Edge Pro, Wicked, Sharpmaker, etc. for a beginner/klutz?

I'm going to throw in another plug for the KME. It is very precise, because of the gimbal there is absolutely no slop or play in the angle you choose. Once you lock it in - it's locked in. There are sets of diamond hones, as well as the more traditional ones including Arkansas wet stones, ceramic stones, strops, emulsions, chosera water stones, and a Hewlett 3 diamond surface jewel stick for curved blades. I believe that you could train a monkey to sharpen a razor sharp knife with this system - it's that simple to use. It's made in the USA and much cheaper then either the Edge Pro or Wicked Edge (both of which are excellent but I don't think either will produce a razors edge any easier. If you check the you tube video's by Dean O you can see how easy it is to get use an angle cube with the KME (I do) and also how simple it is to go below 17 degrees if you wish to.
 
Thanks everyone for your advice and comments. You have given me a lot to think about.
 
jbass said:
Thanks everyone for your advice and comments. You have given me a lot to think about.
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Best thing to do is watch all the different sharpeners in action on YouTube. See what you like best and what will work for you.
 
I am pretty much in the same boat as you with similar concerns. After much thought and deliberation I just ordered a wicked edge. I will be happy to let you know how it works, from one klutz to another.
 
I am looking at trying to make a sharpening jig similar to the Edge Pro and Wicked Edge.

My question is the Wicked Edge seems to sharpen the blade from the spine to the blade edge and the Edge pro from the blade edge to the spine. Which is the better system and by that I mean towards the blade edge or away from it.

I always thought it was best to sharpen away from the edge and not towards it like the wicked edge. Would welcome some comments
 
GB2014 said:
I am looking at trying to make a sharpening jig similar to the Edge Pro and Wicked Edge.

My question is the Wicked Edge seems to sharpen the blade from the spine to the blade edge and the Edge pro from the blade edge to the spine. Which is the better system and by that I mean towards the blade edge or away from it.

I always thought it was best to sharpen away from the edge and not towards it like the wicked edge. Would welcome some comments
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You can sharpen either way with the WE, edge leading or edge trailing. I usually do both when reprofiling an edge simply because it's faster to do both a push and a pull stroke with each stone to remove material. After reaching the apex and the burr starts to form, I do a few strokes into the edge on each side (as you're describing) to remove the burr, then a few strokes away from the edge to finish it off.
 
I just got my Work Sharp Ken Onion Edition with the blade attachment today. So far I've free hand sharpened two very dull knives (Doug Ritter Griptillian and a no name kitchen knife) to hair shaving sharp in about 5 min tops. Most of this time was spent fiddling with the machine since I didn't bother reading the instructions. I'm very satisfied. I think there's a lot of things you can do with this system as you get more used to it. I would recommend it with the caveat that I haven't tried the other sharpening systems mentioned in this thread so I can't comment how it compares to them.
 
I have the Edge Pro, which requires you to hold the knife still on the table with one hand. Magnets can help keep the knife still, but can be a problem with small knives if you need to use a riser block. I wouldn't recommend this system for anyone with shaky hands.
I also have the KME diamond system, which clamps the blade and works well as others have said. The fine diamond leaves more of a noticeable scratch pattern, so I have a ceramic finishing stone on order.
 
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