Wicked Edge Owners....

Checked my account at WE. My order was placed on Feb 2. As of Apr 2 my sharpener is no longer processing and is "in the mail".:D

Should be here next week.:thumbup:
 
They must be stepping up on getting QC and assembly done. 3 to 4 weeks is what they are quoting now for orders. 1 page of their site even said 2 to 3 weeks. The waiting is haunting my dreams at this point. The cost was a real turn off and the reason I never bought the edge pro even after looking at it for years. leomitch put it best though, it doesn't matter what it cost if it makes you happy. That, and having a gf that wanted to pay half because I got so excited over the thing! I'm gonna go watch youtube videos of it some more:D
 
Everything arrived this afternoon in perfect shape. Very nice packaging, although a little tough to un-pack due to the tight tolerances. Not a problem, though.

Finished my mounting base and followed the template supplied. Assembled the sharpener and it worked great.

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Started out on an old paring knife to get the hang of it. The tried a '70s vintage Gerber fixed blade, that one took some effort even starting with the 100s (very hard M2 steel, I think). Based on my limited experience so far, the 800/1000 step would make a noticeable difference. I think I'll add those and the 5/3.5 micron leather strops to my next order.

Thanks Wicked Edge for producing such a great product. Seems that I can finally sharpen a knife consistently.
 
So you have the basic and the ceramics? I have ordered the basic so far but am not sure what I should add too it before it all ships. Was thinking of the water stones instead of the diamonds. I had read a post by someone that 600 to the 1200 ceramics would be fine. Did you notice problems in that jump?
 
Speaking from my experience. I would not be as happy with the results if I only had the basic set up. I have stopped there to check several times. The next steps to include the ceramics are noticeable, very noticeable. Then for touch ups I use the ceramics and strops so, I am not sure what steps I would omit if asked to sacrifice some.
Certainly IF $$ are a factor, get the basic and then add as $$ permits. I have not yet ordered the new steps Clay has made available but will do so eventually.
My buddy brought over two of his knives this past weekend. One was not worth touching but the other (an Acies) I reprofiled to a 17* primary and an 18* micro-bevel. Polished the bevels to a mirror and even finish. He was Wowed. Sharp!
He doesn't know it yet but I am sure he will be placing an order.:)
 
I've been lurking on this thread - but I'm an enthusiastic WEPS user - and a moderately-skilled old-school benchstone hand sharpener. Got my basic WEPS kit several months back, and have added the complete set of stones and strops (except for the extra coarse). I found that the ceramic stones were exceptionally useful in getting a good polish on the edges - and are the perfect stepping stone (pardon the pun) to the strops. Arguably, these should be part of the basic kit...

I was debating about picking up the Choseras recently, but held off. First off, they are water stones and require maintenance to keep in tip top shape, plus they can be a bit messy. I just don't have the patience for them, honestly. Second, the stones are considerably thicker than the standard diamond plates, and require a little adjustment to keep the bevel set right. Clay, could you provide us with some guidance on this?

Anyway, I settled on the 3M sharpening tapes and blank paddles mentioned earlier in this thread. BOY, these do a great job. It gets me to a shiny, almost mirror finish before going to the strops. This makes stropping very quick and efficient - you can bring up a mirror polish in no time on the strops. Plus, they are relatively cheap and replaceable. Great stuff.

Overall, there is nothing else like the WEPS on the market. I wish Clay all the luck in the world as he grows his business.

TedP
 
phillipsted said:
I've been lurking on this thread - but I'm an enthusiastic WEPS user - and a moderately-skilled old-school benchstone hand sharpener. Got my basic WEPS kit several months back, and have added the complete set of stones and strops (except for the extra coarse). I found that the ceramic stones were exceptionally useful in getting a good polish on the edges - and are the perfect stepping stone (pardon the pun) to the strops. Arguably, these should be part of the basic kit...

I was debating about picking up the Choseras recently, but held off. First off, they are water stones and require maintenance to keep in tip top shape, plus they can be a bit messy. I just don't have the patience for them, honestly. Second, the stones are considerably thicker than the standard diamond plates, and require a little adjustment to keep the bevel set right. Clay, could you provide us with some guidance on this?

Anyway, I settled on the 3M sharpening tapes and blank paddles mentioned earlier in this thread. BOY, these do a great job. It gets me to a shiny, almost mirror finish before going to the strops. This makes stropping very quick and efficient - you can bring up a mirror polish in no time on the strops. Plus, they are relatively cheap and replaceable. Great stuff.

Overall, there is nothing else like the WEPS on the market. I wish Clay all the luck in the world as he grows his business.

TedP
Click to expand...

Thanks for jumping in, good input:thumbup: You touched on something that was on my mind. When I heard of the Choseras being water stones that (for me) was a hold off. One of the things I like so much about the WEPS is how neat and clean it is to use. I like knives, sharpening knives and having a sharp EDC but I am pretty happy with the results I am getting now. The blanks and 3m tapes may be my next step. If I were to point at my favorite step in the WEPS process I'd have to say it is the ceramics. I really notice the jump the blade edge takes after that step AND it is my touch up step. Very valuable to me.
 
So are you going basic (100,200,400,600), then ceramics then to the strops? I'll be out of work for 3 months starting around when I should receive my WEPS and would like to have everything I need to do a decent job at this point. I'm thinking of adding the ceramics, 14/10/5/3.5 strops to my order. Do I need the 800/1000 to go with it?
 
ssblood said:
So are you going basic (100,200,400,600), then ceramics then to the strops? I'll be out of work for 3 months starting around when I should receive my WEPS and would like to have everything I need to do a decent job at this point. I'm thinking of adding the ceramics, 14/10/5/3.5 strops to my order. Do I need the 800/1000 to go with it?
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Yes, the 800/1000 before the ceramics is what I use and what I would consider necessary. I do not have the extra-coarse, starting at 100 is fine with me. IF I had to live without something, I could probably live without the strops believe it or not. Am I glad I have them, do I use them - Yes. I'm just trying to give the best most accurate input from my personal experience.
The strops do what strops should do IMO, they push the finished edge just that extra margin that makes the blade scarey sharp. All the descriptive terms we use - hair popping, topping, paper push cutting, etc. the strops do that. As I have mentioned, my touch ups are ceramic and strops. If it took me an hour or two to meticulously reprofile a knife like my Acies (ZDP-189) to a 17* bevel. It only takes me 2-3 minutes to touch it up after some hard use and get it back to hair popping.
Now if I could figure out how to get the hair on my left arm to grow back quicker....

Let me say it this way.... IF I were to describe what I would call the basic necessary set up it would be: 100/200, 400/600, 800/1000 and the 1200/1600 ceramics. After that I would either do what I did and get the 14/10/5/3.5 strops OR get some blanks and make some with the 3m tape. IF I had to end at the ceramics I'd be fine with that but to skip or jump any steps up to that point - No.
Just checking the WEPS website, the 4 strops are $56.00 ($35=$35-20%=$56.00) So, somebody ordering what I described above as the necessary basic set-up is just $56.00 away from a system that will keep you in sharpening nirvana for years. I say a tank of gas amount of $$ is worth it.
 
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I find the 800/1000 stones very desirable. I seldom use the strops (I have both sets of leather strops) but always finish with the 1000, which I also use for touch up. I don't have the ceramic stones. My main use is kitchen knives and I like sharp knives to cut tomatoes and apples.
 
So I just need to decide between the strops and the 3m lapping tapes. Those edge pro pics with the tapes sure look good.
 
I ordered the basic set, the 1200/1600 ceramics, and the curved stones. After having used the WEP to sharpen a few knives, I think the 800/1000 stones would help before going to the ceramics. So I ordered them and and the 5/3.5 micron strops.

With the ceramics is the 14/10 micron strop necessary since the grits are so close?
 
PG5768 said:
I ordered the basic set, the 1200/1600 ceramics, and the curved stones. After having used the WEP to sharpen a few knives, I think the 800/1000 stones would help before going to the ceramics. So I ordered them and and the 5/3.5 micron strops.

With the ceramics is the 14/10 micron strop necessary since the grits are so close?
Click to expand...

IMHO, no.

Of course you can go all OCD..........:o


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Yes, I am sick. No, I don't need help. ;)
 
Thanks SV. I've been known to be a little OCD myself. But you've got a pretty good head start on me with that set-up. Very nice!
 
I think it should be a given that anyone that buys a WE or Edge Pro or has a big collection is just a touch ocd :) Do you use the tapes with the strops? Before or after? Is that a dmt stone turned face up?
 
i use the tapes and then spray the strops with wd40 , this seems to keep from damaging the strops, litely stroking the strops , use your sense of feel . Wow , beautiful mirror edge ! Patience and your sense of feel is the key . Ron.
 
One other thing I wanted to mention - I found that my paddles were getting too scattered. Went to the store and bought some plastic boxes that are used for storing art supplies. They fit the paddles very well, they seal up tight, keep the strops separated so they reduce cross-contamination - and they stack up nicely.

Highly recommended for OCD-afflicted sharpeners like us.

TedP

WE stone-strop cases.jpg
 
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