Wicked Edge Pro or Hapstone R1?

[Atama]

I am looking to buy a quality sharpening system in the near future, and wanted to get some opinions from the community on these two systems. Both seem to be of very good quality, but I would like to hear from others who have experience with either systems about pros & cons of each. I will be sharpening everything from carbon steel to the so-called "super steels." (S-90v, 110v, 4v, etc.) I will admit that I am kind of intrigued by the metallic bonded CBN stones that gritomatic has, but don't want to make a rash choice. So any and all constructive input is very much appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

[sickpuppy1]

The steels part of it is kind of a null subject since there are stones out there for both sharpeners to do all metals. So the issue would be more of a which one feels better to me? There are guys that sharpen for a living that use either one, so results are up to the user really.The Wicked edge has a huge fan club for a reason. Accurate and faster. No denying being able to do both edges at the same time is an advantage. And getting different grits on either side of the stone seems like a good idea. That being said, I use a Hapstone M2 and love it And while its knife holding process is great (magnets under the platform) I would love the actual blade holding of the R1 and easy rotation. I for one like to keep an eye on the edge as I move my stones and that is one area the wicked edge falls short. Yes you can flip your head around like a bobble head,but for me sharpening is not a hurried process that I need to get done quick. Its something I need/want to do and what I call a "Zen" thing. I like to zone out and get into it as I watch the metal change. Am I weird? Don't care....I also feel there are a better selection of stones available for the R1 since your using an EdgePro size platform. To each his own and neither one is wrong, but for a 4-5 hundred dollar difference, I dont see a hard decision in my eyes. I can buy lots of stones and a knife to boot for that!

 

[sickpuppy1]

Now that being said, if I had the extra cash and found a used wicked edge at a reasonable price would I go for it? Probably,if for no other reason than I want to see what all the hubbub is about,lol I can always sell it...

 

[Mo2]

I prefer a system like the edge pro, including the non clamp systems that hapstone makes. I have a kme and don't like clamp systems like the wicked edge, kme, R1 etc.

They can work fine but you are not an expert sharpening pro once you get any of these systems. There are alot of things to learn and overcome. Avoiding pitfalls etc. It can be easy to screw up knives on any of these systems. What's easier for you to learn, and adapt to, is an experiment. And none of them are as simple as moving a stone back and forth on various different knives with different geometry.

Sharpening isn't rocket science either. But you don't turn pro overnight.

 

[Haffner]

I have the Hapstone V6 sharpener with the rotating clamp attachment.

This setup works very well, and I really like, that I can clamp a knife once and then switch it around while the blade keeps the exact grinding angle.

I also purchased the Fine-Tuning Adapter, which I can highly recommend. It makes it a lot easier to adjust the grinding angle exactly to say 20 degrees.

As you go on sharpening, you will also want to inspect your blade edges more closely, for this purpose a USB microscope will come in very handy.

Let me know, if you have further questions, and I'll try to answer.

 

[wade7575]

I would go for a Hapstone for many reason's and the first being way better selection of stones and you only need to buy 1 stone at a time and not 2 unlike the Wicked Edge,also with the Wicked Edge doing lower angles for sharpening can sometimes be a problem as well.I think you will find the Hapstone to be a more flexible system to use on a wider variety of knives as well.

That being said however I think both systems are really good systems but I think the Hapstone has more Pro's then Con's.

The steels part of it is kind of a null subject since there are stones out there for both sharpeners to do all metals. So the issue would be more of a which one feels better to me? There are guys that sharpen for a living that use either one, so results are up to the user really.The Wicked edge has a huge fan club for a reason. Accurate and faster. No denying being able to do both edges at the same time is an advantage. And getting different grits on either side of the stone seems like a good idea. That being said, I use a Hapstone M2 and love it And while its knife holding process is great (magnets under the platform) I would love the actual blade holding of the R1 and easy rotation. I for one like to keep an eye on the edge as I move my stones and that is one area the wicked edge falls short. Yes you can flip your head around like a bobble head,but for me sharpening is not a hurried process that I need to get done quick. Its something I need/want to do and what I call a "Zen" thing. I like to zone out and get into it as I watch the metal change. Am I weird? Don't care....I also feel there are a better selection of stones available for the R1 since your using an EdgePro size platform. To each his own and neither one is wrong, but for a 4-5 hundred dollar difference, I dont see a hard decision in my eyes. I can buy lots of stones and a knife to boot for that!

 

[S.T.A.T.E.S.]

You might take a look at the TSProf K02 or K03 Sharpeners. I bought mine two years ago and liked it so much that I became a
US dealer. We have them in stock with same day, free shipping in the continental United States.