Wicked Edge or Edge Pro Apex?

[REK Knives]

I was talking about raising it up in the clamp. You wouldn't really need a "spacer" but it would make it more repeatable. Just something to set on the pins and then set the knife on.

I also posted something in another thread aimed at small blades, but don't see any reason it couldn't work here too:

"Think about sticking 2 pieces of a good stiff material about 1"x3/4" and about 1/8" thick (all measurements are approximate, once you start to do this you'll see what you need) in the clamp. It will probably work better if you put a spacer about the thickness of the blade in the bottom. Now position the blade near the top, but low enough to hold solidly. This should let you raise the edge enough to get a shallower angle."

I haven't tried this yet - haven't needed to - but I can't see any reason it wouldn't work. I'd love to hear from Clay how he came up with the height dimension to begin with. He may have just underestimated how many people would want to go that thin (I'm sure its not that many, percentage-wise) or there may be an "engineering-type" reason that I don't see. Maybe he'll tell us, or we'll find out when someone actually tries this method. I'm kind of surprised someone hasn't already.

I haven't seen or experienced any build quality issues. I haven't had any problems with this set up so far. Color me a happy customer

for me, small blades are not an issue (on the weps or the EP)... on the WEPS i just move the blade up in the vise off of the pins (not sure what it is called) to where just a bit of the spine is clamped in. You can do this with any knife, but the problem is (especially when you get to bigger knives) that the spine must be in the vise a certain amount for it to be stable. You cannot get too shallow.

 

[REK Knives]

One thing I have wondered regarding the Edge Pro is how exactly you lay your knife on the “table” of the sharpening system so that it is as stable as possible. If the blade is fully flat ground, you can lay it “flat” on the sharpening system, so that an entire side of the blade is in contact with the table. But then the knife is slightly tilted, so that the angle measurements of the system are slightly off, aren’t they?

If the blade has a different shape (e.g., hollow ground or convex), how do you lay the blade on the table and prevent it from tilting during sharpening? I can imagine keeping it stable is even more difficult if the blade has a thumb stud. Am I right?

It is not hard... I sharpened my spyderco para 2 on it without issues. If you have a flat-ground blade that has a slight curve to it (convexed flat grind - like the Busse Boss Jack) then that is the only time it is a little difficult (although not very) to keep it still. What I did is always keep it consistent when I would switch it from hand to hand, constantly going back to the same position it was before (i.e. I would rock it all the way back so that the spine was rocked back and down in a firm spot).

to answer your second question about a flat ground blade and it messing the angles up: I just fixed that with an angle cube. I basically just measured the angle of my blade (from the thickness... let's use 4* thickness) and then split that degree number in half (= 2*). I took that number (2*) and added it to the degree I had the arm set at with the angle cube (lets say 18*) and that was my actual number (for a total of 21* per side). If that was confusing let me know and I will try to explain better =). BTW this is still a problem in the WEPS too... because, if your blade is fully flat ground, then it can "rock" back and forth to one side or the other, thus changing your angles (this can be fixed, you just have to work with it a little bit). It is a little easier on the WE though.

Thumb stud's really weren't a problem... You do not put the thumb stud on top of the sblade table, but actually just bump it up next to the blade table and hold your knife steady the whole time (you don't slide it down the blade table).

More people recommend using a stop collar on the EP. Is this the white thing the spine of the blade makes contact with? (English is not my first language.) Doesn’t it come standard with the EP? At least it is on the picture of even the Apex 1 kit on the site of EP.

No, it doesn't come standard (at least last time I checked) but is very cheap and easy to pick up. Here is a video of how the stop collar is used...

[video=youtube;WDsFi5os1LI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDsFi5os1LI[/video]

Thanks for your comments on the build quality of the WE, razor-edge-knives. I also saw a picture and the WE forum by someone who had bent their vise seriously. Are the stones really so loose on the rods (or the rod joints so bad) that there is a couple of degrees play? And are more people finding the build quality of their WE is not optimal?

The stone paddles are loose on the rods, yes... or I guess sloppy would be a better word. That is my guess, a total of a couple degrees play... but I have not measured it... I will try to do that next time I sharpen something w/ my WE for you. If you need to know right away, let me know and I will set it up and try it.

I had seen the video of Clay sharpening a razor and almost knew there had to be a catch. Actually, I asked him (and Leo) on the WE forum about the smallest angle one could sharpen a blade on and Leo responded he was able to get a little less than 15 degrees out of it. Clay told me they are working on an extension for the WE that allows for much smaller angles. They had a prototype made already, so they expected to bring it on the market quite soon.

That would sure help... I had to design my own prototype and have a metal fabrication shop make it for me =(. Clay was also supposed to have a serrated/scissor attachment out by the end of this last year... must have gotten hung up on it for some reason. I'm excited about that.

 

[evert67]

Thanks a lot again, Josh, for your extensive replies. They clarify a lot.

I'd be interested to know what your WE extension looks like to be able to sharpen knives at lower degrees than 15*. Does it hold the blade much higher than the standard vise?

Also, all other feedback on how easy or difficult it is to hold a blade stable using the Edge Pro is really appreciated!

 

[BP Green]

I was in the same situation as you a few months back wondering which system to go with. I researched both the EP and WE systems and finally settled on the Wicked Edge. I wanted a system that would give me hair shaving results yet not make a lot of mess or take a lot of time to master. I am sure I made the right decision.

The WE does not require you to soak stones in water before use. The diamond stones don't create a mess of slurry while sharpening and cleanup is as easy as a pass of a paper towel.

I just reprofiled one of my Strider SNG tantos today to hair popping sharpness in about twenty or thirty minutes. It was an older knife that was as dull as as a butter knife. I did it at my dining room table while my wife was in the kitchen getting dinner ready. It took me about a minute to unpack the stones and get everything ready to go. When I was done, it took another minute to repack and get everything cleaned up and put away when I was done.

The clamp does the knife holding for you so you do not need to build muscle memory learning to try to hold the knife steady with one hand while manipulating the sharpening stones with the other. I'm an uncoordinated moron and my friends are all asking me to sharpen their knives now because mine are all like razors.

I haven't heard about any quality control issues with the WE. At least I can happily report that mine is perfect as it came from the manufacturer.

If you want something that will give you professional results with a minimum of time, effort and mess, I don't think you can do better than the WE system.

Color me a very satisfied customer. :thumbup:

 

[Splat]

I've had an Edge Pro for about 2.5 years now. Only about a year ago did I make friends with a guy who owns a Wicked Edge. I gotta say that both will give you very respectable edges and I cannot see one having anything major over the other. FWIW, I bought the little 4" Diasharp(IIRC) stones from Woodcraft in different grits and made my own EP blanks to affix them to. No more worrying about quickly wearing or uneven stones and they cut more quickly than the EP stones. Forgive me for straying but I admit these days I use paper wheels for my knives. It's so much quicker and gives me excellent useable edges, but they may not be as symmetrically clean as what I can get on the EP. I still have the EP and all the stones and use them on other folk's knives when they ask me to sharpen them. Have you looked at the paper wheels? If you want a guided system then go with the EP but I say try the wheels first. Even if you have to buy a cheap bench grinder (which everyone should have ) from Harbor Freight it won't cost you that much. The learning curve is about the same as the EP, though I will admit it's easier to mess up your blade on the wheels but you learn on cheap knives first.

 

[REK Knives]

Thanks a lot again, Josh, for your extensive replies. They clarify a lot.

I'd be interested to know what your WE extension looks like to be able to sharpen knives at lower degrees than 15*. Does it hold the blade much higher than the standard vise?

Also, all other feedback on how easy or difficult it is to hold a blade stable using the Edge Pro is really appreciated!

No, It doesn't hold the blade higher in the vise... I will post a pic of my mod., hopefully you can understand without it all assembled (I will post a pic after I get my mods done). This attachment will slide over the bar on the bottom of the WEPS that has the degree marks on it, and be secured in place with a screw that has the same thread pattern as the original. The bar on my mod will be facing forward away from the person sharpening (i.e., the same direction the tip of the knife is pointing when clamped in the vise). You will then be able slide the rod arm base onto the square bar on my mod and tighten it down. This will allow you to clear the vise (since you will be out in front of the vise) and allow you to get a much smaller angle. Like I said, I think this is only good for straight razors at this point... because I think the vise will still get in the way when trying to get to the heel of the edge, but there may be a way to file away a little bit of my vise so it won't be an issue... I'll have to keep you updated.

This mod will allow smooth rotation of the rod arms as you sharpen.

oh yeah, btw I know at least one other guy who has had the same type of quality issues out of his WEPS.

 

[stoffi]

I don't understand how you get by thumbstuds if sharpening at low levels with these types of systems, since you can't take off all thumbstuds.

 

[M1_Fan]

I was in the same situation as you a few months back wondering which system to go with. I researched both the EP and WE systems and finally settled on the Wicked Edge. I wanted a system that would give me hair shaving results yet not make a lot of mess or take a lot of time to master. I am sure I made the right decision.

The WE does not require you to soak stones in water before use. The diamond stones don't create a mess of slurry while sharpening and cleanup is as easy as a pass of a paper towel.

I just reprofiled one of my Strider SNG tantos today to hair popping sharpness in about twenty or thirty minutes. It was an older knife that was as dull as as a butter knife. I did it at my dining room table while my wife was in the kitchen getting dinner ready. It took me about a minute to unpack the stones and get everything ready to go. When I was done, it took another minute to repack and get everything cleaned up and put away when I was done.

The clamp does the knife holding for you so you do not need to build muscle memory learning to try to hold the knife steady with one hand while manipulating the sharpening stones with the other. I'm an uncoordinated moron and my friends are all asking me to sharpen their knives now because mine are all like razors.

I haven't heard about any quality control issues with the WE. At least I can happily report that mine is perfect as it came from the manufacturer.

If you want something that will give you professional results with a minimum of time, effort and mess, I don't think you can do better than the WE system.

Color me a very satisfied customer. :thumbup:

+1,000,000


I tried the edge pro, and while I got sharp knives, was never comfortable with it.

 

[ApacheWolf]

Reading this reply four years later and it is still viable information thank you.