Just Ordered Edgepro ! Any advice ?

B

beakman

Joined
Dec 21, 2005
Messages
29
Hi There,
Just got off the phone with Ben. I'm very excited about my new toy!
looking foward to some very sharp knives in my future. You gentlemen have any beginners advice on it's use. Or special tricks that have worked for you in useing the Apex.
All replies Appreciated!
Eric:D
 
Congrats.... good purchase.

Some tips....

Watch the demo video on the EdgePro website (it's different than what comes with it.) There's also tips on their website.

Don't apply vey much pressure. Let the stone do the work.

Finish with a few very light passes with whatever grit stone (or tape) you're stopping at, and alternate sides with each pass.

Mount the Apex in a glass baking dish... allows you to setup just about anywhere, and makes cleanup a breeze. Put a non-skid pad between the dish and the tabletop.

On most knives, set the knife so you don't have to move it back and forth (this is shown in the demo video).

If you got the polishing tapes, make sure you're knife is burr free before moving to the tape. It's also a good idea to remove the burr before moving to the next stone, as you sharpen.

I'm sure there's others... that's all I can think of right now. The most important...

Have fun!!

cbw
 
The part that you lay the knife on to sharpen may get dust on it. That dust may scratch up your knife. Keep it clean.
 
Slow down and take it easy. You'll do a better job and have a more harmonious outcome.
 
I've had mine for several months now... it's a great complement to my Sharpmaker. I use the Edge Pro for reprofiling or actual sharpening, and do weekly touch ups on my Sharpmaker. I've found that if I use the 15 degree setting (red mark) on the Edge Pro, it lets me do touch ups using the Sharpmaker's 15 degree holes... perfect!

I would suggest starting out with a couple of junkers to get the feel of the Edge Pro before you do any fine blades on it. Also, remember to wipe & remoisten the stones more than Ben says in the video. I've found that this really helps the cutting ability of the stones.

Enjoy...
 
Before it arrives....

Buy a roll of wide painters tape, blue or green doesn't much matter. This is for taping the blade table and the blades of better quality knives.

Buy paper towels. Use these rather than wiping rags and toss them before they get totally saturated or gunked up. Wiping rags collect too much swarf and don't seem to release it even after washing. Wipe the blades often and the blade table more often.

Buy some knives to practice with. Hit the second hand stores, church bazaars, flea markets, and garage sales. Get knives with good quality steel, not overly long, 7" or less in length, wide flat sides so they won't rock. When you're learning rock and roll and 10 inch fillet knives are not the place to start.

Get a 14" lasagna pyrex dish to set the Apex in and a no slip mat to set it on. You can glue some suction cups or rubber pads to the bottom of the pan if you can't find the right size of no slip pad. If you don't use the pan then get some towels to wrap around the apex to soak up the water and swarf. Do NOT sharpen on the antique dinning room table! Don't sharpen on anything you don't mind scratching up. A small two drawer rolling file cabinet is almost the perfect height for me and if I'm working too hard and pushing it will try to roll which is a warning to lighten up.

Get a 14 x 14 or similar size piece of thick glass. Glass out of an old end table from Good Will, a second hand store, a glass shop, or your garage. Tempered glass is a must. Use this along with 220 grit silicone carbide to lap your stones flat. The 120 grit stone especially will dish FAST. Flat stones last longer and cut better. Even when not dished a few passes on the lapping plate will make sure your stones are unclogged and expose new sharp grit for better cutting.

Get a small metal square. This is to check the flatness of stones and the flatness of the back side of chisel grind knives.

Get a tape measure to keep with your sharpening kit and a note book. Measure the distance from the back of the Apex to the edge of the knife for each knife you sharpen at each angle you sharpen at. Write them down. This way you can perfectly duplicate the exact angle you sharpened at. You’ll learn what works at what angle and what doesn’t. Remember the angle marking is to the edge of the blade table not to the edge of the knife. The further out you hang the blade the more the angle is going to change. Blade overhang from the table is important. The easiest way to measure it is the total distance. For me anyway.

Get a couple thin point permanent markers black or blue. (Sharpie) Use these to fully mark the edge so you can see where your stones are actually cutting.

Get a hand held magnifier, loupe, 10X or 20X is more than enough. This will allow you to get up close and personal with your edges. When you can see what you are doing and understand what the changes you make in angles, grits, pressures and techniques are doing to your edges, your sharpening technique will improve quickly and significantly.

Get an angle checker from a wood workers supply store. This is a piece of slotted brass with angles cut in it. Or make your own out of plastic. You don’t need every degree from 5° up but every second or third is nice. If it doesn’t fit 7° and 9° is loose it is some where between them. Close enough for government work. Making these out of the plastic lids from sour cream containers is easy and it does help in visualizing angles much better.

Read and search the Forums for Edge Pro tips. There is a lot of them out there. The more you read and prepared the better your initial efforts will go.

When your Edge Pro arrives….

DON’T just dive in. Get out the DVD or tape first and play it. Several times. Really read the instruction book. Not skim it. Read it. Know without thinking what the angle marking are, how to adjust it and lock it down. Then watch the demonstration again.

Sharpening itself…

Go SLOW. You want to build muscle memory, ingrain totally the feel and actions. Tai Chi slow. Concentrate on the feel, the movement, and the sound of the stone on the steel. You want to build the muscle memory to the point in the future when you are slightly off your muscles scream this isn’t right. Going slow will help you ensure that each stroke is consistent and smooth. Speed will come all on it’s own.

Go LIGHT. Let the stone do the work. If you get binding or sticking you’re pushing too hard with the stone stroke. Lighten up. Let the stone work. It will be faster. It will be smoother and your stones will last a lot longer. Keep your strokes consistent the width of the blade table. Keep the pressure consistent. There may be a tendency to go light at the beginning of the stroke, then as it moves increase the pressure, then to ease the pressure as you near the end of the stroke. Keep it flat constant pressure. Lighter is better than hard.

The supporting hand is used to stabilize the blade only. Don’t choke the handle to death. If you’re getting cramps in your hand you’re choking it to death. A relaxed but firm grip and a locked wrist, you don’t want to twist or rock the blade.

You will notice a sudden improvement after a few knives. Suddenly you’re getting “sharper” it may not be super sharp but better than you’ve done before. There is a learning curve. For some it’s longer than others. 5 knives you should reach an acceptable level of sharpness. After that you may not notice a great deal of improvement for awhile. But keep a couple of the first knives you sharpen set aside don’t use them except to measure the improvement in your skill. After several hundred knives you’ll be amazed when you check what you first did with your improvement later on.

If there is anything else I can do email me directly.
 
QuietOned

Thank you for the VERY informative post. I've used my edge pro for a few months now and I'll try some of your tips myself. :thumbup: :cool:
 
Okay, this may be a dumb question on this board, but...

I sharpen totally by hand. (But not like this :jerkit: ). :)

I use a diamond stone, an arkansas stone, sometimes a steel, and sometimes a belt as a strop. I get my knives shaving sharp this way.

So what do I gain with a sharpmaker or an edgepro?

My method gives me sharp blades with a slightly convex edge. The cut well. What is the advantage of these sharpeners that everyone uses? (And I don't mean to be a smart ass... It seems like all you guys use them, so there must be an advantage...).

Thanks!
 
So what do I gain with a sharpmaker or an edgepro?
Click to expand...

Good question. Here is what I would suggest:
1. Fast, clean, no-hassle, re-sharpening (sharpmaker)
2. More accurate and efficient grinding saves time, effort, metal, and stone.
3. Easier to produce bevels of specific angles for custom applications.(edge-pro)
4. More esthetically pleasing edges and back bevels.(edge-pro)

The more skilled you are with bench stones, the less you would gain.
 
For me, I opted to purchase both diamond stone grits just to have the options on hand and for some quick reprofiling. The regular coarse stones are soft and you can use them up quickly if you are reprofiling.

You are going to love the EdgePro.
 
mertzj said:
Okay, this may be a dumb question on this board, but...

I sharpen totally by hand. (But not like this :jerkit: ). :)

I use a diamond stone, an arkansas stone, sometimes a steel, and sometimes a belt as a strop. I get my knives shaving sharp this way.

So what do I gain with a sharpmaker or an edgepro?

My method gives me sharp blades with a slightly convex edge. The cut well. What is the advantage of these sharpeners that everyone uses? (And I don't mean to be a smart ass... It seems like all you guys use them, so there must be an advantage...).

Thanks!
Click to expand...

So many people on this site mention sharpening by hand or freehand sharpening as the use of a bench stone on a flat surface. They then say that the Sharpmaker is a sharpening aid or device like it somehow does the sharpening for you. The only difference between a bench stone and a Sharpmaker is the position of the stones (I realize the stones are narrower). A bench stone is parallel to the ground and the knife is held at the correct angle. With the Sharpmaker the stone (ceramic) is held at the correct angle and the knife is held perpendicular to the ground BY HAND. They are both freehand sharpening methods. It is easier for the average person to hold and move a knife blade perfectly vertical than at a 15-20º angle. The Sharpmaker simply takes advantage of this and makes freehand sharpening easier. Glue your bench stone to a table then tilt the table to the correct angle. You now have a very bulky Sharpmaker. Is using the bench stone glued to the table no longer freehand sharpening?

I can use my sharpmaker to give any blade a shaving sharp edge. All my attempts to use bench stones over the last 25-30 years resulted in a dull POS edge. Some of us just plain suck at holding a knife at a consistent angle.
 
Augustus: Thanks for the clarification. I don't think that I'm very good with stones, but it seems to work. I may have to give a sharpmaker or edgepro a try to see if I get better results.

Thanks!
 
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