Recommendation? I need a better sharpening system

T

That_Knife_Guy

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May 30, 2017
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As of now I have a worksharp guided sharpening system and it does it's job great so I am definitely not bashing it because for its money it's an amazing system. However, as I am getting more and more knives with better and better steels I am not utilizing their full potential. Therefore I am looking for a new system that offers ease of use but being able to get a professional edge. I have done some research on the systems that companies offer but I want your guy's opinion on the subject because you guys are out in the real world. So with that said type away!!!

EDIT: Max I would be willing to spend is $450 with everything; stones, strop, etc.
 
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Freehand stones.. u can get a full set of shapton ha no kunomaku (spelling may be wrong) for half the price of the shapton pros.. may take a few sharpenings to get the hang of it but after that it's very satisfying to freehand and gives u complete freedom of angles or regrinds or whatever..
 
If the Wicked Edge is out of your price range, maybe the Edge Pro Apex would be a good choice. The DMT Aligner or Lansky system are o.k. at a lower price-point.
 
You could look into Paper Wheels.
With some practice these are certainly capable to create professional grade edges.
I even sold my Wicked Edge some time ago.
 
wicked edge is too expensive. Profoile K02 system also, but if you have the funds and or are going to be able to do sharping for others to make back your investment those are great choices.

Edge pro and KME are the two choices you want to look into getting. there is also the hapstone which is similar to the edge pro with more features.

the KME is initially cheaper, as you can get it with the 4 diamond stones and base and its still cheaper than the edge pro.

wicked edge did come out with a budget model. never used it before. iirc if you pre-order it, its 50$ cheaper.
 
The kme system with all their stones and 5 kangaroo strops with base was only about 40$ more than your max. The strops were extra so you could not order them and be in at about what you want to spend. I am so glad I made that choice
 
I have the worksharp and really like it, I kept having problems with M390 and GS2 as I kept loosing the edge and had to start over. Took the recommendation of CKTG and bought a 5k sushera (sp) and a 2k recommended for SG2. I still start on the worksharp to get everything set and close, then do a quick tune up on the stones. I tend to have a heavy hand, and the water stones are more forgiving than my dmt plates. I still have an antique lansky diamont set, but I do not like the guided sets for longer kitchen knives. That and the two stones were under 100 bucks.

Main thing I have to say I learned from this site is you don't have to go superfine. Most of my sharpening history was chisels and planes used for hard white oak. Super polished sharp and touched up a lot. Then I bought a machete from Baronyx, and that ugly coarse edge would shave! I then started paying attention to some of the threads and would make sure it would shave coming off the coarse or medium stones.

Imagine, listening to professionals helps
 
still vary pleased using my EP system,took me some time to get it right!but once past its learning curve i wouldn't trade it for any thing,but i also go back to freehand,sharpmaker to keep things sharp as needed without having to set things up.
 
I just bought a KME. It's the basic 4 diamond stone set and I'm impressed. I will end up buying a couple of more aggressive diamond stones for reprofilng super steels but the KME makes short work of getting a razor sharp edge.

The basic system can be had for right around $200.
 
Wicked Edge is having some specials right now.. Pro Pack II $574..00

you won't be sorry, is still a little pricey, but only hurts once....
 
Kreyzhorse said:
I just bought a KME. It's the basic 4 diamond stone set and I'm impressed. I will end up buying a couple of more aggressive diamond stones for reprofilng super steels but the KME makes short work of getting a razor sharp edge.

The basic system can be had for right around $200.
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you can get even more stones from one of the vendors here

i got the Venev diamond stones, which are very fine stones. i myself use the beast, 160, 300 and 600 stones from kme, then re-adjust the angle since the Venev stones are different size then fninish with some of those (after lapping those stones flat that is). then went on to the lapping films to finish and give a good strop to remove any wire edge there may be. but in any case, they have many other options if you or anyone else here are interested.
 
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Actually the Wicked Edge 120 is on sale for $300 (without base)
or the Wicked Edge 140 with the Gen III vice is $420 (without base)

Of course if you REALLY want to get by as cheap as possible but still want a nice system, Wicked Edge came out with the Wicked Edg "Go", and that is on special right now for $150. That was the Blade Show 2017 Accessory of the Year. You can get whatever stones/strops and accessories you want and should still be way under your budget.
 
That_Knife_Guy said:
As of now I have a worksharp guided sharpening system and it does it's job great so I am definitely not bashing it because for its money it's an amazing system. However, as I am getting more and more knives with better and better steels I am not utilizing their full potential. Therefore I am looking for a new system that offers ease of use but being able to get a professional edge. I have done some research on the systems that companies offer but I want your guy's opinion on the subject because you guys are out in the real world. So with that said type away!!!

EDIT: Max I would be willing to spend is $450 with everything; stones, strop, etc.
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Hi,
What does "professional edge" mean to you?

IMHO,
worksharp guided ought to be producing "professional edge" as in head hair whittling,
from coarse (200), to medium (800+) and higher up to a face shaving 0.5 micron (strop).
The only negative I see with the worksharp guided you already own
is the angle guides are high ,
but thats great if you want quick fast sharpening

What the other systems get you is lower angles and more shiny/mirror bevels
Dont forget to consider the clones/generic versions,
everything you can do with $450 you can do with $45 or less
Consider this image, very shiny, unknown sharpness but probably head hair whittling, and last year (in the last quarter) this jig was selling for $8 shipped ... these days ~$20 ... and still bodog: if you call this crap
lyPBpWl.jpg
 
My vote: Edge Pro
-250$ (near there) for the whole system with 120-1000 grit stones. Buy yourself the 2300 and 4K stone for 50 bucks each.
350$ total so far
Then go get yourself a "knifeplus strop block" for 25$ (including shipping) and call it a day at 375$.

You'll be producing "liquid mirror edges" EASILY with this set up. Hell I only have up to the 2300 stone and I'm getting these results on s30V.
 
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