- Joined
- Aug 27, 2004
- Messages
- 12,955
I recently purchased the Edge Pro system from Ben Dale after many years of putting it off. Lately some of the harder blades have been giving me fits and after reading about the Edge Pro I decided to give it a try. Here are my thoughts on the system so far. I realize this may have been done many times before but I wanted to make a fresh post on it for anyone thinking about this system.
The Apex System by Edge Pro
What you get in the kit when you buy it is:
The apex sharpening system depending on what you order. It comes in a carry case with
whatever stones you ordered along with
the water bottle and manual to give basic instructions. A video tape is optional except on the more expensive kits.
I ordered my kit directly from Ben.
To start you off Ben Dale places a single new piece of blue painters tape on the table for you.
The kit runs appx. $135 to as much as $540 plus dollars depending on the one you opted to buy.
My kit included the Apex system w/ standard 220grit stone and water bottle with instructions. I also recieved the 320, the 600, and the 120 grit course stones, along with the ceramic rod. Ben was kind enough to throw in some of the polish strips for me to try on my wood carving knives. The total of my kit was $185 shipped.
But even after spending this much for the sharpener the kit is not quite ready to use just yet when you get it. Not if you want to do things right anyway.
You still need to purchase painters tape to protect the knives you sharpen from being all scratched up by the stone debris, and you still need to obtain some small riser blocks or make your own for smaller knives of less length than the table is wide. Since neither of these are included in any of the kits from Edge Pro they need to be obtained if you want to use the kit correctly. Even though these are not included Ben readily admits they are needed to sharpen the knives so they are scratch free when done, he also agrees that he uses these at the shows to do scratch free sharpening of usually close to 100 knives or more on a weekend. So all of this is in his personal kit he takes with him.
Personally, for the money I feel the tape and the riser blocks should be included with the rest of the kit or at least available as an option to purchase with the kit, particularly when the company that makes the kit knows full well that in order to use it without scratching up every blade you sharpen that it is a must have.
Does the kit work? Oh yeah. It gets your knives very sharp. The water stones work very well and control of the bevel angle is superb with this system. You have color coded marking on the system for 10 up to 24 degrees. The bevel is constant once set and using a felt tip marker to mark the edge before getting going is a simple enough chore. By seeing where the stone takes off the ink you can adjust it so that it is set correctly to the factory bevel or you can easily reprofile it to a steeper or less steep angle depending on preference. I might also add that you have to purchase or otherwise obtain your own marker.
Once the bevel is defined it is a simple process of sharpening. For some that are not amidextrous in nature it may be a bit tricky to get this system to work for you at first. This is especially true if you are all thumbs with your opposite hand. When you flip the blade you will have to switch hands to continue sharpening the other side.
I did learn the hard way not to set the system up on a good table top. After sharpening some 50 or more knives in my own home I did have some stone debris on the table and when removing that to throw it out the table did get scratched up some, so I'd suggest setting the system in a pan like a cake dish or some other such thing to catch any stone debris during use, especially if you are going to be doing several knives using the courser stones
The course stone cuts very fast. It will also readily absorb water although it doesn't require much. The 220 grit stone soaks in water readily also. The finer stones do not take in much water at all. In fact I've found those seem to fair better if you soak them first before use. Other wise the stones pores clog up and you need to stop often to clean them off.
My favorite part of the kit is the ceramic. I have never liked ceramic much but must admit that the 1200 grit ceramic in this kit does a wonderful job of setting the final edge to a nice bite. Used in conjunction with the 320 grit stone you can get a very very nice edge on most knives and maintaining the edge you just created is an easy task using the ceramic everynow and then as a touch up.
During the time I used the kit getting to know it I found that the knives I struggled with the most to sharpen are Spyderco folders. I feel that if Spyderco is your primary knife and the one you will sharpen the most you need to opt for the Sharpmaker as Bens Edge Pro is not really set up to accomadate the Spyderco opening hole on their blades. The easiest knife to sharpen by Spyderco using the Edge Pro system was the Native and it sharpened easy because it does not have the typical 'hump' formed by the hole in the blade. What I found troublesome using the EdgePro on Spyderco knives is making sure the blade is set in the same spot when flipping it. Due to the hump you have to give it your best guess to make it work. It was awkward to say the least.
On some of the longer kitchen knives it is also necessary to do the sharpening in steps because if the blade bends some from overhanging on the table it can make the bevel off toward the tip.
On knives that are double edged such as my Atkinson hand made the Edge Pro system simply will not work. If you can't sit the knife flat on the table there is no way to evenly control where the bevel goes. It is hard enough at times to keep from moving the blade when it is flat. But when compounded with a Spyderhole or a double grind it becomes quite tricky to say the least. I could perhaps make a special block for this one double edged folder so it would allow the knife blade to sit flat but it seemed too much trouble to go to for just one knife in my collection. I'll just free hand that one like I've always done in the past.
After owning and using the Edge Pro for 5 days it is readily apparent to me that the edges it produces are top drawer. It does particularly well on kitchen knives. I can honestly say my kitchen is lethal now. On smaller knives it is a bit of a struggle and somewhat cumbersome yet still possible to do using the Edge Pro. I often wondered why many people that own the Edge Pro system also owned one or more of the other sharpening systems on the market. Now I know. No one system covers all knives completley or conveniently. The Sharpmaker and the Edge Pro system compliment each other quite well. It seems where one leaves off the other picks up nicely. Unfortunately by the time you acquire both systems and the accessories needed to make them work you are well above the cost of three of four good USA made knives though. Perhaps a great deal more depending on what kit and what accessories you go with.
Overall the EdgePro is a good system. I would have to say that it is the fastest way to sharpen by hand that I have ever seen. To get any faster than this would require motorized equipment and even then the heat produced by such systems can be damaging to the blades. I don't see any way to ever heat up a blade using this system. For the money it is a good one to consider. Just be aware of the shortcomings of it before the purchase and you'll be that much farther ahead when it arrives.
STR
The Apex System by Edge Pro
What you get in the kit when you buy it is:
The apex sharpening system depending on what you order. It comes in a carry case with
whatever stones you ordered along with
the water bottle and manual to give basic instructions. A video tape is optional except on the more expensive kits.
I ordered my kit directly from Ben.
To start you off Ben Dale places a single new piece of blue painters tape on the table for you.
The kit runs appx. $135 to as much as $540 plus dollars depending on the one you opted to buy.
My kit included the Apex system w/ standard 220grit stone and water bottle with instructions. I also recieved the 320, the 600, and the 120 grit course stones, along with the ceramic rod. Ben was kind enough to throw in some of the polish strips for me to try on my wood carving knives. The total of my kit was $185 shipped.
But even after spending this much for the sharpener the kit is not quite ready to use just yet when you get it. Not if you want to do things right anyway.
You still need to purchase painters tape to protect the knives you sharpen from being all scratched up by the stone debris, and you still need to obtain some small riser blocks or make your own for smaller knives of less length than the table is wide. Since neither of these are included in any of the kits from Edge Pro they need to be obtained if you want to use the kit correctly. Even though these are not included Ben readily admits they are needed to sharpen the knives so they are scratch free when done, he also agrees that he uses these at the shows to do scratch free sharpening of usually close to 100 knives or more on a weekend. So all of this is in his personal kit he takes with him.
Personally, for the money I feel the tape and the riser blocks should be included with the rest of the kit or at least available as an option to purchase with the kit, particularly when the company that makes the kit knows full well that in order to use it without scratching up every blade you sharpen that it is a must have.
Does the kit work? Oh yeah. It gets your knives very sharp. The water stones work very well and control of the bevel angle is superb with this system. You have color coded marking on the system for 10 up to 24 degrees. The bevel is constant once set and using a felt tip marker to mark the edge before getting going is a simple enough chore. By seeing where the stone takes off the ink you can adjust it so that it is set correctly to the factory bevel or you can easily reprofile it to a steeper or less steep angle depending on preference. I might also add that you have to purchase or otherwise obtain your own marker.
Once the bevel is defined it is a simple process of sharpening. For some that are not amidextrous in nature it may be a bit tricky to get this system to work for you at first. This is especially true if you are all thumbs with your opposite hand. When you flip the blade you will have to switch hands to continue sharpening the other side.
I did learn the hard way not to set the system up on a good table top. After sharpening some 50 or more knives in my own home I did have some stone debris on the table and when removing that to throw it out the table did get scratched up some, so I'd suggest setting the system in a pan like a cake dish or some other such thing to catch any stone debris during use, especially if you are going to be doing several knives using the courser stones
The course stone cuts very fast. It will also readily absorb water although it doesn't require much. The 220 grit stone soaks in water readily also. The finer stones do not take in much water at all. In fact I've found those seem to fair better if you soak them first before use. Other wise the stones pores clog up and you need to stop often to clean them off.
My favorite part of the kit is the ceramic. I have never liked ceramic much but must admit that the 1200 grit ceramic in this kit does a wonderful job of setting the final edge to a nice bite. Used in conjunction with the 320 grit stone you can get a very very nice edge on most knives and maintaining the edge you just created is an easy task using the ceramic everynow and then as a touch up.
During the time I used the kit getting to know it I found that the knives I struggled with the most to sharpen are Spyderco folders. I feel that if Spyderco is your primary knife and the one you will sharpen the most you need to opt for the Sharpmaker as Bens Edge Pro is not really set up to accomadate the Spyderco opening hole on their blades. The easiest knife to sharpen by Spyderco using the Edge Pro system was the Native and it sharpened easy because it does not have the typical 'hump' formed by the hole in the blade. What I found troublesome using the EdgePro on Spyderco knives is making sure the blade is set in the same spot when flipping it. Due to the hump you have to give it your best guess to make it work. It was awkward to say the least.
On some of the longer kitchen knives it is also necessary to do the sharpening in steps because if the blade bends some from overhanging on the table it can make the bevel off toward the tip.
On knives that are double edged such as my Atkinson hand made the Edge Pro system simply will not work. If you can't sit the knife flat on the table there is no way to evenly control where the bevel goes. It is hard enough at times to keep from moving the blade when it is flat. But when compounded with a Spyderhole or a double grind it becomes quite tricky to say the least. I could perhaps make a special block for this one double edged folder so it would allow the knife blade to sit flat but it seemed too much trouble to go to for just one knife in my collection. I'll just free hand that one like I've always done in the past.
After owning and using the Edge Pro for 5 days it is readily apparent to me that the edges it produces are top drawer. It does particularly well on kitchen knives. I can honestly say my kitchen is lethal now. On smaller knives it is a bit of a struggle and somewhat cumbersome yet still possible to do using the Edge Pro. I often wondered why many people that own the Edge Pro system also owned one or more of the other sharpening systems on the market. Now I know. No one system covers all knives completley or conveniently. The Sharpmaker and the Edge Pro system compliment each other quite well. It seems where one leaves off the other picks up nicely. Unfortunately by the time you acquire both systems and the accessories needed to make them work you are well above the cost of three of four good USA made knives though. Perhaps a great deal more depending on what kit and what accessories you go with.
Overall the EdgePro is a good system. I would have to say that it is the fastest way to sharpen by hand that I have ever seen. To get any faster than this would require motorized equipment and even then the heat produced by such systems can be damaging to the blades. I don't see any way to ever heat up a blade using this system. For the money it is a good one to consider. Just be aware of the shortcomings of it before the purchase and you'll be that much farther ahead when it arrives.
STR