant but I have to stand differently to get the consistency I want. I think my stroke is good and I work at trying to do it the same way every time. Use the full length of the stone through the full width of the table and make the stroke as flat and smooth as possible. Dont try to force it. Let the stones do the work. Its hard to describe the pressure required but you feel or hear it clearly. Best I can say is youre trying to shave the stone on the knife edge.
Go slow! Its not a race! A smooth, steady, consistent stroke is much more conducive to an even edge. Even edges are going to be sharper. When you first start move the stone across the width of the table. Stop. Lift the stone off the blade, reposition at the edge of the blade then push across the width of the table. Corner to corner. Stop. Lift. Place. Push. Think about what youre doing when you start. After awhile it will become automatic. Your speed will pick up and you will start sharpening on the pull back stroke too. The progression is really quite rapid if you start properly.
That's snipped from the first few pages. Hope it helps. I don't own the Apex I have used one. I do think the Apex may be the best bargain in Sharpening. The Pro however just that step above everything.
But with the price reduction on the Eze-Sharp it becomes attractive. Myself if I couldn't own an Edge Pro I'd get an Eze-Sharp. I'd not be as happy but I can get sharp edges with the Eze-Sharp.
- Joined
- Dec 8, 2004
- Messages
- 67
I didn't miss it, I just forgot about it. I can't tell where mine is made, where is the "made in _________" mark on yours. The only marks I see are the patent numbers for several countries.
- Joined
- Dec 8, 2004
- Messages
- 67
OOPS, well I guess we will never know then, I think I pitched the box with the invoice last week. Maybe not though, I'll take a look.
BTW, why does this matter?
BTW, why does this matter?
- Joined
- Dec 8, 2004
- Messages
- 67
Where are the others supposedly made? And is there a difference between countries of origin? What makes the model from " made in X country" more or less desireable than " made in Y country "
I guess I am confused why it matters.
Thanks,
Lee
I guess I am confused why it matters.
Thanks,
Lee