My new WE and questions

[SHVentus]

Hey people, new guy here,

I ordered my WE PPII on 11-18 and I picked it up yesterday, 11-22. Wow, fast shipping and great packaging. Thanks Clay!

Although I’ve watched most of the You Tube videos and read a lot of the forums FAQ, WE Wiki, posts, etc., I’ve still got a gazillion Q’s. To start:

1. What’s the best way to break in the stones? Should I grab some sheet steel and start scrubbing it with the stones, progressing through the grits? I figured that by doing that it might be faster and more uniform (rather than just concentrating on the center of the stones by sharpening a dozen knives). Any harm? Good/bad idea?
2. What’s the best way to reduce the learning curve?
3. Is there a definitive progression through the stones, ceramics, strops, etc. posted somewhere? I saw in WE Wiki where Tom Blodget showed what seemed to be a regression in grits where after using the WE 400/600 &/or 800/1000 stones he would jump back to the 400 Chosera or Shapton stones to remove the deeper scratches left hidden. What a surprise those photos showed.
4. I’ve seen many techniques. Some start by scrubbing the blade up and down, some in a circular fashion, some only up and away from the edge, some only down and into the edge to start forming the angle. Most all of people then proceed through the stones with alternating sweeping strokes up and away. Does it matter which technique is first used? Is one better than another?
5. Do you destress all edges before starting the sharpening?
6. Do you “re-sharpen” a brand new knife when you first get it, or wait until it dulls?

Thanks for all your comments, suggestions, and pointers. I’m sure I’ll find new questions as I progress. Thank you.

 

[toker]

1. Sharpen a dozen kitchen knives. The stones will break in quickly. I wouldn't suggest scrubbing the stones on anything else.
2. After you sharpen the first dozen knives, you'll have a really good base. There is almost no learning curve after that.
3. The first time I sharpen a knife, I set the angle using 100 grit stones and progress up to 600 grit for most knives. I use the higher grit for some of my knives with better steels (M390, etc.). 600 grit will give you a really nice toothy edge that is great for EDC. When I re-sharpen a knife, I usually just start with 400 grit and proceed from there.
4. Clay Allison's technique shows an upward stroke. I do the same thing and have had great results.
5. ?
6. A factory edge isn't necessarily a great edge. Once you get the hang of the WE, you may find that you're not going to be happy with a factory edge. I always reprofile a new knife. The first reason is to set the angle that I want. I usually go for a thinner angle on better steels. For example, my ZT0777 had a factory angle of 23 degrees per side. I wasn't satisfied with how it cut. I reprofiled it to 18 degrees a side and it works much better.

Two more tips. Get an angle cube to measure the true angle that you are sharpening. Depending on the knife's blade width and length, the set angles may not show the actual angle. My other suggestion would be to keep an Excel log of with all of the settings for each of your knives (vertical and horizontal position, angle, etc.)

 

[droptrd]

4. I do an up and down motion across the length of the blade up to 600 grit. The from 800 and up I do an upward stroke

 

[SHVentus]

Thanks guys. TB, I do have an angle cube (it came with the PP2), and I have made an Excel (actually on a mac, it's called numbers) template that I will print out a page for each knife. Thanks.