Wicked Edge Pitfalls

F

FoolishMortal

Joined
Apr 2, 2018
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19
I am completely new here, and have little experience with knives, other than making them dull, of course. This is my first post here, but I've lurked for some time, enjoying and respecting the vast wealth of knowledge here. Thank you so much!

I've spent around a month with a WSKTS-KO, and gotten pretty good with it. I suppose that the learning curve with it is about a month of practice to get past the "Whoops! I screwed up another $2.50 Chinese bulk folder... on to the next!" stage, and probably a few more months to get proficient. At least, that's my expectation.

I'm not planning to get into sharpening for profit. I'm just one of those people with a borderline unhealthy case of OCD, and want to do everything that I do the right way, or at least, one of the right "ways".

Anyway, I'm looking at a Wicked Edge Pro I Pack, and I'm so close to pulling the trigger on it, that I may have already done so before anyone replies! :)

I've read things about the Wicked Edge, "you can still f__k up your knife", "there's a learning curve", "you've got to break in the stones", and other things about it, from the experienced folks here.

My questions are, what are the common pitfalls in working with it? What should I pay particular attention to? As an amateur, an OCD amateur, but an amateur nonetheless, is there really any benefit to purchasing a Wicked Edge, over just sticking with the WSKTS-KO? The price point doesn't bother me. I suppose that some people use both, the KO to profile, etc., and the Wicked Edge to refine the edge. Yes, as I've said, I've read quite a bit here, but the information is scattered about in many threads and I worry that some of the information may be stale, as the Wicked Edge from 4 years ago may not be the same thing now.

Thanks for the help that all of you have already provided. It's been invaluable.
 
my two cents, with thin profile, between the spine and the blade, such as the Kershaw leek or Benchmade mini grip, around 3" blades, you'll end up with one or the other adapter for small blades, the low profile or third party. Also, the depth key, manual says place knife on depth key. Um, ya, no. You really need to pay attention to how deep and how far forward and back the knife is. You set it on the depth key, it's low profile and try to center the knife, I guarantee you'll sharpen the jaws of the sharpener before you sharpen the knife. If your OCD like me, keep an eye on the tilt of your knife, leaning to one side leading to uneven bevels. If your expecting the bevels to be pretty much on par with each other when you set each side to let's say 15 degrees, most likely not, there will be some difference on the micro adjustment. I had expectations that they would be really close to each other. Unusual spines of knives, for me, that would be sheep's foot, those are interesting to work with and placing in the jaws. The WE forums are great, they'll do what they can do to help you. The support is great, they'll also try to help you. The stones do need to break in but that's true with any system, they're aggressive at first and smooth out over time. The 130 is suppose to be the adjusting clamp where you don't have to worry about the knife leaning to one side especially with full flat grinds. That's the learning curve that I experienced and never got past it. Good luck.
 
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I'd go for it. The Wicked Edge can easily give you perfect bevels. And if you pay attention to the burr, you can get beautifully sharp edges easily. There are a lot of small issues with the mounting of knives: thin vs thick blades, saber vs full flat grinds, trick grinds, aggressive distal tapers, etc. But you can solve them.

Plus the WE has a million different stones and accessories for specific applications.

I'd still use your motorized system for reprofiling. And I like the Sharpmaker for maintaining micro-bevels. You still need a working understanding of sharpening theory, but the WE is a piece of awesome machinery with a few irritating warts.

Another aspect is the leather strops that you can get with the WE. Stropping is as much an art as a science, and some people are going to be a lot better at art and science than others. With the WE, however, you can maintain the perfect angle with your strops and use the lightest touch to really refine that edge.
 
KME. Many have been success and prefer the WE. I picked up the KME I think end of December 2017, the next day had a good, working edge. I'm still improving to this day. The WE, I picked up twice, second time recently, I've successfully sharpened the jaws both times, never a knife. I've put a lot of hours trying to figure it out, it just didn't click for me. I could be the rare few.
 
I have not used a guided system I still free hand ... but the only thing my friend that got into the WE had a bit of a learning curve but wasn't bad ...

and then remembering to mark and keep records of where each knife was clamped and keep consistant ... I think after he got used to it that wasn't such a big deal for him ... but the records to clamp the knife the same place consistantly and the dps angles made it much easier for him ...

but there are several that I'm sure will chime in with personal knowledge and help out with your questions ...

it's great you want to learn sharpening your own no matter what system or method you use!

JJ
 
I think if it works for you, I like the idea of being able to sharpen both sides at the same time, not flipping the knife. That is one of the key advantages that I've tried to switch for. Some people like the longer strokes of the long paddles. Plus you have the ability to sharpen at lower angles. There are quite a few advantages of the WE.

I've tried free hand and couldn't pick that one up either. I can do okay, it's not even and it might be some day. Maybe it's the OCD in me also that doesn't like uneven edges but if it's a working blade, it doesn't matter.

I've found my niche is S30/S35VN with Chosera stones. I'm happy with that.

With the WE, look at the model 120 vs 130, the 130 is adjustable for flat grinds, I think you'll be happy with the base stones and adding the 800/1000
 
Thanks again, Roikyou. I've decided to go with the KME. I can always switch to the Wicked Edge later if I like the concept of rod-guided sharpening, and I don't feel satisfied with the KME for some reason. No doubt, they both have their benefits. I figured that I paid 1/3 the price after all of the add-ons with the KME than I would with the Wicked Edge, and that I didn't want to purchase a WE for over a grand, only to have it sitting in a closet because it didn't suit me. My nephew, on the other hand, cheers me on, "Get all the things!", as he benefits greatly from hand-me-downs. If I like the KME and over time, figure that the WE would be an upgrade, then I can always go there.

From what I'm seeing in the knife community, many have no problem with a garage full of toys, so having both won't be all that extraordinary!

Twindog and JJ_Colt45, thank you as well! I'll certainly look towards the KO for re-profiling blades and larger blades where the WE/KME would be tedious, unneeded, or inappropriate for the job, and perhaps the Sharpmaker for quick touch-ups. I suppose that's as good a mindset as any. At some point in time, I'll probably mess with freehand as well, as there's something nostalgic to me about sitting there, working a knife by hand. I've been bitten by the knife bug! I keep saying to myself, "One thing at a time".

There's a lot to learn. One of the things about the KO is that I got an uneven bevel on my first few knives, and I've yet to revisit sharpening a knife from scratch with it, as I've gone from step to step with the ones that I started with. I've not gone back to square one yet, so the flaw has carried on throughout my practice progression. If I'm re-profiling, or whatever, I've got to figure out how to avoid that, as that step would be the foundation of whatever I wish to accomplish. So, it's back to square one, making sure that I get that part mastered, before jumping to pretty, shiny, blingy bevels. This learning experience has actually helped me relax after days at the office, and it's well worth the time for that alone.
 
I bought the WE120 with a set of strops about a year ago. I do not regret my investment at all. I use it a lot and am more than happy with the results.

If you are concerned about the money aspect I would recommend buying the part individually. You may not need everything that comes with the Pro Pack. Otherwise, go for it. You will be happy with your purchase.
 
I just purchased a Wicked Edge ProPack I, and used it for the first time yesterday. Following the advice I gleaned from numerous videos and posts, I started with a junk knife rather than risking a knife I like. The initial victim was a 2" folder I got for free with an order from an outdoor vendor. It is made out of something that is probably steel, and out of the bag it was just about sharp enough to cut warm butter. The grind was visible off center, and uneven on each side of the blade.

So in the clamp it went. I wanted to see how re-profiling goes on the WE, so I set each side for 15 degrees and verified with a pitch gauge. And the game was on.

It took probably 25 minutes with the 100 grit stones to raise a burr from both sides of the blade. The bevel was very coarse, with lots of scratches. I progressively worked up through the included 200, 400, 600, 800, and 1000 grit stones, and the did some stropping. I didn't spend much time with the strops, but in the end I had a nice looking bevel on both sides. I wasn't going for a mirror finish, but just a good edge.

Mission accomplished. The little junk knife now push cuts thermal receipt paper cleanly. Pretty impressed with the result, given that this thing was really dull to start with.
 
Wow. Second attempt at sharpening, put an edge on my old, faithful ESEE Izula. Took my time, and found the bevel on both sides (indicated 18 degrees on the WE). Progressed slowly from 100 grit -> 1600 grit ceramics, and then dropped the angle to 16 degrees to strop (5 micron and 3.5). Ended up with a very shiny edge on the knife that easily push cuts newsprint. Amazingly sharp.

If you take your time on your setup, even a ham-handed hack like me can achieve amazing results.
 
Mattinfla said:
I just purchased a Wicked Edge ProPack I, and used it for the first time yesterday. Following the advice I gleaned from numerous videos and posts, I started with a junk knife rather than risking a knife I like. The initial victim was a 2" folder I got for free with an order from an outdoor vendor. It is made out of something that is probably steel, and out of the bag it was just about sharp enough to cut warm butter. The grind was visible off center, and uneven on each side of the blade.

So in the clamp it went. I wanted to see how re-profiling goes on the WE, so I set each side for 15 degrees and verified with a pitch gauge. And the game was on.

It took probably 25 minutes with the 100 grit stones to raise a burr from both sides of the blade. The bevel was very coarse, with lots of scratches. I progressively worked up through the included 200, 400, 600, 800, and 1000 grit stones, and the did some stropping. I didn't spend much time with the strops, but in the end I had a nice looking bevel on both sides. I wasn't going for a mirror finish, but just a good edge.

Mission accomplished. The little junk knife now push cuts thermal receipt paper cleanly. Pretty impressed with the result, given that this thing was really dull to start with.
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25 minutes seems to be rather long for the knife you're describing. One thing to look out for: If you chase those really low angle edges(like 10 dps or so) or have smaller knives; be careful that you don't grind into your jaws. Also I'd recommend doing about 10(minimum) "trash" knives before anything real so that the stones can break in.
 
SV-97 said:
25 minutes seems to be rather long for the knife you're describing. One thing to look out for: If you chase those really low angle edges(like 10 dps or so) or have smaller knives; be careful that you don't grind into your jaws. Also I'd recommend doing about 10(minimum) "trash" knives before anything real so that the stones can break in.
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I've read about people grinding the edges of the jaws, so I was very careful to avoid contact with the jaws when I did my setup. I was taking it very slow to make sure I was using the correct technique and referring back to the directions, so the 25 minutes probably would have taken an experienced user 1/3 of that time :)
 
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