Stainless construct Apex-style sharpener on Ebay - anyone tried it?

Z

zlorf

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Apr 10, 2014
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I'm looking at maybe buying this along with official Edge Pro stones:

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Has anyone here tried this model specifically? Any better or worse than the plastic version on Ebay? I would replace the nutty-looking handle with a ball, straight out of the box. Other than that it look like it might do the trick.

The Ebay feedback for it states it has sharp, jagged edges but I expect that for the price & it's an easy fix.

Please no moral debates about buying American-made - I'm only interested in the performance of this ugly little bugger.

Thanks!
 
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The Apex has suction cups which I think are essential. How does this one stay in place?
 
That would definitely be a problem on a smooth surface like a kitchen table, but I'll rig up something up for my workbench.

I'm mainly interested in the tolerances and bendy-wobbly factor of it, given the price.
 
Looked it up real quick at the pictures I would expect pretty decent performance if it held up properly, and that's a big if. Doesn't have the precision of the real deal nor durability. Appears to be using a lot of basic parts fitted together which are probably cheaply made parts fitted together none the less so I expect some play and poor construction, though you could probably take a look at it and find out what their using and build a higher end version or upgrade the cheap parts that are giving you a bad time though that will take quite a bit of leg work and hassle to do. If I were given one I would probably end up dropping some more money on it for parts and at least a few hours fine tuning it.

Too many unknown variables are in it for me to give you the green light. And with how your already planning to buy some stones for it I imagine your have some money to invest towards this. I would honestly recommend a DMT Aligner, Lanksys, and several other guided setups before this as you know what your getting into with those and the achievable results.
 
Haven't used one. It looks like you're going to need an independent way to set the angle?

I can tell you, having used an EP quite a bit, that changing angles can happen a lot in a sharpening session. If I had to stop and screw a nut up and down to do it, I'd pitch it in a week. Depends on how you plan on using it I guess, just something you might consider.
 
That seems like the biggest drawback to me too. It looks like it would be quite cumbersome in use but I have never used an EP/similar myself. I value your insight on that point. thanks.

cbwx34 said:
Haven't used one. It looks like you're going to need an independent way to set the angle?

I can tell you, having used an EP quite a bit, that changing angles can happen a lot in a sharpening session. If I had to stop and screw a nut up and down to do it, I'd pitch it in a week. Depends on how you plan on using it I guess, just something you might consider.
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Well I have the cheaper, more plastic apex clone and I'm pretty happy with it. The stones leave something to be desired, but I've gotten knives hair-popping sharp with it. I would think this thing would work even better, especially with better stones. I'm not sure if the lack of suction cups will matter that much. The extra weight should help a lot, but I don't think it would be too hard to add some feet or your own suction cups anyway.
 
Hi, I actually bought one of these a couple of weeks ago. Basically its unusable because the all steel construction allows it to vibrate in use and as others have said its impossible to hold still without making something to hold it. The angle adjustment is also really annoying with its threaded rod and bolt based design. I haven't tried the plastic knock offs but I would image they are much better than this. They are also cheaper!

Now that being said I went ahead and heavily modified mine and have almost finished what I hope will be a great sharpener. I spent about £20 extra on parts and have also bought some shapton stones from chef knives to go which I'm waiting to be delivered. Im hoping ill have something thats better than the professional model for the price of the apex (including the shapton stones)

Its still work in progress but heres a photo
IMG_2146.JPG
 
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