Question for EdgePro users

[WadeF]

I sliced one of the 3000 grit polishing tapes as well. THEN I read the insert that came with the tapes and it says to only use them OFF the Blade. I believe that would mean that it is only in contact with the blade's edge as you pull the tape towards you....not on the push back motion. It also mentions raising the knife edge just a hair which would put the tape in contact with only the new edge.

I can't vouch for this as I only got my machine this past week, but it makes sense.

I use the tapes the same way I use the stones. I don't have problems if I'm careful. You have to make sure everything is very DRY. If you get some water in the mix it might result in something catching and tearing. You also have to be careful around the tip.

 

[Jay_Wyatt]

I bet this forum sells a lot of the edge pros for ben

 

[Crayola]

Reproiling with the Edge Pro is fast, especially compared to reprofiling with a sharpmaker.

That said, I suggest getting a large coarse or extra-coarse diamond stone, silicon-carbide stone, or (opening up a whole other can of worms here) powered equipment, especially a belt sander for heavy metal removal.

Thinning out an ege is just hogging off steel; it requires neither finesse or all that much care. Hold the same angle as best you can, and grind away. Large diamond or silicon carbide stones make a reprofilign chore take mere minutes. Then switch to the edge pro to get a nice CONSISTENT bevel, which will take only minutes. The rest of the stones take seconds.

 

[jamesraykenney]

Jhillas: Using a deep cookie sheet sounds like a great idea. I'm going to try that next time I bust out my Apex. I actually reprofiled two HI Kukri's (like a damn fool) I think it took about two hours apiece and it dished the hell out of my 120 stone could never get it level after that. For heavy reprofiling best to level your stones often.

Try rubbing them on a cinder block.
Did yours come with the 'sand' that you use to level the stones?

 

[thombrogan]

Alonzo Mosely FBI,

There's no set time for reprofiling. I've done some which took no time at all and had 'lemme quickly fix this' jobs which took hours.

The polishing tape can be used to push or pull with no ill effects on the main bevel. If you're one of those folks who adds a microbevel for a stronger, longer lasting edge and less metal-removal during resharpening or touching up, you can use the tape running sideways from ricasso to point and get better results than had you made an edge-trailing stroke with tape and less chance that you'll cut into the tape with an edge-leading stroke (again, this is on micro-bevels. You shouldn't have any trouble with edge-leading strokes if you've already used the 600x stone to raise and remove burrs and are still on the 'original' edge bevel).

For touch-ups, the Apex model reassembles quickly enough to use either just the tape or the 600x stone and the tape. If you're using the EdgePro as something to make using the Sharpmaker easier, a belt-sander is a much less expensive and quicker alternative. The EdgePro is so much more than just a reprofiler that using it as such is a waste of time and money.

 

[Joe Talmadge]

When using the Edge Pro, or any system, I understand that you use the lowest grit 100, 120 or something like that and keep at it until you raise a burr. That I understand.

My questions is, as I move up through the higher number grits ending with the 600, do I keep stroking until there is always a burr before progressing to the next stone?

Absolutely not! You raise the burr that first time, to get proof that the bevel you're creating has reached the very edge. Once you've done it, one of the main objectives after that is to remove the burr -- not to make it worse every time you move up in grit. As a result, progressively lightening your touch isn't a bad idea, particularly on the final grit.

When you move from one grit to the next, take a look at the size of the scratches. Once you move to the higher grit, you generally want to remove all the scratches from the previous grit, so the scratches will get smaller and smaller. At higher grits, you won't be able to see the scratches with the naked eye, but you'll be able to judge the shininess.

Joe

 

[LJK]

JamesRayKenny: Yes, mine came with a small bag of sand. I tried using it on my garage floor (cement) also tried 80 grit 3m paper on floor. It made the stone better but not close to level. The 120 stone was getting thin also. I just tossed it and ordered a new on. Now I pay more attention and stay away from reprofiling Kukri's. (Mouse pad and sand paper for convex edges) Cinder block sounds like a good idea though.

 

[Nosmo]

Absolutely not! You raise the burr that first time, to get proof that the bevel you're creating has reached the very edge. Once you've done it, one of the main objectives after that is to remove the burr -- not to make it worse every time you move up in grit.

Joe

Joe,
Can you expand this a little because you are advocating a different approach to the recommendations of the designer of the EdgePro. He and others recommend sharpening until burr forms,and remove burr.

Then, if you intend to go finer, change to the next finer hone.....and repeat above. This time, with the finer hone, the burr will come in almost immediately, and be considerably smaller and harder to see and feel. Remove this new and smaller burr.

And then, if you still want to go even finer, repeat again with the new hone, removing the burr each time.

It has been my experience that the burr will form even with approx 6,000 grit sharpening media ( I use PSA sheets at this a level ). It will be very small, and very hard to see, but its there and must be removed.

I have not looked in my manual that came with the Edge Pro for a while now but Ben explains this quite well if I recall.

I am not advocating that the above is the only way to sharpen. It is just Ben's way and as owner of EdgePro , I think he has a valid point.

However there are always different points of view, and yours would be welcomed by this knife nut. Always willing too learn. <G>