What angle to sharpen new Inkosi on Edge Pro

M

merlinn

Joined
Feb 9, 2007
Messages
20
If I lay the blade down on the edge pro what angle should I set to sharpen the Inkosi. As we know there is not enough surface to set or hold a regular angle so laying the blade down can give a constant angle. I do not want to mess up my new knife I'm hoping others have calculated the correct angle to set the edge pro at top get a proper edge.

Thank you
 
If you want to keep the original angle, use the Sharpie technique. Apply Sharpie to the edge bevel, either entirely or at multiple spots, and use #600 or #1,000 stone dry. If the stone removes the marking only near the apex (or the base), the angle is too large (or small). You adjust the angle until you can wipe off Sharpie with a single stroke. If you have an angle cube, you can measure the angle and keep it for future sharpening.

One caution. Because Inkosi is hollow ground, you need to make sure to place the blade exactly at the same position every time. Otherwise, the sharpening angle would change every time.

Hope this helps.


Miso
 
Thank you for your advise. I am hoping that someone has done most of this and can get me close to verify as you describe the process.

Thanks again for your help
 
I own Sebenza and Umnumzaan, but not Inkosi (yet). Otherwise, I could have given you all you need with pics!

Miso
 
Each knife is hand sharpened so the angle is going to be ever so slightly different. And each person is going to hold the knife differently on the table of the edge pro as well as how far or deep you place the knife on the table will change the sharpening angle as you may not have the exact spot of the hollow grind sitting on the edge of the table,

So like miso said using a sharpie is the only and i mean only way that you can match the factory edge. There is no magic 30 degree or 40 degree that you can set it and forget it.

I use an angle cube and keep a log of what angles i used for main and micro that way i can keep track of what each knife needed and the angle cube allow me to match the angle every time.

20170529_223456.png
 
Last edited:
Also keep in mind that the factory edge is convex so the sharpie should start to be removed more towards the center-lower area of the edge first. If you start too high youll end up with a bevel that is overly wide. See thread below...

http://www.bladeforums.com/threads/oversharpened-sebenza.865470/

.....that can also happen if you sharpen on any other system and just use a blank angle of say 25 degrees and set it and go to town.

Cant stress a simple 99 cent sharpie enough.
 
Last edited:
That is just awful..... Horrible sharpening job.

I am very picky and pretty mechanically inclined so I know I can get it. I would just like a starting point on the angle indicator post to work from. I will use a sharpie to verify the angle all along the edge. My knife is brand new and in my opinion it could use a little help with the sharpness. Maybe I'm making to much out of this, but I really believe my Inkosi could be a lifetime carry, so I want to start out doing it right. The members here a clearly more experienced than I am and I really appreciate the help being offered.

I see Steel Addictions information and I don't understand the main / micro numbers. What are the differences, and how do we apply them?

I would really like to get this right and I'm sure I can once I get the basics. The Edge pro is new to me so I do not have a working knowledge with it and the Inkosi is a critical starting point.

Thank you all for your help with this inexperienced new guy. I'm capable as I fully maintained and modified my Ferrari 275 GTB 12 cyl with 6 2V webbers for 23 years. I just need a good starting point and I will not muck it up.

Hope you all had a great Memorial Day Holliday giving support and respect to those who have served.

Merlinn
 
I strongly suggest to use a cheap knife to start if you are new to Edge Pro. Sharpening a CRK knife is not easy for a beginner because of its hollow ground blade, the convex edge bevel, and the STEEL. You should practice with a knife with a flat ground blade, a non-convex edge, and a steel like VG10.

If you are still inclined to try it, you may have to set the angle of Edge Pro beyond its setting limit (or somewhere in between angle marks).
For my small Sebenza, I did the Sharpie thing to find the angle, at which the #600 stone removes Sharpie in the MIDDLE of edge bevel (like Steel_Addiction said). Then I measured the angle of the stone with an angle cube (it was 6 degree in my setting). I switched to a diamond stone to remove the convex edge until I raised a burr. It took a while.
The main problem is that it is somewhat difficult to determine the factory angle even with the Sharpie method due to the convex edge. If you set it too shallow, you would end up like what you saw.

General tips for Edge Pro sharpening:
(1) Make sure you place a knife at the same position each time. Hold the knife very consistently as you flip-flop it.
(2) Make sure your stones are flat and at the same thickness. All of the stones you use!
(3) Raise a burr and remove it at each stone.
(4) Be careful with the tip. You can easily round it with a coarse stone.


Good luck.



Miso
 
Sharpening a Sebenza on an edge pro is tough due to the hollow grind, but it can be done with great success.

My suggestion is to buy an angle cube and watch the Apostle P You tube video. I go with18 degrees vs his 16. I think factory is 19-20.

I also use the drill stop method to compensate for different stone thickness. There are videos on that as well.
 
I just bought the Gen 3 Angle Cube from igaging and will search for that video. Do you know which one or what the video is called?

Thank you for the recommendation for the angle cube as that makes perfect sense !!

What is the drill stop method??
 
I snapped a few quick pics here to show how I use the angle cube on the edge pro, not sure if everyone else does it this way, but it works for me.
I think it would be more accurate if you placed the knife on the EP and then put the angle cube on the stone holder as it lays on the edge of the knife, but this has worked for me for years?

First I zero it out on the table, then place it on the stone holder and adjust it to the angle for each knife needing sharpening.

When you sharpie the knife, make a pass or two and it should remove most or all of the sharpie in that area. (Keep in mind that on your initial sharpening it will only remove sharpie from the middle-lower area of the edge since you will be working with a convexed edge, this one already has a v edge on it so it took it all)

And the last photo demonstrates that if you place your knife in a different position or depth on the table, the edge of the hollow grind will be at a different angle on the table, adjusting the final edge angle you will be sharpening at, so I scribed the edge of the edge pro table to make sure that it gets put at the same spot for sebenzas, which now I just leave it there since that is all I have, but if you are going to be sharpening other knives, you'll want to get it setup the same each time for consistency. Like with the small sebenza shown, I would have to move the fence out to get the edge of the blade hanging over the edge of the table. So having the mark on the edge pro machine allows you to move the fence back and forth for diff blade sizes but still be able to get the exact spot (or fairly close) for subsequent sharpenings.

0.jpg 1.jpg 2.jpg 3.jpg 6.jpg
scribe.jpg smallseb.jpg
 
Last edited:
I would not worry so much about messing up, per se. There is plenty of steel below the hollow to play with. I do not set micro bevels on folders and shoot for 30 inclusive. Angle cube, permanent marker, frequent touch ups. And you can always refit a new blade for around $150 including return shipping.
 
merlinn said:
I just bought the Gen 3 Angle Cube from igaging and will search for that video. Do you know which one or what the video is called?

Thank you for the recommendation for the angle cube as that makes perfect sense !!

What is the drill stop method??
Click to expand...

Once you set the angle with the initial stone, remove the stone and set a drill stop collar on the vertical arm below the pivot to the exact height (thickness) of the stone. When you switch stones, loosen the edge pro angle set and re-set it to the stop collar plus the height of the new stone. This will negate any differences caused by different stone thickness so each stone hits the exact same angle. There are videos on you tube that walk you through it.
 
With so much caution being expressed about the edge pro and the Sebenza is there a fixed angle sharpener that you guys recommend?

I've reverted to sandpaper on leather since I couldn't get mine sharp on on my flat diamond stone. The sandpaper on leather works fine for now but I don't think it's going to be a long term solution.
 
With any systems, there would be a learning curve. Edge Pro works fine on Sebenza, once you are familiar with the system. It is just that one should not pick Sebenza as the first knife to sharpen on Edge Pro.

Miso
 
I totally agree. I ran all of my kitchen knives through the edge pro before tackling the senenza.

With that little bit of practice, I was fine on the Sebenza.
 
GermanyChris said:
With so much caution being expressed about the edge pro and the Sebenza is there a fixed angle sharpener that you guys recommend?...
Click to expand...

I use the Spyderco Sharpmaker fixed angle sharpener. It's recommended by CRK. However, I bought the diamond rod accessory and these were needed for my small Sebenza. I sharpen to 30 degrees and then add a small microbevel at the 40 degree angle.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top