Questions about Razor Edge Products.

Barry H

Barry H

Joined
Nov 3, 1999
Messages
1,692
I'm curious about how many satisfied Razor Edge customers are posting on this forum. They advertise an ultra fine sharpening stone. How ultra fine is it, compared to the white Sharpmaker 204 stones? They also sell two different models of steels. How well does this polish an edge? Thanks for any help.
Barry H.
 
It will give you a good edge, but it is not as fine as the Sharpmaker stones in my opinion. There are a lot finer stones out there. I personally think it is about as fine as hard Arkansas stone, but I believe it works a lot faster. I simply couldn't get my Razor Edge kit to work. I returned it after a couple weeks.

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Chang and the Rebels of the East
(Southern Taiwan Shall Rise Again!)
 
I too am interested in hearing what everyone thinks about Razors Edge products especially their steels.

They say the Raz-R-Steel opens to give you a perfect angle for steeling. I was thinking about buying this folding steel. Any comments about it?

Comrade Chang, why couldn't you get the Razor Edge kit to work? Are you saying it was the stones or the guide didn't work well? What do you use now to sharpen your knives?

starchasr
 
Starchaser--Razor Edge sells both a regular "steel" and a fold-out steel that opens to form a 45 degree angle. If you use a Sharpmaker 204, which has a 30 and 40 degree stone holders, then I personally think that the 45 degree on the Razor Edge steel wouldn't complement the Sharpmaker. I have heard from Sal Glesser, however, that he uses the steel in the grooved slots of his stones and has had excellent results. He didn't say, though, if he was using the fold out steel or the traditional one. I had hoped that there would have been some other opinions about the Razor Edge steels and stones.
Regards.
Barry H.
 
I've used the RazorEdge guide and steel for years and feel they are the best on the market for obtaining the finest of edges. I use DMT diamond hones with a Spyderco UltraFine Ceramic stone for finishing.

I guess I am old fashioned - still using stones to accomplish the task.

The SharpMaker is an excellent tool, but if you need to re-shape an edge, you better have a lot of time and patience as it takes forever to remove any amount of metal.

I feel the limiting factor in using the SharpMaker is that you have to hold the edge at a constant angle to the ceramic rods. ANY deviation from the angle you have selected and your edge deterioriates. It is impossible to hold a perfect angle without help, which the RazorEdge guide gives.

Hope this helps!
 
StarChaser, I use an Edge Pro Apex with the upgrade set to sharpen. Costly, but it works extremely well. I couldn't get the Razor Edge system to work because it just wouldn't give me a fine enough edge (I was going for polished edge). It gave a pretty decent working edge, but I wanted a polished type of edge, which it did not give me. The guides are also very awkward to me. I tried to get it to work, it just wouldn't work for me. A lot of other people have had better luck though.

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Chang and the Rebels of the East
(Southern Taiwan Shall Rise Again!)
 
I have their Professional Kit. I find it gives me GREAT results! I almost returned it
as I had troubles learning how to use the guides and all but now when I use them I get really sharp edges. The fine stone isn't fine like the spyderco stones, but it gives you a fine toothed edge, something a little finer than the spyderco grey cerami stones. The coarse stone works FAST. The folding steel is probably the best overall steel on the market. The angle is infinitely adjustable (the rods are tightened with a couple of set screw tightener knob things so you can swing the rods out at whatever angle you want!). On Sal's post he said that he removes the little steel rods from the folding steel (easy to do- just unscrew the tightener knobs!) and lays them in the grooves of the sharpmaker stones. In my opinion the versatility and quality (SMOOOOOOOOOOOTH) of the steel has no peer.

If you have a bit of extra cash, get the sharpenign video too as that will shorten the learning curve quite a bit! Of, the guides do wear down and eventually tou have to buy new ones, but they are rpetty cheap. Up here in Canuck land in my little (67 000) city I can buy them for $11.95 Canadian!

If you want a more polished edge, buy a fine spyderco ceramic stone too. The guides don't mind!

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"Come What May..."
 
Thanks guys for the comments. I will definitely be buying the folding steel. Do you guys think the video would be better to buy than the Razors Edge book or do I need both?

I am also trying to decide which sharpening system to go with. I like the idea of being able to use any stones you want to with the Razor Edge Guides which will also give you a good idea on how to free hand. However a lot of people have been telling me to get a Sharpmaker. I have been told you can lean a DMT x-coarse diamond hone against the Sharpmaker rods if you need to reshape an edge. Someone else mentioned getting the Skarb which you can also use the DMT diamond hones. Still others have told me to get the Apex but I don't want to spend that much at this time and don't have that many knives to sharpen. I also don't like the mess. With the skarb I would use DMT diamond hones which I could use dry and the same with the Sharpmaker and the Razors Edge guides, no mess.

Please help! I am new to sharpening and need to make a decision on which sharpening system to go with
smile.gif


Thanks,
starchaser
 
Starchaser: If I had to decide between the book and the video, I'd get the video. SEEING someone do the technique will pay off much more than reading about it. Check your local library for the book and just borrow it if they have it.

I have the older Sharpmaker 203 which I use in addition to my Razor's Edge kit. I use it for serrations, light touch ups and some other very small stuff (little blades stuck on the end of probes used in a pork plant.... geez... kinda hard to explain!). With the two kits I can sharpen just about anything. I don't think you can go wrong with the Razor's edge kit at all. Or, if you do get a Sharpmaker, be sure to get a coarse bench stone (DMT X-Coarse is ideal, but any Sil. Carbide stone will do the job and a combo Norton stone can be found at WalMart). You will need to thin out the edges on blades (relief) and doing it with a sharpmaker is less than fun. The Razor's Edge steel is still a must for the serious sharpener, but not required.

I got my Pro kit because, although it was a bit of $$, the stones are large (8" by 2" thick), you get the steel and you get the guides for less than 4" and over 4" blades. The book is at my library and I have my old Sharpmaker for touch-ups and small things and serrations. All I really NEED, although, a DMT X-coarse stone, a set of Spyderco bench stones and a DMT double sided Diafold will be added to my sharpening gear in the future.

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"Come What May..."
 
Hi Crayola,

I have mostly small folders 4" or less that need sharpening. If I were to get only one sharpening system which would you recommend the Sharpmaker with DMT x-coarse hone or the Razors Edge Kit? If I get the Sharpmaker which it seems most forumites recommend for novices and advanced users I will buy the video and folding steel from Razors Edge. How do you like the guides?

starchaser
 
I bought the professional kit and book. Haven't had much time to use it yet but at this point it seems rather cumbersome. It seems hard to get the guide clamped on and I don't see how the clamp is going to give the same "exact" angle each time. There are adjusting screws for the angle and at this point I am confused. It did put a good edge on small knives but seemed to not do such a good job on larger. Thats just my opinion, maybe I haven't had enough time to perfect it yet. Don't know. All I can say is I am still alittle disappointed. Maybe I should get the video. I bought the kit because when I called they had a 20% discount. The sales rep was VERY impatient with me though. When I was asking questions she asked if I wanted to just call back when I made up my mind. Then she asked for my name and address and I gave because I thought it was for sending me a catalogue but then she asked for my credit card number and assumed I wanted to buy. I felt very pressured. I did buy but kind of have a sour taste on the whole company. Don't know yet whether I will keep it or not. They give 60 day warranty for return for any reason, so they said. Don't mean to rant,it's just my opinion. Hope this makes some kind of sense, I'm still not very awake! Dave

I did find that the best way to clean the coarse stone was with an air compressor. Made it look new with no mess.

[This message has been edited by Dave Costin (edited 11-02-2000).]
 
Starchaser: If you sharpen mostly sub 4" blades, the DMT X-coarse/sharpmaker set up with the Razor's Edge steel would probably better suit your needs, all things considered. I think the Razor's Edge kits offer versatility as a great advantage but if you sharpen mostly sub 4" blades the versatility isn't an advatage for you. With the other set up you'll be able to sharpen your knives to a hair popping sharp edge quite fast.

The Razor's Edge guides are cumbersome and I don't use them all the time. When I want to take the extra time to get a PERFECT edge (perfect as in symmetrical) then I fiddle with them and the results are noticeably different. They do take some time getting used to though.

One last thing Starchaser. If you are going to be sharpening your friends'/family's blades too, the sharpmaker set up may not be the best. I end up sharpening all of my relatives' blades when I go visiting and I like my Razor's Edge kit for that becuase I cna freehand sharpen very well now and the stones allow me to work quickly. Something to think about.

About the comment of the guides not giving the same angle every time: John Juranich recommends grinding in relief every time you sharpen and also stresses that holding the SAME angle is more important than whether you are shapening at 22 or 24 degrees. Angle is important but not as important as holding the same angle. Thus the edge that the guides put on most using blades works just fine!!! Trust me, I have shaved my arm many times for it not to be true!

I wonder if the Razor's Edge video shows how to set up the clamps on the blades....
Starchaser, let me know!
 
About 1½ years ago, I could only make edges duller, with the very rare case where I actually sharpened it. After reading Joe's sharpening FAQ, I bought RES's deluxe kit and the book. Now, I can get shaving sharp out of most any knife. I don't much the guides anymore, but I still continue to use the coarse stone, leaned up against one of by 204's stones when I need to re-profile an edge. The steel is also used regularly.

Even though I don't use most of the kit anymore, it was invaluable to me as a newbie.

I do sharpen some knives for other folks, but not much. If I did quite a bit, I'd probably get one of the expensive Apexs.

One this is certain - what you use is far less important than learning and using the right technique. Learn the right skills, and any of the mentioned sharpeners will work.

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Knowledge without understanding is knowledge wasted.
Understanding without knowledge is a rare gift - but not an impossibility.
For the impossible is always possible through faith. - Bathroom graffiti, gas station, Grey, TN, Dec, 1988

AKTI Member #A000831

[This message has been edited by Codeman (edited 11-06-2000).]
 
Hey everbody, I just bought one of these folding steels a week ago, so I can give you a little more info:

They do not fold out "exactly" to anything. There are a couple of marks on the end which roughly indicate what 35 degrees is. However, the folding motion is entirely free form, so you are not restricted (or assured) any angle whatsoever.

Since you should steel at a greater angle than your final bevel (albeit very LIGHTLY), the 35 degree bevel works just fine with the 20 degree bevel produced by the Sharpmaker. Don't use much force; typically the weight of the blade itself is all the force you'll need.

I had a nick in my small Sebenza, and used this steel to smooth it out. It worked fantastic. Just five swipes on either side, and all the "shininess" of my edge disappeared. The knife easily cut hairs after that.

Do note that you can steel too little, and you can steel too much. Too little does nothing. You can usually gauge this by shining a bright light directly on the edge. If it reflects unevenly anywhere along the edge, then you don't have a straight edge. If you steel too much, it will overly thin out the edge and make it weaker than when you started. Or it can "ripple" the edge, and make this even worse. It takes a little practice to know when to stop.

My impression is that the Razor Edge folding steel is not worth $28 (including shipping). It's just two pieces of steel. If you can find a very smooth rod -- like a long drill bit, maybe polished up with some SiC sandpaper -- I would recommend you go with that instead, mounted in the grooves of the Sharpmaker; and with the knife "turned out" a bit, to produce the wider angle. It would work just as well, and cost a whole lot less.
 
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