Need advice on the best of the best sharpening systems...

[NvG79]

I tried a lot. Different techniques(as most here did)
The one thats really getting me off is an edgepro set, and a set of homemade Jeans strops loaded with black, green compound and Flitz(little trick I saw mr Hanada from Rockstead do at the DKE) !!
Never saw an edge that polished, and never expirienced a sharper edge....!
In total this set me back about half of what you are about to spend?!

Works like a charm for me, and hope I helped you with this!!

Good luck&grtzz

 

[SPD319]

I ended up ordering from Shotgunner here on BF and saved a little coin. My wife had ordered a pro kit directly from Wicked Edge, but they are so back logged that I couldn't wait. Hopefully my system will be here soon and I'll get to try it out.

I will have to research stones and freehanding.

 

[Komitadjie]

You're going to LOVE that thing, it works like a champ.

Just bear in mind that when you first use them, the diamond paddles will be VERY aggressive. The way all diamond plates are made has some diamonds bonded to the surface much more loosely than others, and over the course of the first ~20 knives or so, those loosely-bonded particles will fall away, making the plate feel 'smoother' over time. That is what people refer to when they talk about a diamond plate "breaking in". After some number of knives, the exact number will vary based on how you use the plates, the grit will stabilize (all the loose particles knocked away) and remain at that grit level for a LONG time.

So if your first couple knives have a rougher finish than you're expecting, and your plates seem to loose bite really quickly during the first set you do, don't worry about it, all is working as it's supposed to.

 

[maximus83]

It's not that you can't freehand you've just never put forth the effort. It's typically a confidence issue when approaching the stone, what angle, how do I hold it, will I mess it up, will it get sharp, you can try and replace that fear with a machine but then you run into a skill and knowledge problem. If you do not know how to sharpen then you don't know how to sharpen and a device will not fix that. How do I know? Because I'm sent knives sharpened on a EP or WE and through freehand technique correct the often distorted bevel and exceed the sharpness set by the device by many times.

You might surprise yourself if you spend a little time with a quality stone and some proper instruction.

I agree. To the OP: If I can learn how to freehand sharpen, I'll bet you can. You really don't need to spend THAT much money just to get a decent sharpening solution. You could get a set of 8" nice diamond stones in say Coarse, Fine, and Extra-fine for less than half of what you're spending. You could even throw in a bottle of flitz, and some balsa wood or leather for stropping, and you'd STILL be way less than half. One suggestion I'd add is, find a few old crap knives from your tool shed or a garage sale, or buy a few cheapo S&W or other blades from KnifeCenter.com, and PRACTICE with those. Don't use good knives until YOU are good. Every time I freehand sharpen, I get better at it. I've already put a few edges on 3.5" folders that surprised me at how well they came out. I'm still learning how to handle larger blades and keep the bevel consistent, but folks around here are usually willing to help, and there are a ton of videos.

Go for the freehand, don't look back! Besides, are you gonna' lug that WS along out in the woods? If you know how to freehand, you can take a small credit card-size stone or other sharpener (I like the DMT diafold) and use the same technique you use on bench stones at home.

 

[Lagrangian]

A friend of mine says:
What he learned from guided-sharpening made him better at free-hand sharpening.

What kinds of things to learn from a guided set-up? I think several things, although I am not very experienced at free-handing:
(1) Visceral experience of how sharp a knife can get. Like, light-sabre-ing paper, and if you care, novelty edges such as hair whittling, and hanging-hair-test. Phil Wilson coined the term "novelty edges" because those extreme levels of sharpness go away quickly, and thus are not practical. But they are fun.
(2) You get some experience what using a stone feels like when it's cutting.
(3) You gain some experience (although limited) about how important angle control is.
(4) If you experiment, you learn how important different angles are for different cutting situations and different steels. You can get some idea of how much a few degrees makes (or doesn't make).

It's like training wheels for bicycles; sure you don't need them. But lots of people use training wheels when first learning to bicycle. Nothing wrong with this, I think.

The only issue is a personal preference on how much time and/or money to spend learning it all. As for myself, I suck (so far) at free-hand sharpening, so when I want to get to hair-whittling sharpness (for fun), I use a guided set-up, similar to WEPS. And if money is no object, I'm sure you could hire a machinist to make you a custom sharpening rig. There are a few machnists on these forums, and a couple of them have built either custom sharpening rigs, or done custom modifications to things like the WEPS and EP. But dang, that's kind of extreme.

Sincerely,
--Lagrangian

P.S. The machinist Beltman posted photos of the modifications he did to his WEPS set-up. Thanks to ChangeOfSeasons who pointed out this thread!
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...nd-improved-Wicked-Edge?p=9169032#post9169032

 

[BFife]

I agree with Lagrangian! There is no need to buy cheap knives to ruin them while learning when you can have a great job with a little time and a superior system. My father-in-law was an outstanding patter maker but even he couldn't teach me how to sharpen a drill bit or his high dollar planes. For me a guided system like the WE is worth it!