thoughts on wicked edge go?

[ribeyemediumrare]

Ordered a wicked edge GO to see if I like it more then my modded edge pro clone, does anyone have one and how do you like it? Other then the price I figured this has an advantage over the regular models in that its portable and will take less space storing it. Should be just as stable and as capable as the other models as long as I get more stones. There is no "micro adjustment" but seems like I can just use my angle cube and tighten my settings exactly where I want it. My concern is if the screws actually stay in place as you sharpen or will they drift and change angles?

 

[TRfromMT]

I just came to this sub forum looking for the same info. I just ordered the Go deluxe (holiday) package. This is my first foray into the world of precision sharpening. Up until now I've used a Spyerco sharpmaker, exclusively. I've wanted to move up, but the price of entry seemed prohibitive. Looked at the E.P. apex 4 and thought about adding an assortment of diamond stones. The W.E. Go special has 4 grits of diamond stones, so I went for it.

The W.E. Go quality looks pretty good. I have to think the screws will stay locked in. Not a lot of torque or vibration to loosen them up, I should think.

Don't see too man reviews of them yet, so I'm interested to see what folks think.

 

[Bobadilla004]

I haven’t had any issues with it moving during sharpening. The angle cube is a must, since the angle markings really hold no value. They’re pretty much approximations. The C Clamp it comes with really holds it in place. The 200/600 stone it came with is what I use the most. I got the 800/1000 diamond and the 1200/1600 ceramic too. I also bought sand paper going up through 7000 grit and cut it to the size of the stones. I use rubber bands to hold the sand paper over the stone and use those to polish the edge.

My main complaint is that I can’t get all the way down the edge on most Spyderco knives since there’s no sharpening choil (adding one will fix this).

Overall I’m happy with it and don’t regret not buying a more expensive model. Especially for the price.

 

[ribeyemediumrare]

I haven’t had any issues with it moving during sharpening. The angle cube is a must, since the angle markings really hold no value. They’re pretty much approximations. The C Clamp it comes with really holds it in place. The 200/600 stone it came with is what I use the most. I got the 800/1000 diamond and the 1200/1600 ceramic too. I also bought sand paper going up through 7000 grit and cut it to the size of the stones. I use rubber bands to hold the sand paper over the stone and use those to polish the edge.

My main complaint is that I can’t get all the way down the edge on most Spyderco knives since there’s no sharpening choil (adding one will fix this).

Overall I’m happy with it and don’t regret not buying a more expensive model. Especially for the price.

Apparently you can just dremel off the plastic on the side of the stones so you can sharpen your spydercos if you don't want to add a choil. Have you had any issues with clamping certain knives or not being able to get a low enough angle on smaller blades? What do you think of the 1200/1600 ceramic, from research it seems like it not the best polishing since it leaves small scratches and a inferior finish to the tapes and strops

 

[NORTHWEST_KNIFE_GUY]

They work great and are well built. I'd recommend also getting the 1500 stones with the glass platens on the other side. Had no problem getting 600 grit scratches out with the 1500 diamond stones and you can attach SIC sandpaper, A/O or diamond films as well.

This was done on a WE Go 200, 400 & 1500 grit diamond stones then 2000/3000/5000 grit SIC sandpaper and strops.

https://i.imgur.com/GgrNpAF.jpg

 

[ribeyemediumrare]

They work great and are well built. I'd recommend also getting the 1500 stones with the glass platens on the other side. Had no problem getting 600 grit scratches out with the 1500 diamond stones and you can attach SIC sandpaper, A/O or diamond films as well.

This was done on a WE Go 200, 400 & 1500 grit diamond stones then 2000/3000/5000 grit SIC sandpaper and strops.

https://i.imgur.com/GgrNpAF.jpg

Hold on, are you saying I can save 80 bucks by skipping the 800/1000 grit and just going straight to 1500? Would this leave any deep scratches that would be obvious when I try to polish the bevel with strops, will the sandpaper still polish super steels? I actually just got the unit in the mail and I am impressed with the construction, it is a lot more solid then I expected

 

[NORTHWEST_KNIFE_GUY]

That's what I used and never had an issue removing the 600 scratches with the 1500. I've used the matador brand sandpaper that goes up to 7000 grit on steels like s35v, s90v s110v, m390 etc. and it worked fine, keep in mind the SIC sandpaper will not last as long as diamond lapping films nor will it work as fast. After the 1500 stone the 2000 and 3000 grit sandpaper really add a nice shine and it will look like it's been stropped after the 5000 grit. The KME sharpening system goes from 600 to 1500 grit with their diamond stones and people seem to get very good results.

To attach the sand paper I just cut to the same size as the platen and use some 3/4" double sided tape to attach.

 

[TRfromMT]

What are you guys thoughtsbone the W.E. clamp on full flat grinds? Take the PM2, which is ffg and tapered. How do you clamp that? Wouldn't it clamp only on one edge of the jaw?

 

[Bobadilla004]

Apparently you can just dremel off the plastic on the side of the stones so you can sharpen your spydercos if you don't want to add a choil. Have you had any issues with clamping certain knives or not being able to get a low enough angle on smaller blades? What do you think of the 1200/1600 ceramic, from research it seems like it not the best polishing since it leaves small scratches and a inferior finish to the tapes and strops

I like the ceramic stones. They work for every steel I’ve tried.

Luckily I haven’t had issues with clamping knives. I don’t think I’ve sharpened any knives that are small enough to where I can’t get the angle I want. How small are you looking to sharpen?

 

[TRfromMT]

Well, I got the WE Go set up tonight. I got a digital angle gage and I am glad I did. Just indexing off the marks on the base saw a 1.5 degree difference between sides.

I sharpened two knives tonight. A 4.5" bushcrafter in 80crv2, and my Gayle Bradley 2 in M4. Wow! What a treat. I can tell the stones are new and will need breaking in -they felt a little gritty, and the final result at 1000 grit was not great. But I took the M4 to 18° per side, then stropped it to 3.5 micron. After that, I put a little micro bevel at 20° per side on my spyderco sharpmaker. I am pretty sure this is the sharpest knife I have ever owned now. Easily the sharpest I have ever personally achieved.

The WE Go system is easy to use. The setup takes a few minutes, but the carry case is great. I have a set of 1200/1600 grit ceramic stones coming, so that should be a nice working-edge finishing stone for me. I'm very excited to get a true 20° micro bevel on the WE and see the result.

I have not yet tried clamping a FFG blade (Spyderco PM2 will be next up). I wanted to get the hang of the setup on some flat stock blades before trying anything more complex. I also want to break in the stones a bit more on some utility blades. Another few knives and I think they'll be just right.

 

[pedropcola]

The stones do take a bit of time to "season". As for the angles, I am a sharpie guy. I mark the edge and then start at the 20 mark and adjust by eye from there. I am sure an angle cube is more precise but I get great results using my method so I am happy. The GO is a great product. The workmanship and quality of construction is off the chart. It carries extremely well in its case and I might drop the 30 bucks for the better case that carries two more stones. I have used the Edge Pro for years. Great product, great results. Across the board I would recommend WE over the EP in terms of simple repeatability and ease of use.

 

[Patrick WA]

I have a WE 130 with 100-1500 diamonds, 1200/1600 ceramics and multiple strops. I also have an EP with Shapton glass stones.

I find myself wanting to use the WE more because of how much I spent on it, but the EP is so much quicker to setup and I like the results better than the WE results, so the WE mostly sits gathering dust.

Originally, I had the standard clamp that is found on the go model. I tried the tape trick Clay Allison suggests to secure ffg's. It didn't work, the knife would always move.

The wicked edge is cool, but it just has too many flaws and too many knives are just too difficult to sharpen on the WE. And honestly, while the blades did come out looking incredible, they weren't as sharp as I thought they should be. Both the EP and Spyderco Sharpmaker gave superior edges.

 

[TRfromMT]

I have added the 1200/1600 ceramic stones to my GO kit. I have also spent a good deal of time reading in the Knowledge Center at W.E.'s website. I have to say, the results are quite impressive. I am coming from a sharpmaker, with UF rods.

The 2 blades I've done tonight are M2 and I am at a whole new level of sharp. I took them through to 1600 grit, at 18dps. Then a quick (5-6 strokes only) with 1600 grit at 20dps. Then I set the angles at 16dps and spent maybe 15 minutes stropping with 5 and 3.5 micron strops. The edges are nearly a mirror polish, and the sharpness is just silly, for me.

The go is a great step up in sharpening equipment. To the OP - no, the set screws do not move at all. There is no micro adjustment, per se, but with an angle cube you can dial them in to the tenth of a degree, easy.

 

[ribeyemediumrare]

I have used my wicked edge go about a dozen times now so I will give an update on my impressions. SO far I like it much better then my edge pro modded clone, I was getting extremely sharp edges with the edge pro clone, but the constant knife flipping, holding the blade down and not letting it move or tilt, keeping the stones wet, etc made it a big chore to use. The wicked edge go is just nicer because its does not require as much mental concentration and does not fatigue you. I like that once I set everything up I don't have to worry about anything moving all I need to focus on is my stone strokes. If I get tired or have something to do I can just leave it and come back to finish later, this is a huge plus for me. I like that I can closely examine all parts of the edge as I am working on them and even run some paper or a finger on the edge to check progress, burr formation. I also enjoy how professional and pleasing it looks on a table , and that I can keep everything dry. It can handle pretty thick blades, I sharpened a .23 inch thick fixed blade today. The angle adjustment knobs are secure and do not move, micro adjustments are not needed I can set the exact angle I want with an angle cube and it stays. I tried clamping some FFG blades and measuring the tilt of the blade each side to check if it clamped vertically and found that getting a FFG blade clamped straight depends heavily on properly tightening the clamp with the right amount of tension, screw order, and the part of the blade you use. Regardless you can make sure it is correct with an angle cube or just compensate by setting each arm differently. The normal method you can see used on the WE is the alternate stropping method but you can use whatever method you want: edge leading, edge trailing, straight up and down motions. You can sharpen one side at a time if you like and then do a couple alternating strokes to finish up. I wanna point out that the height of the clamp and the length of the arms often do not allow you to use the entire length of the stone without adding somekind of homemade spacer, however its not really a problem since the stones do not wear like waterstones. So far I am only using the 200/600 stones and found that my edges are becoming much sharper and nicer looking as the diamond are breaking in, another reason for this is I am getting more used to the motion and I am able to do lighter and more consistent strokes.