New Edge Pro owner

R

Rich_S

Joined
Dec 3, 2005
Messages
1,391
After looking at these for several years, I finally pulled the trigger on one. Ordered it from Chef Knives To Go a few days back and it showed up last night.

So far, I am very happy with it, very easy to maintain a consistent angle.

I am curious about what sort of techniques people are using. Here's what I have been doing:

Start with 220. Do 15-20 strokes on one side, until I get a very small burr. Flip the blade, 15-20 strokes on the other side. Fip it again, do 2-3 easy pull strokes to knock down the burr. Fip it again, do 2-3 easy pull strokes to knock down the burr on the other side.

Switch to 400. Repeat process above.

Switch to 600. Alternate sides, 1 stoke per side, 5-10 times.

I did all my Henckels kitchen knives and my Delica 4 this way. Haven't gotten to my larger fixed blades yet.

They come out sharp (able to push cut regular copier paper) but not scary sharp (they won't shave hair on my arm or push cut newspaper). Honestly. this is about the same result I've gotten in the past using Arkansas stones, diamond stomes, and waterstones by hand (but angles are much more consistent with EP). If I go up to the 1000 EP stone I get a much more polished edge but not really any sharper.

Should I be spending more time on the coarser stone? Other tips? Thanks.
 
More time on the fine stones. As you progress use less pressure, make sure you remove all the "scratches" from the previous grit.
 
I usually start with the 400 unless I have damage to the blade , from there its all about just keeping that blade flat on the table and using lighter strokes as you progress, with all things you will get better the more you use it.IMO your 600, and 1000 is where the magic happen s more strokes, with a lighter touch as you use more strokes.
 
On the coarse stones, get a good sized burr, flip and get a good burr on the first side. Remove the burr, and go to the next stone and repeat. you will have the blade sharpened all the way to the Apex. Then it's a matter of refining with the finer stones.

It should shave arm hair after the 320 stone. An angle cube is invaluable for setting the angle when ever you change stones.

A little $50 VEHO digital microscope is a magical tool for looking at the edge and seeing if you are all the way to the edge. At the 20X setting, using full screen mode, it will pick up 99 percent of flaws in the blade.
 
I have found that starting with the 120 gives me more control as I work my way up. When I first got mine, I was skeptical to use the 120, but I was not getting really sharp results. It seems like you have to start from scratch and take 'ownership' of the edge. You will start to see very sharp results even after the 220.
Cheers
 
Allen R. said:
I usually start with the 400 unless I have damage to the blade , from there its all about just keeping that blade flat on the table and using lighter strokes as you progress, with all things you will get better the more you use it.IMO your 600, and 1000 is where the magic happen s more strokes, with a lighter touch as you use more strokes.
Click to expand...

And definitely this as you make your way to the end.
8 months on mine and it feels great.
 
Ben Dover said:
On the coarse stones, get a good sized burr, flip and get a good burr on the first side. Remove the burr, and go to the next stone and repeat. you will have the blade sharpened all the way to the Apex. Then it's a matter of refining with the finer stones.

It should shave arm hair after the 320 stone. An angle cube is invaluable for setting the angle when ever you change stones.

A little $50 VEHO digital microscope is a magical tool for looking at the edge and seeing if you are all the way to the edge. At the 20X setting, using full screen mode, it will pick up 99 percent of flaws in the blade.
Click to expand...


That is very good advice. I have been and still am perfecting my technique, light pressure is key,I should say stone pressure, with higher grits. You will only keep getting sharper with time. Have fun!
 
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No matter what machine or method you're using, the basics still apply. I'm guessing that you're starting to get a burr on part of the edge, but you don't have a burr all the way down the length of the edge, from hilt to tip. Start by doing that, on both sides, and go from there. Fully apexing the edge is super important.

Brian.
 
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