EP to WE

M

mross

Joined
Nov 10, 2003
Messages
361
Josh,
I saw on the thread about switching from WE to EP that you went from EP to WE. I knew you where a WE user as you did a killer job on my ShivWorks Clinch Pick. What made you switch? Not wanting to hijack the other thread, figured I ask here.
 
mross said:
Josh,
I saw on the thread about switching from WE to EP that you went from EP to WE. I knew you where a WE user as you did a killer job on my ShivWorks Clinch Pick. What made you switch? Not wanting to hijack the other thread, figured I ask here.
Click to expand...
Hey man, no worries :)

Here is my original comparison on the three (ep apex, ep pro, and WE).

I can understand some people liking the edge pro but for me here is what I like about the Wicked Edge currently (over the EP)
  • no mess - w/ the EP water and slurry would used to get everywhere doing it the way Ben Dale did in his videos. There have likely been upgrades to stones and such since then to where it may not be as much of an issue. For my WE I just slide the stones off of the rod, push them into a sponge w/ soapy water and I'm back at it. This both keeps the stones clean and cutting w/ maximum efficiency and also traps the abrasive dust in the soap suds, all without even dripping a drop.
  • the gen 3 vise is practically just as quick as the edge pro when it comes to 'mounting' the knife to the system. It's a simple pull down of a lever and I don't have to mess w/ it again until the edge is done. No flip flopping the knife back and forth trying to hold it steady while grinding the edge which can be especially problematic for the EP on full convex grinds or high saber grinds.
  • Stropping is much quicker when doing mirrored edges on the WE. At least half of the time I spend on mirrored edges is spent stropping so this has been important to me.
  • Stones last a LONG time being diamond and getting 2 per grit, and they don't ever need flattening
  • I can sit while I sharpen which is nice for long stretches doing mirrored edges
  • My WE is mounted to a panavise suction cup so the two are about the same in this regard.
  • Clay and Wicked Edge support team are wonderful to work with and customer support is top notch, as is their forum. Ben Dale has great customer support too so not knocking him by any means.
I'm sure there are more reasons but these are off of the top of my head :)
 
Which Wicked Edge model did you settle on? Have you added stones and/or lapping films?
 
This makes me jealous. The orientation of the WE tends to aggravate my shoulder, so I moved away from it to a TSProf system. Still a lovely system, but I'd love a WE with their newer vise.
 
T.L.E. Sharp said:
This makes me jealous. The orientation of the WE tends to aggravate my shoulder, so I moved away from it to a TSProf system. Still a lovely system, but I'd love a WE with their newer vise.
Click to expand...
Yeah the nice thing about it being on a Pana vise is that I can tilt it too if needed which is sweet.

How do you like the tsprof compared to the WE?
 
razor-edge-knives said:
Yeah the nice thing about it being on a Pana vise is that I can tilt it too if needed which is sweet.

How do you like the tsprof compared to the WE?
Click to expand...

I use it, but I don't recommend it.

I suspect the newer ones are better, but mine arrived slightly damaged from shipping and has a touch of detent wobble. It gets the job done and as long as you tension the knife handle a touch with your other hand the wobble doesn't effect the performance.

I've sent a video of the detent wobble to their warranty claims twice now... and I still have a detent wobble. No new parts. No new system. No response. WE certainly has them beat in the service department.

I think it's one of the better designs out there, but it's overpriced and the service sucks. As long as you don't have a blown rotator cuff I'd stick with the WE. Since I don't do as much sharpening anymore I might just switch back myself after my current EP stones wear out.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top