Lapping dished EdgePro hones

I just got the set of different grits, and extra 90x grit. I figure the high grit stones won't need to be lapped nearly as often.
 
The sand that I mean is actually fine rocks, they are 1-3 mm in size that I picked up last summer on a beach. They will readily gouge tracks in waterstones. That was what I used to flatten my edge pro hones as well. However if SiC works better, than use it.

-Cliff
 
Steadying an Odd Shaped Blade

I have a couple of small (3.5" blade) folders that are spearpoints with swedges and bevels and have only a tiny, oddly shaped flat area on the blade with which to steady them on the EdgePro table. They always tended to rock when sharpening.

I went out and bought some white modeling clay (plastalina) which does not harden, but is firm and workable. I take a very small piece (about the size of a pea) and press it into the recessed bevels in the side of the blade. It forms a temporary cushion and prevents the blade from rocking. You can then find the flat spot, press down and have a pretty stable blade.

I only use it on really difficult blades, but it works great. A little messy, but it cleans up easily on the blade. I use painters tape on the table of the EdgePro and the clay sort of garfs that up so I just replace it.
 
Originally posted by panella
Steadying an Odd Shaped Blade

It forms a temporary cushion and prevents the blade from rocking. You can then find the flat spot, press down and have a pretty stable blade.
Click to expand...

Thanks panella............thats a great idea.
I must try it.
 
Originally posted by Crayola
I'm reading up a lot about the Edge Pro, and I even got a nice batch of e-mails from The Tourist (Thanks man!) and Ben Dale too. Anyways, one thing I don't understand is this concern over knives with no "flat" area. All you want really is to keep the knife still in one position, so can't you lay the knife on the bed so that the very top by the spine and an area along the edge (i.e. lay the knife's primary bevel, so to speak)down on the bed and then you'll have the knife secure? Sure you can't just set your Edg Pro to a 19 degree setting if you want 19 degrees, but compensating for the bevel angle shouldn't be troublesome. So you may have to set the angle to 27 degrees to get a 19 degree bevel... so what? ...
Click to expand...

Crayola you discovered the secret to sharpening blades with no significant flat spots, and also the hardest habit to get out of, the desire to keep the blade parallel to the base.

In reality, the only thing that matters is the angle of the stone to the edge of the blade. Since the EdgePro is infinitely adjustable as far as angles go, it's not really an issue at all.
 
WadeF,

I saw the pic of your Edge-Pro and it looks different from mine.

Then it dawned on me. Mine is covered with blue painters' tape to protect the finish of th knife. I keep wiping it off during sharpening so the 'slag' doesn't grind the bottom side. If it gets really soiled, I just replace it.

A few times it has saved the bed. I accidently touched the stone to a corner of the bed sharpening a 3 inch blade. Since I have a light touch, I cut only the tape.

Got that idea from Ben.
 
I usually have masking tape on the bed. I actually wasn't sharpening when I took the picture, I was just pretending. :) My right hand was holding the camera and the hone was just laying on the blade.
 
WadeF,

I'm glad to see there's someone who is as OCD as I am. I think sometimes I drive Ben crazy.

For example, I prefer a bright mirror finish of the 4000 series tapes; Ben is reluctant to sell them since they slice so easily. The 3000 series tapes last longer, and get better customer service.

But I like them, and I don't mind the hassle. If I tear them, that's my bad. Ben fills the order, but he has to buy an entire sheet, so I have to buy out the entire production, over 100 tapes.

I harrange him for special stones, I cajolled him into selling me a diamond I wanted (and he was right) and I once cut through the plastic 'clip' that snaps onto the bronze colored adjustment plate. (I was sharpening at a steep angle and thought I was on the razor). I have a huge cement block from a 1920's basement that moves with us. (It gives me a 'long stroke' when I straighten stones). And I had to buy a size larger tool box from a hardware store to tote all of my extra stones, the spares, the tapes, the rags, my portable strop, my markers, my Nevr-Dull, a gum eraser, three types of lube, a can of compressed air and a spare water bottle. (Oh, and toothpicks and Q-tips.)

Yeah, but the Wellbutrin usually takes the edge of this behavior.
 
What kind of special stones does he sell ya? :) I forgot the tape when I sharpened my Gerber Gator and I f'ed up the finish, but it's not an expensive knife so I don't really care. :) I'll probably put a mirror finish on it one of these days.
 
This thread is brilliant. Thanks for the great info.

The Tourist, how much of a difference do you notice between 3000 and 4000 tapes? You might try posting before your next purchase. A few forum members might be willing to buy at the same time and save you from such a large lump purchase.

Crayola, thanks for the Lee Valley glass/mylar tip. One question, do you have to be careful handling SiC? I'm set to purchase, but am concerned about the posibility silicosis.
 
WadeF,

If I have a bizarre idea, or problem, he'll send me a 'one off.' I guess he figures that I know enough now so I really won't hurt myself.

If you have a knife that really benefits from a 'toothy' edge, he sent me a 440 grit; the trouble is that the warerstone is TWICE as thick as his regular stones and cuts like a chainsaw despite its grit designation. It's also a half size and it's great to shape knives with high Rc values, like CPM440V.

You wouldn't want to try the entire bevel with the 440 grit, but it cuts the time of 'that nagging hard inclusion' when trying to polish stubborn alloys.

Children, beware.
 
Originally posted by KnifeRat
This thread is brilliant. A few forum members might be willing to buy at the same time and save you from such a large lump purchase.
Click to expand...

I would help out and take ten 4000 tapes.
I like a mirror secondary bevel and use 3000 to get this.

My cutting of the tape is minimized as the tape is just polishing the large secondary bevel.
My actual edge is a degree or two greater so the actual cutting edge never sees the tape.

I would love to try that on the 4000.
 
While we are all swapping Edge Pro tips, here's one.

I always write down the distance from the table lip to the front of the guide, and match this to each knife I own.

So I would record that my Kershaw Scallion has a 15 degs secondary bevel, 17 degs primary edge and distance is 21/32nds.

So the next time I sharpen , I can quickly set the angle and equally important the distance. Now I can sharpen quickly and with the absolute minimum of metal removal.
 
Aren't you supposed to just place the tip of the blade at one corner of the bench, and then bring the edge to the other corner and then slide the back stop up against the back of the blade? This would bring it to the same position everytime and I believe this is why Ben shows us to do this on his video.
 
KnifeRat,

I am not sure if there is a Scoliosis risk! I highly doubt it for 3 reasons: 1) Leonard Lee, the guy who started Lee Valley Tools and wrote a fantastic book on sharpening too, would have researched that for us customers. There was NO health warnings that came with my grit. 2) People have been using SiC grit on plates for decades, maybe centuries, to lap stuff flat. 3) Many stones are made fo SiC, and SiC stone users are still around!

Also, the stuff comes in tight little containers, and you only put like 1/3 a teaspoon on the mylar/glass, and then a bit of water. The water keeps the grit/dust down, you see.

A phone call to Lee Valley Tools' Customer Service woudl confirm all of this for you. I'm sure Cliff will chime in on this too. If anybody "would" be dead from scoliosis causes by SiC, it would be him! He's handled more sharpening stuff than I have by a long shot.
 
KnifeRat and Nosmo,

It's hard to describe the difference between the 3000 and 4000 series tapes--but you know it if you see it. It is best described in comparison to waxing your car and then seeing a professional show car. Kind of a gleam, a visual *POP* when the light hits it. Like moonlight off of calm water. Shiny emron black paint.

It's not really that big a cost. Last time I bought tapes it was 33 bucks. With inflation and freight, it might be 38 bucks. I always felt that if enough guys asked for it (knowing how fragile this stuff is) that Ben might find it financially feasible to re-stock.

The nice thing is that from then on, each tape is not so dear. I clean mine with Nevr-Dull to get the most of the slag off of the tapes. But when I sense a degree of compromise, whoosh, off they come.

They are a tad longer that the mounting, maybe two inches. I save all of these 'tails' and fit them to a half size aluminum plate used for half size tapes. I kind of 'short stroke' small tight areas for polish.

Again, this stuff might not be necessary. Your knife sharpened and polished with the 3000 series tapes maybe just as sharp. I admit that I am OCD, and Miss Perfection is a tough mistress.
 
Silica is SiO2, different from Silicon Carbide SiC. In any case you would want to breath much of any dust into your lungs. This isn't going to happen slowly lapping a stone on a piece of concrete. This is an issues mainly with power equipment.

-Cliff
 
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