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EP evaluation thread for Knifenut1013
- Thread starter cbwx34
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How about not!
I too, like this section cj65, one of the best on this whole forum :thumbup:
Awwww, come on, maybe we can just hum a few bars...?
There would not be so much knowledge shared without passion, so I guess some conflict comes with the territory. All is well, carry on men.
Wow. I've never used an edge pro, but doing the same using Spyderco ceramic stones by hand takes me about 30 seconds to one minute. What exactly do you do during that half hour?
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Bill, I seldom disagree with you.
BUT yes, I do like bright shiny, razor-blade sharp edges, and with as much precision as I can get. That's why I use the EP.
I can freehand, if I have to, (10X more work, and less precision) but to me that takes the enjoyment out of sharpening and makes it a form of drudgery.
Some folks hunt elk with muzzle-loaders. More power to them, if that's what they like. I use a semi-automatic Browning and a variable power Schmidt & Binder scope.
Does that make me a "less skilled" hunter or rifleman?? I think not.
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this is why i was looking at an edgepro, i've never been very good at free handing and (to me) the look of an edge is almost as important as how it performs, but then again i'm a str8 up "Blade Junky" who views knives as more than just tools.
i can't get past the $155 price tag on the EP, i think i'm gonna try to use the Lansky on my Waki and just move it three times making sure to overlap. i realize this will probably take two hours (all five stones), but i really really do NOT want to risk having an uneven edge on a piece so expensive. i've messed up the edge on 40 dollar knives and hate that feeling, i can only imagine it multiplied by 10
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I think anyone with a REAL understanding of blade sharpening can admit that every sharpening method has its limitations.
Some of us get passion out of doing things a certain way and perhaps prefer the journey over the destination, others simply want to get to the destination (perhaps as simply, quickly, or inexpensively as possible?). These things always get philosophical. In the end I see value in taking walks instead of driving, and listening instead of walking away from opposing views...this is not to say that I do not like to drive fast once in a while too, but when I have the time, it is nice to learn things that I perhaps previously thought were antiquated and worthless.
I can understand the guy that would pay untold fortunes for a back box as long as an atom splitting edge would emerge from the other side...I certainly can understand the guy that wants to learn to restore an edge on whatever he finds at his disposal (like my grandfather used to do).
I just wanted to post this and thank Knifenut for enlightening me to his opinions (and facts). I have never considered the change in angle as the stones wear as a limitation of the EP!
Some of us get passion out of doing things a certain way and perhaps prefer the journey over the destination, others simply want to get to the destination (perhaps as simply, quickly, or inexpensively as possible?). These things always get philosophical. In the end I see value in taking walks instead of driving, and listening instead of walking away from opposing views...this is not to say that I do not like to drive fast once in a while too, but when I have the time, it is nice to learn things that I perhaps previously thought were antiquated and worthless.
I can understand the guy that would pay untold fortunes for a back box as long as an atom splitting edge would emerge from the other side...I certainly can understand the guy that wants to learn to restore an edge on whatever he finds at his disposal (like my grandfather used to do).
I just wanted to post this and thank Knifenut for enlightening me to his opinions (and facts). I have never considered the change in angle as the stones wear as a limitation of the EP!
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It takes me that long just to change stones in my Spyderco!
Awaken to the "Zen" of knife sharpening.
Become one with the blade, the stone, and the Tao. Or watch reruns of NCIS.Stitchawl
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Awaken to the "Zen" of knife sharpening.
Stitchawl
Now that left me in "Stitches." It takes me that long just to change stones in my Spyderco!
Awaken to the "Zen" of knife sharpening.
Stitchawl
Maybe that I haven't watched TV in a decade has something to do with it
I usually just use the Sharpmaker sticks freehand. Rarely do my knives get dull enough that I need to use the brown stones. I also utilize microbevels. So 10 swipes per side of the fine, then 10 per side of the UF usually does the trick for my knives. Just touched up my SE Manix 2 this way and it's a hair whittler.
Maybe that I haven't watched TV in a decade has something to do with it
Wise move. It can rot one's brain... Take me, for example.
This is a very important concept, one that I tried to raise in an earlier post. For most of us, sharpening should be nothing more than regular touch-ups. But because we enjoy sharpening, many of us tend to over-use our stones, grinding away a lot of metal.
I use my Sharpmaker more than I use my EdgePro. Actually, by a ratio of about 52:4 I use the Sharpmaker once a week on my kitchen knives, an only put all other knives on the EdgePro about 3-4 times a year. The rest of the time it is 'touch-up' only, using Sharpmakers, hand-held ceramic rods, glass rods, steels, and strops, depending upon the knife.
Being that we have a dedicated interest in sharpening, we can easily tend to 'over sharpen' our knives, putting them to stone far more than is really needed to keep good edges. While this may be fun, it certainly wears away a lot of steel needlessly. I only have to look at my old Buck Stockman (the first good quality knife I got back in the 60's) looking at the Spey blade that after a few years of over sharpening looks like an awl. Or the Sheepsfoot blade with its 3/8 inch choil but 1/8 inch remaining blade...
Stitchawl
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After spending an afternoon watching The KnifeNut convex one of my knives, I've decided on my sharpening strategerie.....I'll have KN sharpen them, I'll just touch them up as needed, meaning a leather strop....and when I think I'm on the verge of wrecking the edge.....I take them back to KN......brilliant, huh??
.....and Sandy thought I was just another pretty face.....
.....and Sandy thought I was just another pretty face.....
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if the EP or most of your stones are used only once a quarter, then both setup time of the Apex and any time needed to make up for imprecision while freehanding are rendered irrelevant. My contention, though I may be proved wrong, is that the more often you touch up a variety of knives on high grit stones, the more advantageous freehanding becomes. There is no setup or changeover time, nothing to adjust except your eye/wrist. Doing a full rebevel and polish on one knife may be faster on the EP, that will come down to your angle control and your stones available for either method.
Jason B.
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
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Stitch, Where do you get all this over sharpening from? Unless I do some damage my weekly 2 or 3 strokes on a DMT EEF, 10 strops, 3 hail marys (thinking of you blues 
) and BAM! a hair popping edge with minimal metal removal.
LMAO.......
) and BAM! a hair popping edge with minimal metal removal. After spending an afternoon watching The KnifeNut convex one of my knives, I've decided on my sharpening strategerie.....I'll have KN sharpen them, I'll just touch them up as needed, meaning a leather strop....and when I think I'm on the verge of wrecking the edge.....I take them back to KN......brilliant, huh??
.....and Sandy thought I was just another pretty face.....
LMAO.......
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- 10,038
You're telling me! I have a nifty little BM 940 Osborne that I reprofiled to approx. 30 degrees and have sharpened it with my Sharpmaker (diamond rods included) so many time in the past 6 months that it's getting a barely discernable recurve - because I can't get the beginning of the cutting edge on the rods due to the thumbstuds.
We all should be so lucky! KN has helped so many here in sharpening advice that he's got my respect. :thumbup: Not to say others don't know their stuff but he's here tirelessly and I seriously doubt if he's making his living sharpening our knives.
There is no question about the fact that freehanding is a good skill to have. It's something that most knife hobbyists do learn eventually. It comes with the territory. It's just not 'the only way.' Freehand sharpening is just another tool in the sharpening kit. No need to only use one tool.
Usual touch-ups shouldn't require any set-up time. They are done with a steel or a strop. No need to even use a stone. I like to use a borosillicate glass rod. I use it daily on my kitchen knives. I do keep a Sharpmaker set up on the kitchen counter though, just for 'special cases.'
Stitchawl
Here... (see below)
I think most of us have knives that we have over-sharpened in our history of the hobby.
Stitchawl
It's used the same way you use a sharpening 'steel.' Stroke down the rod, edge first, light pressure. There is no grit at all. It does the same thing that a smooth 'butcher's steel' does; (and here there is a LOT of controversy) i.e. straightens the edge, burnishes the edge, polishes the edge... I don't know exactly what it is doing other than bringing my edge back 'into condition.' There are so many conflicting theories about how it achieves this, and I don't have the science to back up any one of them. But from using it, I can say with all sincerity that it works very well! I use it every day before I begin my food prep. It keeps my edges in perfect condition all week long. On the weekend I stroke the kitchen knives through the fine stones of the Sharpmaker about 5-10 strokes per side, alternating. This keeps my knives in good enough shape so that I only find myself doing a full sharpening on the EdgePro a few of times a year.
Borosillicate glass is what you have in your kitchen, known as "Pyrex." You can use the edge of your Pyrex meatloaf pan or measuring cup. I had a chemical supply store make me a solid rod of the stuff, so I can have a dedicated glass 'steel' hanging next to my kitchen knives. Only cost a couple of bucks, and easier for me to use than the pie plate.
Stitchawl
Personally I touch up with SM UF rods, Fines beforehand if needed. I find steels and strops give less impressive edges for me and my knives when using them for touch-ups. I never use steels, and only use strops to refine an edge I've sharpened, never to bring back a dulled edge. The UF rods hardly remove any metal at all.
I used to do all my sharpening and touch-ups on a DMT fine, which I've since learned is overkill for touch-ups. Unless I'm purposefully using low grit sharpening tools for a toothier edge, I feel anything under 1, 200 grit or so removes too much metal for touch-ups.
I used to do all my sharpening and touch-ups on a DMT fine, which I've since learned is overkill for touch-ups. Unless I'm purposefully using low grit sharpening tools for a toothier edge, I feel anything under 1, 200 grit or so removes too much metal for touch-ups.