I know a couple of reviews have already been written on the Edge Pro sharpening rig, but hey, when you're thinking about dropping $150+, you want to hear as much as you can up front, right?
I ordered the Apex from Ben Dale, with the stone upgrade and a smooth ceramic steel (for maintaining the edges longer without having to grind metal). The total came to around $175.
The Apex is very well constructed, and comes in an nice nylon carrying bag. Everything stows away neatly, and is quick to assemble. I found the documentation excellent, and was able to start sharpening within about fifteen minutes.
The first knife I tackled was my large Opinel. Then two kitchen knives, a hunting knife, and a chef's knife. After the first two knives I started to get the hang of things, and found that I could sharpen already-profiled blades very quickly, without hurrying or using much force. Just a few strokes on each grit, feeling for the burr, up to the polishing tape.
With the 100 grit coarse stones reprofiling edges is a *breeze*. I never knew it could be this easy. Several of the knives I sharpened needed totally new angles, because they'd come from the factory with mismatched bevels. The maximum time it took for any knife was one hour. This include about 50 strokes per side with the coarse stone, and 10-15 strokes per side with every other stone. Most of the time was consumed in examining the edge under magnification to make sure the bevel was being ground evenly along the whole edge.
The bevels on the hunting knife in particular (the last knife I sharpened) ended up just about perfect. Equally wide along the whole blade, identical angles on both sides (18 degrees), with a mirror finish I could see myself in. I used a magnifier and watched the burr disappear under the 3000 grit polishing tape. Man, that edge is keen now!
The system is slightly messy -- it tends to drip water and slurry -- but not overly so. My suction cups also showed a tendency to come unstuck, but by wiping a damp cloth on the cups, they stuck for at least 15 minutes. This was plenty of time, since it's easy to push them back down while sharpening. I imagine if I had better countertops (mine are really cheesy), they would stick far longer. I also like the thoughtfulness of the little water bottle that comes with the system, as I found myself rewetting the stones quite often (it is <em>extremely</em> dry in Arizona in the winter).
My overall impression is that for $175 you get a system that makes re-profiling edges very easy, and achieving consistent, perfect edges simple. Once you grind the edge you want on a blade, keeping it sharp should take just ten or fifteen minutes, cleanup time included. If you choose to order the ceramic steel, you can even lengthen the time between sharpenings. The edges you end up with have no micro-burrs, no deformations, no waviness at all. With the Sharpmaker, I found such consistency difficult to achieve by hand.
In summary, I think this system is worth getting if you want something that works well, and will handle most of your at-home knife sharpening needs. It may seem expensive, but when you add up the cost of a couple of new stones, a strop, a steel, etc., the difference isn't as big as you might think.
I ordered the Apex from Ben Dale, with the stone upgrade and a smooth ceramic steel (for maintaining the edges longer without having to grind metal). The total came to around $175.
The Apex is very well constructed, and comes in an nice nylon carrying bag. Everything stows away neatly, and is quick to assemble. I found the documentation excellent, and was able to start sharpening within about fifteen minutes.
The first knife I tackled was my large Opinel. Then two kitchen knives, a hunting knife, and a chef's knife. After the first two knives I started to get the hang of things, and found that I could sharpen already-profiled blades very quickly, without hurrying or using much force. Just a few strokes on each grit, feeling for the burr, up to the polishing tape.
With the 100 grit coarse stones reprofiling edges is a *breeze*. I never knew it could be this easy. Several of the knives I sharpened needed totally new angles, because they'd come from the factory with mismatched bevels. The maximum time it took for any knife was one hour. This include about 50 strokes per side with the coarse stone, and 10-15 strokes per side with every other stone. Most of the time was consumed in examining the edge under magnification to make sure the bevel was being ground evenly along the whole edge.
The bevels on the hunting knife in particular (the last knife I sharpened) ended up just about perfect. Equally wide along the whole blade, identical angles on both sides (18 degrees), with a mirror finish I could see myself in. I used a magnifier and watched the burr disappear under the 3000 grit polishing tape. Man, that edge is keen now!
The system is slightly messy -- it tends to drip water and slurry -- but not overly so. My suction cups also showed a tendency to come unstuck, but by wiping a damp cloth on the cups, they stuck for at least 15 minutes. This was plenty of time, since it's easy to push them back down while sharpening. I imagine if I had better countertops (mine are really cheesy), they would stick far longer. I also like the thoughtfulness of the little water bottle that comes with the system, as I found myself rewetting the stones quite often (it is <em>extremely</em> dry in Arizona in the winter).
My overall impression is that for $175 you get a system that makes re-profiling edges very easy, and achieving consistent, perfect edges simple. Once you grind the edge you want on a blade, keeping it sharp should take just ten or fifteen minutes, cleanup time included. If you choose to order the ceramic steel, you can even lengthen the time between sharpenings. The edges you end up with have no micro-burrs, no deformations, no waviness at all. With the Sharpmaker, I found such consistency difficult to achieve by hand.
In summary, I think this system is worth getting if you want something that works well, and will handle most of your at-home knife sharpening needs. It may seem expensive, but when you add up the cost of a couple of new stones, a strop, a steel, etc., the difference isn't as big as you might think.
) Glad to hear you like your new system. Watch out though; soon you may be sharpening your whole neighborhood's knives once they see how sharp yours are!
Seriously, it is between the EdgePro Apex, and a Razor Edge systems set. I think this helped me decide.
