Sharpening small narrow blade on Edge Pro

M

mobenzowner

Joined
Oct 17, 2010
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I just cant seem to get it right..I cannot get what I consider a super good edge on a pen or smaller narrower type blade on the edge pro. I have used homade riser blocks etc, etc and I cannot seem to get it up to my standards for a larger blade. Does anyone know of a video where someone actually sharpens a smallish blade with the Edge Pro? I have seen many edge pro vids but it seems no one wants to make one with riser blocks sharpening small blades. If anyone knows of any I would sure appreciate a link.
 
I'd call Ben Dale at Edge Pro... he's solved any problem I've ever had.... he's got a lot of tips and tricks on sharpening various style knives, and is very good at diagnosing whatever you're doing now to address the issue.
 
mobenzowner said:
I just cant seem to get it right..I cannot get what I consider a super good edge on a pen or smaller narrower type blade on the edge pro. I have used homade riser blocks etc, etc and I cannot seem to get it up to my standards for a larger blade. Does anyone know of a video where someone actually sharpens a smallish blade with the Edge Pro? I have seen many edge pro vids but it seems no one wants to make one with riser blocks sharpening small blades. If anyone knows of any I would sure appreciate a link.
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What exactly do you consider a "smallish" blade? Victorinox? Microtech Ultratech?
 
RevDevil said:
What exactly do you consider a "smallish" blade? Victorinox? Microtech Ultratech?
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I talking about a pen blade on a jack knife or medium stockman per se. I always just go ahead and do them on stones by hand and would like to use the edge pro.
 
powernoodle said:
Look here, mo, to get you started: link 1; link 2.
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Power noodle thanks for the links. I have seen those before and was trying to find back your link #2. Neither of those links really give a good concise answer on how to sharpen a small "pen" type of blade however. Not saying it's not out there, but I have never seen one. Would love to see Ben Dale or jdavis882 post a vid on it. I learn better that way.
 
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I've sharpened an ultratech utx70 on the edge pro. I just took off the plastic guard on the blade guide on the EP and went to town. I placed the blade diagonally across the base for the curve towards the tip.
 
The smallest knives that I've sharpened on the EP is a Leatherman Micra and a woodcarving knive. Both blades are a little more than an inch long. To get a good edge, the key seems to be to find a solid position on the EP table. Of course, that's one of the keys with any size blade.

JMHO,
Allen
 
What problem are you experiencing?

I've sharpened my smallest SAK blade. It's definitely "pen-knife" size.

I can't go lower than about 18* without touching the blade rest, with the plastic removed, of course.

I put as much of the blade as I can on the bed, and then rotate the blade on the corner of the blade rest, until the tip of the blade is flush with the top end of the bed.

Nothing to it.
 
grizzled gizzard said:
What problem are you experiencing?

I've sharpened my smallest SAK blade. It's definitely "pen-knife" size.
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I think my problem is keeping horizontal movement from the edge of the blade. With so little of the blade resting on the table I think even light pressure on the stone to blade contact is causing me to rock the blade edge up and down just a bit. Perhaps I just need to "get out of the box" as to how the blade rests on the table.
 
Using the lightest pressure that you can manage does wonders for blades that don't like to hold still.

On your set-up, don't get the ricasso on the bed, bring the ricasso right up to the bed. Hold the blade so that it's parallel to the front of the bed, and the edge of the blade is flush with the front of the bed, and tighten the blade guide.

Now rotate the tip of the blade up to the front of the bed. You are right, there isn't much blade on the bed.

Use the least amount of pressure with both hands as you can possibly manage.

Stop your stroke with the stone in contact with the tip of the knife, and lift the stone.

If you totally relax, so you can go slowly (I mean make a stroke take 3 or 4 seconds), the odds of you making a perfect stroke are greatly enhanced.

Perfect strokes are the only ones that count. It takes 5-10 good strokes to make up for one bad one.

Hope that helps.
 
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Thanks much grizzled and all of you. I definitely use light pressure, but have never tried a super slow stroke. The cost of the edge pro was such that I am pretty anal about making sure I dont hit the table base with a stroke when coming off the point of the knife that I may have the blade protruding a bit farther off the table end than necessary. I will give the slow stroke idea a try this evening, along with trying to go even lighter in pressure. Will post results later this evening as well. As always what a great sharing forum and thanks to all who replied..
Kevin
 
Although many folks will balk at the idea, I use a very small jawed clamp to hold down the pen blade of the smallest of the Swiss Army knives, (the keyring model,) and have no trouble going through all the stones. I have to reposition the clamp from time to time as I change sides, but I get a perfect EdgePro edge on the little darlin'!


Stitchawl
 
I didnt have a lot of success with the edge pro last night. Actually ended up taking it to the Lansky and got a decent edge. Stitchcrawl, to make sure i understand correctly do you use anything other than the jaw clamp to hold the blade in place? I am assuming you probably use a thin riser block or something to rest the blade spine against to make sure you clamp the blade in the same position when switching from side to side.
 
mobenzowner said:
I didnt have a lot of success with the edge pro last night. Actually ended up taking it to the Lansky and got a decent edge. Stitchcrawl, to make sure i understand correctly do you use anything other than the jaw clamp to hold the blade in place? I am assuming you probably use a thin riser block or something to rest the blade spine against to make sure you clamp the blade in the same position when switching from side to side.
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No, other than the clamp and my own hand, I don't use anything else. The ricasso is against the edge of the base, so between that and the stop at the rear, the blade is always put into the same spot. Obviously, at a microscopic level there will be some difference, but not enough to significantly change the resulting edge. However, because of the size of the blade, I do find that I need to use a higher angle for this edge. I don't measure it, but I'll estimate it at about 22°. If I were free-handing a blade this size I'd probably aim for 15°-17°. Fortunately, we're talking about a blade that is used for sharpening pencils, cutting string, and the occasional brain surgery. If it were for a more specialized use I might have to be more precise. :)


Stitchawl
 
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