Edgepro Apex = OMG!

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Heiheit said:
I just bought an apex and it should be arriving soon. I've gone through so many systems like the sharpmaker, dmt aligner, paper wheels, diamond benchstones, and others. I hope that the apex will make all of these obsolete. Great looking edges you have there; what polishing tape did you go up to? Mine comes with 1k and 3k, but im going to buy the 6k and an extra 120.
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I got the apex 4 with the 120 220 320 600 1000 stones and the 2000 and 3000 polish tapes both blades got the whole treatment.

I can't wait to put these through the paces at work to see how they perform.
 
DAMN those edges look good! Well done. The more I look at it the more I like it, but I have to ask. Can whetstones deliver the same edges? Whetstones are easier to get here and I like freehand.
 
marthinus said:
DAMN those edges look good! Well done. The more I look at it the more I like it, but I have to ask. Can whetstones deliver the same edges? Whetstones are easier to get here and I like freehand.
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I have been using water stones and getting sharp edges but am not satisfied with the bevel. I have a hard time getting an even bevel all along the blade. That's why I decided to get an Apex. I think I will end up using it to set the initial bevel and then I can maintain the edge with a quick swipe on the stones or strop as needed.

...........At least that is the plan :D
 
stitchawl said:
I have/had all those systems too. Nice, but nothing compares with an EdgePro! That said, I still use my Sharpmaker in the kitchen for weekly touch-ups, and the DMT Aligner clamp with sandpaper for backpack carry. The blades all get put on the EdgePro at least twice a year, then maintained with either Sharpmaker or strops.

I looooove to make mirror edges... Wait until you mount a good piece of horsehide to an EdgePro stone blank and strop with that... THAT is a mirrored edge!

Stitchawl
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Out of curiosity do you strop on the EP at the same angle that you sharpen? Or do you lower the angle a hair to compensate for a little compression of the leather?
 
marthinus said:
DAMN those edges look good! Well done. The more I look at it the more I like it, but I have to ask. Can whetstones deliver the same edges? Whetstones are easier to get here and I like freehand.
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If you can hold an angle as steady, then yes. That's the genius of EP, constant angle.
 
FlaMtnBkr said:
Out of curiosity do you strop on the EP at the same angle that you sharpen? Or do you lower the angle a hair to compensate for a little compression of the leather?
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I don't change anything. The leather probably isn't even at the same height as the stones were... I never bothered to check that. Off hand I'd say that the leather and mount is actually thicker than a stone and mount. (I built up the base for the leather using hard sole leather) I made a couple of them at the same time, some with cowhide and various compounds and one that is bare horsehide. I just sharpen and then strop. I can't even conceive of the edges being any better than they are when I'm done! If you look at the edges your eyeballs will bleed. :)


Stitchawl
 
Heiheit said:
anyone have more pictures of knives done on ep's?
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No pics needed! Just imagine 'the perfect edge.'

The bevels are perfectly uniform. The edges are perfectly balanced. The mirror finish is so fine they were considering it for the Hubble Telescope...:D


Stitchawl
 
Yep, gotta love a good EP edge, something very satisfying about being able get perfect bevels.
 
Got my edge pro the other day and I've been working on a few different knives. There is a definite learning curve. Mine is an older one and doesn't come with the 1k stone, so I'm ordering that and some 6k tapes. I haven't been getting perfect mirror finishes and I think it's because the jump from the 600 stone to the 1k tape is too high. I'm using almost no pressure and spending enough time with each stone to remove the previous scratches.

I've sharpened a ka-bar, buck 119, buck 110, buck 112 and a spyderco mule.

I got the best finish on the mule, but didn't grind the bevels down enough; this is partly due to the terrible (TERRIBLE) factory grind that actually dipped in the edge in the middle. Im going to go back to the 220 stone and try to grind the rest of the bevel correctly.

Once I get the 1k, I'll go back to the knives I've sharpened and use that stone followed by 1k tape, 3k tape, 6k tape. Hopefully, that will give me the mirror.

It should be noted that although they aren't perfect yet, they're still very sharp. I Won't be using it on any expensive knives until I get it down perfectly.
 
Once the bevel is evened out, I probably use less than 20 strokes on each grit. I spend more time changing and watering stones than sharpening. :D And yes, that's to get a great mirror image. I love my EP.
 
I got the EP yesterday and stayed up until 11.30pm sharpening knives :D:D

I started on an old spyderco and got that to pop hairs off my arm. I then dove straight in and went to work on my Sebenza :eek: (Never one to die wondering :D)

I spent quite a bit of time on it because I had to even out the bevels after my not so perfect free hand sharpenings. I could always get a sharp knife free hand but never a perfectly even and balanced bevel.

So now I have the bevels right and it is pretty sharp but still needs a little more grinding with the 220 stone to bring the edge together and get a burr right a long the length of the edge. Once I have this right I will start working back up to the finer stones until I have a perfect mirror edge :cool:

One thing I noticed is that the VG10 on the spyderco was much easier and quicker to fix than S30V on the sebenza.

I will post pictures when finished
 
sodak said:
Once the bevel is evened out, I probably use less than 20 strokes on each grit. I spend more time changing and watering stones than sharpening. :D And yes, that's to get a great mirror image. I love my EP.
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Meeee too!! Meeee too!! After working up a good burr with the courser stones, it only takes 20-30 strokes per side to move through the finer grits. But that first burr on BOTH sides is RREALLLLYY important. In fact, I do it twice. :eek:
(Yes, that does wastes a little metal, but not that much. I still have knives from 20 years ago that show very little wear from sharpening.)

After being absotivly certain that both bevels match and have a good continuous burr formation, I move through the other stones very quickly using a LOT of water! I douse the stones after every few strokes, and wash them completely when changing. (I learned this style from watching Master Japanese sword sharpeners in Seki City. They add water after every 3-4 strokes on the waterstones) When using tapes and films, I pour water on both the blade and the tapes after every 2-3 strokes, and really hose down the blade between tapes!! I don't wet my strops... :D

Stitchawl
 
You should be more careful posting those pics. I looked at the pics of the mirror edge and all the bloody hair fell off me head. Fell off my legs too now I feel like a bloody poofter.

Actually i have had an edge pro for a long time now and it works because it invites or increases the ability to hold a consistent angle. Once you use one you realize that they are damned simple and would be easy to rig up on your own particularly if portability was not an issue for you.
 
stitchawl said:
Meeee too!! Meeee too!! After working up a good burr with the courser stones, it only takes 20-30 strokes per side to move through the finer grits. But that first burr on BOTH sides is RREALLLLYY important. In fact, I do it twice. :eek:
(Yes, that does wastes a little metal, but not that much. I still have knives from 20 years ago that show very little wear from sharpening.)

After being absotivly certain that both bevels match and have a good continuous burr formation, I move through the other stones very quickly using a LOT of water! I douse the stones after every few strokes, and wash them completely when changing. (I learned this style from watching Master Japanese sword sharpeners in Seki City. They add water after every 3-4 strokes on the waterstones) When using tapes and films, I pour water on both the blade and the tapes after every 2-3 strokes, and really hose down the blade between tapes!! I don't wet my strops... :D

Stitchawl
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Almost spilled my beer on this one! :D I agree with everything you've posted. I work until I get a good continuous burr on both sides with the 180 stone, then it's easy street after that!
 
Here is what I was talking about in my other post. Do you think that once the 1k stone arrives, this won't be a problem? My camera is messed up so I couldn't get great shots, but you can see how there are still a lot of scratches. I'm using close to zero pressure and removing each scratch pattern with the next stone.



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Also note how bevel height seems to change; That is from the factory grind.


This is a ka-bar I did.




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Heiheit said:
Here is what I was talking about in my other post.
[SNIP]

Also note how bevel height seems to change;
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Heiheit, it's very important to maintain a perpendicular angle of stone to blade if you are wanting a consistent bevel width. By this I mean, the direction of travel of the stone should be at 90° to the edge. A wider bevel will be the result of swinging the stone towards the corners of the blade platform rather than moving the blade and keeping the stone at the proper angle. (Note: This is NOT the vertical angle of the stone to the blade, i.e. 15° or 20°, etc. It is the angle of the direction of travel of the stone.) Move your blade often while you are sharpening rather than swinging the stone arm left or right. Often you will have to TURN THE BLADE if there is a steep belly, such as on that Spyderco. But you must maintain that 90° angle.

I will often intentionally NOT turn the blade so to narrow the edge (increase the width of the bevel) towards the tip of the blade on pocket folders just to give me a thinner edge for more delicate work.

Stitchawl
 
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