My Edge Pro came... Serious frustration.

Orion's Belt

Orion's Belt

Joined
Mar 15, 2010
Messages
1,554
Today my EP Apex came in. I decided to give it a whirl. Not only did I scratch the hell out of my FFG Delica, but I can't seem to find out the best way to position the blade on the table. I kind of got a hang of it, but damn is it frustrating. Previously, I had been using wet/dry sandpaper on a piece of glass and freehanding everything. But in search of sharper edges, I've turned to the EP. I know there's a bit of learning curve along with the EP and that I'll get into a rhythm, but it's just so frustrating at first. Any tips would be appreciated.
 
1 - Did you watch the DVD or any of the videos on YouTube? If you haven't you really need to watch them. They explain just about everything from technique of sharpening to placing the knife on the table.
2 - Why did you start on a Delica? You are supposed to grab the nastiest knife in your kitchen and beat that one up.
 
Not sure how you scratch a FFG blade(plenty of flat area to rest on), but I would suggest having a rag to wipe off the metal and water periodically. Painter's tape on the edge of the table will prevent you from grinding the table. The tape will also add some grip to the table so the blade won't go sliding off the edge. The positioning is rather simple, just have the edge of the blade extend slightly past the table. Of course you'll have to turn the blade so the tip is pointed down when grinding near the tip.

There should be a DVD along with the Edge Pro, I'd strongly suggest watching it first, and practicing on a few cheap knives(basics of the basics when using a new system).
 
RevDevil said:
1 - Did you watch the DVD or any of the videos on YouTube? If you haven't you really need to watch them. They explain just about everything from technique of sharpening to placing the knife on the table.
2 - Why did you start on a Delica? You are supposed to grab the nastiest knife in your kitchen and beat that one up.
Click to expand...

I did watch lots of videos on the EP. I watched Ben's videos and Ankerson's. I started with the Delica because it was the knife I had on hand and it needed sharpened.

Noctis3880 said:
Not sure how you scratch a FFG blade(plenty of flat area to rest on), but I would suggest having a rag to wipe off the metal and water periodically. Painter's tape on the edge of the table will prevent you from grinding the table. The tape will also add some grip to the table so the blade won't go sliding off the edge. The positioning is rather simple, just have the edge of the blade extend slightly past the table. Of course you'll have to turn the blade so the tip is pointed down when grinding near the tip.

There should be a DVD along with the Edge Pro, I'd strongly suggest watching it first, and practicing on a few cheap knives(basics of the basics when using a new system).
Click to expand...

I think I scratched the blade because I was pivoting it too much during sharpening. I can get the gist of it, except when a knife has a continuous curve along the whole edge.
 
Smooth, controlled strokes with the stone from ricasso to tip. Yes, these pictures suck, but that is just the light in the room just now. Are you placing the blade on the table like the first or the second image?
imag1791.jpg

imag1792.jpg
 
Orion's Belt said:
I did watch lots of videos on the EP. I watched Ben's videos and Ankerson's. I started with the Delica because it was the knife I had on hand and it needed sharpened.
Click to expand...
I typically use a $10 Mora to start with whenever I use a new system. Makes better sense than to start with say, a $385 Sebenza.

I think I scratched the blade because I was pivoting it too much during sharpening. I can get the gist of it, except when a knife has a continuous curve along the whole edge.
Click to expand...
I typically don't move the blade while sharpening. If I need to move the blade so that the part I'm sharpening is parallel to the table, I stop the grinding before I move.

Aside from that, just use the coarsest stone until you raise a burr, then flip to the other side and repeat.


Say Rev, is that an S90V Para 2 I spy?:D
 
@ Noctis - Yes it is. It just needed a little mirror on that edge. It's like a scalpel now, just a bit dirty.

When I sharpen I use very little water and even less pressure. Let the stone do the work, no need to flood the stones every other stroke or anything. Just keep the modements consistent. Count the passes on each side.
Use a sharpie and with a magnifying glass or a $12 radio Shack microscope look at your edge carefully. make suyre you are raising a burr and hitting the favtory grind/bevel. Within the first 5-6 strokes you should feel a littel burr on the opposite side. Wrap teh blade in some blue masking tape too, it will prevent some scratching.
 
Rev, I am holding the blade the way shown in the second pic. And I went back at it and got some good results. I think I just needed time to cool off and level my head. The blade is still scratched to hell, but the bevel is nice and mirror polished. I kept the blade still instead of rotating and it made a huge difference. I guess I'll have to practice some more on some cheapies instead of my nicer knives.
 
Cool. Butt the ricasso up against the edge like in the second picture. It will keep the blade "locked" in place. Always try to match the angle if possible, unless you want to reprofile the blade. That 120 stone will eat metal super fast, so practice on a couple Byrd knives or some low dollar Kershaws. Your kitchen knives will look awesome if you do a chef's knife ;)
 
Thanks for the help guys! One thing I have learned from this first outing is to take my time. At first I was rushing and got sloppy. Also, I think I used too much water the first go around and that lead to a slurry under the blade which may have lead to the scratches. Well, that and my technique was bad as well.
 
Orion's Belt said:
Today my EP Apex came in. I decided to give it a whirl. Not only did I scratch the hell out of my FFG Delica, but I can't seem to find out the best way to position the blade on the table. I kind of got a hang of it, but damn is it frustrating. Previously, I had been using wet/dry sandpaper on a piece of glass and freehanding everything. But in search of sharper edges, I've turned to the EP. I know there's a bit of learning curve along with the EP and that I'll get into a rhythm, but it's just so frustrating at first. Any tips would be appreciated.
Click to expand...
Had the same problems with Apex . Gave up on Apex . Bought a Wicked Edge , problems solved .
 
What I find challenging is when I put the EP away for a couple weeks I end up having a hard time getting used to it again. Glad it worked out for you though ;)
 
I went at it again today with my trusty Military. I only got through the 220 stone before I had to leave for work, but it went much smoother this time around. Even at 220, the Military would push cut newspaper and shave my arm clean. I plan on taking it through the full grit rotation tonight and putting on a nice mirror bevel.
 
I really like S30V at around 600-1000. It's such an aggressive cutter that the working edge that develops is insane. I tried different grit/finishes on my beater Military and it does perform really well at 600. It gets a nice polish, not like glass, but close enough. Grab your favorite chef knife from the kitchen and reprofile it to around 20 degrees per side. You'll be amazed how black the 220 stone will turn. Talk about some dirty steel. However, when I sharpened something like ZDP-189 it was significantly less mess on the stone.
 
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I think you're showing the same frustration that many or all EP users had when they first started. Keep at it and you will be rewarded. Good luck!
 
I got my Military to a nice polished edge with no resulting scratches. Next up is my ZDP Endura that I plan to reprofile to about 10* per side.
 
Orion's Belt said:
I got my Military to a nice polished edge with no resulting scratches. Next up is my ZDP Endura that I plan to reprofile to about 10* per side.
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Let me know how long that takes. I believe I spent about 6 hours when I first reprofiled my Endura to about 13-15 degrees per side:thumbup:.
 
Noctis3880 said:
Let me know how long that takes. I believe I spent about 6 hours when I first reprofiled my Endura to about 13-15 degrees per side:thumbup:.
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Will do. I'm figuring it's gonna take a while and maybe take a few sessions. I'll be in Vegas this weekend so it'll have to wait till later, though.
 
lot of good instruction on YouTube. Takes practice. Scratching is a problem if you move it on the table with slurry, one of the down sides of the design. No matter what the method it takes a lot of Strokin'!
 
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