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Wicked Edge stones and strops

N

nettle

Joined
Jun 11, 2019
Messages
79
Hello, this is my first post here and am seeking some advice. Recently I purchased a Wicked Edge Go. I am very pleased with this sharpener. The Go came with 200/600 diamond stones and I purchased additional 800/1000 diamond stones.

The selection of diamond stone grits/strops/stropping compounds seems almost endless (and expensive). Not an expert sharpener but do know when my blades are sharp enough.

Edge holding ability is my question. Will purchasing even finer grit stones and or strops and paste contribute to the length of time an blade will hold an edge? If so what grit stones, type of strop, and paste?
 
When it comes to diamonds they are great at removing metal fast but most people will tell you if they really know anything about sharpening that you should finish sharpening with a wet stone of some sort.

I prefer to finish with water stones after I'm done using diamonds,I find I get a better longer lasting edge finishing with wet stones,you don't need to have a super polished edge either for it to last a good while.

But then there's other thing's to consider like what blade steel are your knifes made of,I find M4 M390 S35vn and S30v S90v and S110v are all great steels and there are many more that great at holding and edge,you will find M390 and M4 get extremely sharp and are both very aggressive cutting steels with a polished edge,but you will also find that S110v is better with a toothy edge finished anywhere between 400 and 1500 grit max and if you polish it's edge it's the biggest of time you will have ever spent in your life but it's not very sharp with a polished edge and the edge will dull very fast unless it's sharpened with a toothy edge and I still use diamonds on S110v and then finish with water stones to refine the edge.

Another factor is how good was the maker of your knife at heat treating the blade,I know Mike Emler who sharpen's a lot was saying something about a company that use's S35vn and the sharpness and edge retention of their S35vn was way better then any other S35vn blade he had ever had and said that company also had a special way they heat treated that steel and really had it figured out.

If you mention the knife's and blade steel's they have that will help to,if you just have cheap knife's that are 20 to 50 dollar knife's your most likely never going to have good edge retention if that's what your after.

For water stones I really like the Sigma Power stones in the finer grit's you can get them from Jende Industries and I think they will sell them unmounted if you ask for them that way and they may even mount them for you if you ask them to,I like to use a rust eraser that you get from ebay in medium grit and and they are grey rubber with a bit of abrasive in them and I rub my water stones with them to make a slurry and that help's to get the stone to work faster for you more so in the really fine grit's.

If you do get water stones get bar keepers friend in the powder version to clean the stones trust me comet and the other powdered cleans won't do crap no matter how long you try with them,with bar keepers friend the swarf or metal filing's whatever you want to call them just lift's right out instantly and you don't need to use much at all.
 
At this point of your knowledge, no you don’t need to dive into more sharpening things. You have a good system that will will get your knives sharp. There’s some good videos and detailed threads here to go through. You need to master the system you have before going forward with more advanced sharpening. Work on getting your technique down, learn about the steel your knives have and go from there. A sharpie is your friend. It will tell you if you are reaching the apex of the edge. Color the sharpened edge, make sure you remove the sharpie color and form a burr. The biggest problem I’ve had is removing the burr/wire edge for a true edge that will last a long time.
As wade7575 wade7575 mentioned the steel will dictate how to sharpen. It’s better to go slow and get your technique down than remove unnecessary steel. Once it’s removed, it can’t be put back on.
 
Appreciate the quick and thorough response. I prefer carbon steels. Never have been a fan of stainless in a knife blade. Favorite in what I have is D2.

I guess, from what I have read recently, is that I prefer a toothy edge. D2 seems to be a toothy edge steel. Will a polished edge take away from this toothy edge?
 
All you do is try and see how the steel responds to it I don't have anything in D2 and I have never sharpened anything in D2 so I can't say but if you ask someone might chime in,most steels but not all will get sharper with a polished edge,I just sharpened my Benchmade 810 with M390 blade steel and is extremely sharp.

Don't be afraid to try M390 for sure I don't think you would be disappointed at all with that steel although it's a stainless,most of the Powdered Metal steels today are great for edge retention even steels like S30v and S35vn and I prefer S35vn over S30v because it holds it's edge a bit longer but it's also easier to sharpen.

Like said don't be afraid to try some of the new PM steels even if they are stainless and ask first if you not sure about that steel,for me I got the Benchmade 810 in M390 because it's just about as good as M4 witch is a carbon steel and now I don't have to worry about rust and I steel have an edge that's extremely sharp.
 
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