New blade honing ?

Bwana1

Bwana1

Joined
Apr 16, 2011
Messages
547
I just got a new Apex 3.....want to put real edges on my new blades.....Busse's, Curtis, Benchmade's, Bark Rivers.

What grit stone would you start with ? I don't need to reprofile.

Thanks in advance :)
 
Richard, so I should throw out the Apex 3 ? :) I don't have a paper wheel setup.
 
It really depends on the starting edge of each knife, not which grit you want to use. Some blades come hair popping and all you might want to do is to polish the blade some. If that is the case, 600 grit and higher, perhaps even 1000 grit. Your Bark River would be a good candidate.

Other blades come with a utility edge like your Busse, that will require removal of steel so 220 grit may be your beginning grit to profile a new edge angle before you move up higher.

Remember, it depends on what each knife needs, not the other way around, otherwise you are just making your knife smaller without any real benefit. You may even ruin the edge and need a complete reprofiling if not careful.
 
CWL, I only have a few that are hair popping sharp. Most, are kinda of sharp...just need a cleaner bevel. Most won't shave hair with the new factory edge.

I'm a noobie, so just gathering info before I ruin new blades :)
 
OK, here's the skinny.

Chances are you're going to have uneven bevels, so chances are you're gonna need to run over the bevel with the 120 grit stones just to get it all even.

Yep, it's a pain to get even bevels... but they're so pretty when they're done.
 
richard j said:
until today i never heard of the apex 3. i thought it was a knife :D
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It's ok....you have forgot more about sharpening, than I'll ever know :)

It's a EdgePro brand sharpener....Apex 3 model. I hear guy's rave about it, so I bought one....Now I hear lot's of guy's say to chuck it in the garbage :) I'll have to play with it and see.
 
Bwana1 said:
It's ok....you have forgot more about sharpening, than I'll ever know :)

It's a EdgePro brand sharpener....Apex 3 model. I hear guy's rave about it, so I bought one....Now I hear lot's of guy's say to chuck it in the garbage :) I'll have to play with it and see.
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That's the best thing you can do for yourself. Whichever tool or method you choose, it takes some practice (practice, practice) to get the most out of it. I don't have either the wheels or the EP sharpeners, but there are plenty of happy users of each here on the forums (as well as for MANY other methods/tools/techniques). Don't be too quick to abandon any sharpening tool on the 'advice' of strangers, until you've spent some real 'quality time' with it. The biggest factor will always be the person using the tool, not the tool itself. I have no doubt whatsoever, your chosen tool can do the job. It's reputation seems pretty solid. Just need to get busy with it (a LOT). Practice on cheap knives first, so you get a clear idea what to expect from it, before trying one of your 'good' knives. ;)
 
Obsessed with Edges said:
That's the best thing you can do for yourself. Whichever tool or method you choose, it takes some practice (practice, practice) to get the most out of it. I don't have either the wheels or the EP sharpeners, but there are plenty of happy users of each here on the forums (as well as for MANY other methods/tools/techniques). Don't be too quick to abandon any sharpening tool on the 'advice' of strangers, until you've spent some real 'quality time' with it. The biggest factor will always be the person using the tool, not the tool itself. I have no doubt whatsoever, your chosen tool can do the job. It's reputation seems pretty solid. Just need to get busy with it (a LOT). Practice on cheap knives first, so you get a clear idea what to expect from it, before trying one of your 'good' knives. ;)
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Appreciate the advice and vote of confidence :) Unfortunately, I don't have any cheap knives to practice on....time to head to the kitchen, for the wife's cheapie's.
 
If the Busse has a convex edge, you might not want to use a stone at all. There are ways to use an Edge Pro to do convex blades, and other people know better than I what works well for that application with that system.
 
Only 1 of my Busse's have a convex edge(I have 9), and it was sharpened by a pro member here...it's wicked sharp, just wish I could do that to all my blades.

There lies the problem, I have a large collection of sweet blades...EDC every day(live on a lot of property in the country)....but am afraid to use my knives, cuz I'll dull em up :(

I used to use a Lansky with good success, that's why I stepped up to the EP. Time to put on my "big boy" pants, and tear up some knives :) Hunting season is here, I need them sharp.
 
I think you'll do fine with the EP system. There are certain things it has trouble with, and others that it is the only system which does well. For example, putting the precise edge angle you want on a symmetrical dagger with a full double hollow grind is possible with the Edge Pro, with a little measurement and adjustment. Clamp systems can have trouble with that task. And paper wheels are only as precise as your fine motor skills are at the moment you use them. I wouldn't want to sharpen a dagger on a paper wheel setup, anyway, even if I taped the edge I wasn't sharpening.
 
Bwana1 said:
Appreciate the advice and vote of confidence :) Unfortunately, I don't have any cheap knives to practice on....time to head to the kitchen, for the wife's cheapie's.
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That's the UPSIDE of 'cheap knives'. They're CHEAP! :D If you don't have any, it's easy to fix that.

I 'practiced' with my Lansky on some Walmart-variety kitchen/paring knives, bought for $5 - $8. Surprisingly, with a 'good' bevel on them, they've turned out to be some excellent users in the kitchen. Also picked up some old, well-used 'beaters' on the 'bay', and put new bevels on them as 'practice' subjects. Again, old knife + new edge = GREAT user. A very inspiring way to learn the whole process. That's what really fueled my 'obsession', such that it is. ;)
 
I'll also add, that if you have any troubles getting used to the EP call or email Ben Dale, the inventor. He's always available and eager to help users and you can sometimes get a straight answer from him faster and clearer than from the forums.

I'll also add that the way bevels are ground at factories is going to force you to re-profile your edges the first time you use an EP. Basically, when bevels are ground at the factory the knife moves in relation to what is sharpening it in the manufacturers attempt to make them the same width from ricasso to tip, but when using the EP where the blade remains static through the entire motion of the stone, there will be points on the edge where the stone will either be hitting too high, too low or just right. So after a few sharpenings on the EP you'll see that the bevels end up being skinnier towards the ricasso and wider toward the tip.

Hope that makes sense, good luck to you and don't listen to the nay-sayers, ever since I bought my EP it's the only system I use and I couldn't be happier with the money I spent on it
 
richard j said:
if you want to get your knives this sharp http://knifetests.com/kII.html check out this thread and forget the stones
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=578787

here is another vid to check out http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=43364157
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Learn your Esdge Pro and use it. :) You will be very happy with it. And remember, Richard J answers all sharpening questions with the same answer. "get a set of paper wheels." :confused:

Well, I bought a set of paper wheels, and they new reside in the city landfill. :thumbdn: iI'm perfectly happy with the hair-spitting edges I get so easily from the Edge-Pro. :D
 
My problem with the paper wheels is that you can't put a toothy edge on your blades. My favorite edge right now is 21 degrees finished on my EP 220 grit stone. I does absolutely amazing at EDC tasks while still hair popping sharp!
 
Ben Dover said:
Well, I bought a set of paper wheels, and they new reside in the city landfill. :thumbdn: iI'm perfectly happy with the hair-spitting edges I get so easily from the Edge-Pro. :D
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Thats too bad, you could have had just as sharp of edge (I'd be even sharper to be honest) if you keep with the paper wheels. It's also so much faster then the edge pro! In the time you get one knife done with the edge pro, you could have 20 or 30 done with a set of paper wheels.
 
go check out how many views the paper wheel thread has had. over 100.000 views. there are a lot of people out there checking out the thread and a lot of people who like and use them. you could probably count on both hands the ammount of people who cant get the hang of sharpen on them so they say not to get them. go to your local woodcraft store and check them out. here is another thread to check out. i sharpened 241 folders in 17 hours. ask bastid how sharp they were. he told me he checked out quite a few of them. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=651061
 
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