Got my edge pro today-man I'm tired

4

405dave

Joined
Jan 27, 2004
Messages
184
I started on my meaner to get used to it. Not much work at all. Then I started the FBM, wow. I had to reprofile the edge and get it sharp. It took a while but now it shaves hair. A knife that big being that sharp is strange. Only a few more to sharpen, but that will wait till tomorrow.
 
kind of labor intensive, but ive never been able to put an edge on a knife like i can with the edge pro.
 
At the risk of being dumped on by two dozen hogs, I must admit to being confused by the necessity of buying a $200 sharpener to re-sharpen knives fresh from the factory.

What I am missing here? Surely a top end blade like Busse should come sharp from the factory?

Mark
 
they come pretty sharp but every serious knife user needs to either know how to sharpen free hand or get a system. For years I didn't know how to, but now that I can freehand the whole enjoyment from the hobby increases massively. Also, a lot of busse's, especially the big ones, come with a chopping edge which is very different to a cutting edge. Many people (like myself) prefer a slicing edge.
 
I wouldn't say there is a necessity to have a $200 sharpening jig, some folk just prefer that tool. There is nothing special or unique about sharpening Busse knives, (excluding asymetric edges), if you can freehand on a $20 Norton stone, you're good to go
 
I like the look of the Edge-Pro edges though. I think I'm about to lay down the bucks for the kit.
 
Buffalohump said:
At the risk of being dumped on by two dozen hogs, I must admit to being confused by the necessity of buying a $200 sharpener to re-sharpen knives fresh from the factory.

What I am missing here? Surely a top end blade like Busse should come sharp from the factory?

Mark
Click to expand...

Buying a $200 sharpening system is not necessary. Some people just prefer it. There are others who get by with just a strop and sandpaper. The knives comes with a working edge from the factory. It will cut and alot of times shave hair. Some of us just prefer to re profile the edges to our personal tastes. If someone has the skills to do that with just sandpaper then that is all they need. Others prefer standard hones or diamond hones to take care of business while still others prefer sharpening systems like the edge-pro.

Also, any sharp knife will eventually get dull from use. Regardless of what system you use...sharpening will be required. Pick the method you feel most comfortable with and get to work. There is nothing set in stone that says that you must get a $200 sharpening system to sharpen your Busses.
 
Thanks for the input.... I appreciate some guys see the benefits of redoing the edges to their specs.

Personally I figure the guys who make the things must know what the best profile is for the edge - if they're happy, I'm happy. I can see why the Battle Mistress has a 'chopping edge'. Its a big ass camp knife is it not?

I use a Sharpmaker and a large piece of shoe leather to keep my blades sharp and so far I've had pretty good success with that combo. They won't shave hair but I've got a $2 Gillette disposable that takes care of that for me. :D

Mark
 
Buffalohump said:
Thanks for the input.... I appreciate some guys see the benefits of redoing the edges to their specs.

Personally I figure the guys who make the things must know what the best profile is for the edge - if they're happy, I'm happy. I can see why the Battle Mistress has a 'chopping edge'. Its a big ass camp knife is it not?

I use a Sharpmaker and a large piece of shoe leather to keep my blades sharp and so far I've had pretty good success with that combo. They won't shave hair but I've got a $2 Gillette disposable that takes care of that for me. :D

Mark
Click to expand...
the last line is damn funny.....
 
Well, thankee...

Seriously, I'm not trying to be a jerk or anything but I read an article some years back and a pretty knowledgeable guy (a custom knife maker who's name I forget) said that getting a knife shaving sharp is great for impressing your buddies but its not a good working edge for a knife. If you use it for anything serious, it will get blunt pretty darn quick and you'll just have to re-sharpen it.

Naturally, with all that resharpening, you're removing metal each time - not so great on a $300 + knife.

I like to get a knife sharp enough that it will lift a curl from my thumb nail... and if it stays sharp after cutting up a couple of heavy cardboard boxes, its a keeper.

(Apologies for hijacking yr thread....)
 
I got the knife from a forum member and I swear I do have butter knives that would cut much better. It was not a factory edge anymore, it was beaten down and rounded. I just prefer a symetrical grind so thats what I put on it. I will try it today on some limbs I need to remove to check its edge holding. Oh yeah, one more thing, if you know how to search the internet you can find the apex for alot less than 200 bucks. LOL
 
Buffalohump said:
Naturally, with all that resharpening, you're removing metal each time - not so great on a $300 + knife.
Click to expand...
(no I don't own one)
The thing about an edgepro is that you're pretty much guaranteed a sharp edge when you use it. If you have problem edges, like wire edges or rolling or chipping, you just can't fix these nearly as easily by hand, unless you've been sharpening a long time, and really know what you are doing. The edgepro really takes away the learning curve.
Also, you don't do "all that resharpening". You resharpen once after using, or initially, and then you hone, hone, hone, hone, hone, etc........ and then you resharpen! As it is often said, a sharp edge is easier to maintain, so keep those edges honed!
 
I use an Edgepro to sharpen and then a steel and strop to maintain. I use my Meaner daily and haven't had to resharpen in 3 mo. I just lightly steel often and strop when that doesn't keep it hair-popping. If the Edgepro has a weakness it is bellies and tips.
 
I usually use the shop edge for a while and when it needs sharpening I set the edge bevel (by hand) to fit the way my hand sharpens. Usually a +/- 10 degree secondary with a +/- 20 degree primary bevel. I use the strop if it's a little slicer blade but usually not on the big blades. On the big knifes I usually add about 5 degrees or so to that profile.
 
The edge pro lets me get ALL my knives extremely sharp. But, and this is the important part, I only have to reprofile once. After that it merely requires a simple touch up on finer stones on the EP or a strop or a crock stick. Plus, I currently have an easier time maintaining a "V" edge on my knives.

But believe you me, I hope to get to the skill level some day where I can free hand everything.

;)

Good question though. :)
 
inFALable said:
If the Edgepro has a weakness it is bellies and tips.
Click to expand...

Rotate the belly and or tip forward until it is almost parallel with the knife rest. You can hit the belly and tip much easier without curving the stone out to the side and dropping off the tip ruining the nice clean tip look.

Also, you can hit the recurves easily by slighting canting the stone while stroking forward. What that does is essentially give you a smaller point of contact to get into the recurve. I use this method to sharpen my recurves all the time. Another option is to get some blank stone holders from EdgePro and just glue on a set of triangular ceramic hones. This setup would also sharpen serrations.
 
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