KME Sharpener - What accessories are worth it?

N

NicoColt1911

Joined
Mar 17, 2017
Messages
108
Hello,

I want to buy a guided sharpening system. I already have a Sharpmaker and some sharpening stones.
I am not entirely sure what system I will get. Edge Pro / Hapstone V7 / KME Basic + stand are all about the same here (I am from Germany) but I am leaning towards the KME because most of my knives are small knives (mostly folders, mostly stainless steels like N690, M390, S30V, some fixed blades but usually shorter than 5" blades).

The problem I am having right now with the KME is that whenever someone plans to get it people recommend to just get the "Deluxe Kit". Now that isn't available here in Europe as far as I know. We can get the basic kit or get a premium kit composed by the dealer.

The premium kit consists of the following stuff:
-basic kit
-stand
-sharpening oil
-stone thickness compensator
-diamond Lapping films 3 micron
-diamond Lapping films 9 micron

So when you compare it with the KME "Deluxe Kit" you won't get:
-The 50 grit Beast
-The XXC-100
-The X-Coarse-80 grit
-The Coarse-120 grit
-The Medium-320
-The medium-fine Hard Arkansas stone
-The Kangaroo Leather Strop and the micron CBN Emulsion (4,000 grit)
-The Accessory Stone Storage Box

But you will get instead:
-diamond Lapping films 3 micron
-diamond Lapping films 9 micron

What do you think? Is the dealer's kit as described above sufficient? What accessories should I add (or should I go for the base kit or is the deluxe kit a must have after all)?
 
If the basic kit contains the 140-1500 grit diamonds, you'll be in pretty good shape. I'm a big fan of getting the 100 grit, pen jaws, and a leather strop, in that order but as you can. The pen jaws can be necessary for small knives but if you don't have those you can obviously wait.

I've never used the lapping films so can't give an opinion on them but lots of folks praise them.

Look on YouTube for Dean O. Lots of good KME info.
 
Depends if you plan to reprofile &/or mirror finish the edges. I have the Lansky kit, (5) diamond stones, (2) ceramic & one homemade leather strop & use Mother's aluminum polish. Works well for my needs. I can reprofile & mirror polish. Of course it'll take me more time than the KME due to the size of the system.

P.S. Look into a digital angle cube. It does come in handy.
 
Thank you guys so far.

I will read up on the things you mentioned and think about it.

Regarding the digital angle cube: I have a Bosch GLM 50c laser measure with a built in angle measurement functionality. It's only accurate to 0.2° but I guess I will give it a shot first. :)
 
Personal preference I would get the 50grit diamond to make reprofiling a lot quicker. Beyond that it's more of a what kind of edge do you want toothy or polished and trying to decide how far and how to get there.
 
I also use head magnifiers to get an up close look at the edge. Machinist get kinda "anal" when it comes to the tiniest details.
 
With the Basic kit and a 9 micron lapping film (Everything on the left) is all you need to achieve mirror edges.
nZ6s3m1.jpg
Like this
HseqKfp.jpg
I picked up the 3 sided diamond stone so I could sharpen recurves and the full lapping film kit (on the right) to take the mirror edges to the next level but honestly the basic kit plus a 9 micron lapping film and the 3 sided diamond stone is all you need to sharpen most any knife. I sharpend this Kershaw Blur with the 3 sided stone and polished it by sticking a 9 micron film to it.
tI7A6mZ.jpg
Keep in mind that non of this is rocket surgery:confused: and iv'e only had the KME for two months. Those were my first and second attempt at mirror edges useing the basic kit and a 9 micron lapping film.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top