Wicked Edge

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russ25

Joined
Jun 19, 2012
Messages
248
Hello everyone,
Just got the wicked edge pro pack. I have only done three cheap knives so far but I noticed that the bevel is not even on the last two. I had them set at 20 degrees. The first knife mistakes were made and learned from it. But the second and third I took my time and paid better attention. Still bevel is off from side to side. I ordered the angle finder and found that I am off by .5 degrees. 20.3 left side and 20.8 on the right side. The pro pack doesn't come with the micro adjustment feature so I am just using the divots in the supplied angle rod.

So does this seem wrong? Could I possibly be doing something wrong here?
Does anyone use the wicked edge without the upgraded micro adjustment feature?

Thanks everyone, I did look at the first 100 search results but nothing directly related to this I felt.
 
Guessing you sharping a CRK but what kind of blade are you sharpening? With FFG blades on other makes, you really have to take some extra care that the blade it seating exactly vertical in the clamp. Some will use a thin piece of rubber or leather around the blade and between the clamp to help it seat properly.

The WE with the Cam Lock Clamp doesn't have this issue but the standard clamp does. Check out the WE Forums and Tutorials on the WE site. There is a ton of info there to help.

You'll run into this with most sharpeners out there.

Edit: Also, I doubt you would be able to tell the difference between 20.3 and 20.8 so I'm guessing the blade just isn't sitting properly in the clamp.
 
I've had that issue with my WE Go. I can't speak to the dimpled rod, but my setup is about a half degree different. I use a Sharpie and adjust a little bit so they look even and I'm off and running.
 
Good advice from a poster above is ask this on the Wicked Edge forum. There are some very experienced members there that are always happy to help. I own a WE Gen III unit that has the self adjusting clamp. But as the poster said some use a piece of leather or chamois to make up the difference in angle. Chamois also protects your blade from scratching by the jaws. I've also read posts on the WE forum where some owners will turn their degree bar around so they are not being locked into the dimples. There are a good amount of WE videos up on Youtube where they mention the jaw clamping issue. Clay the owner of WE has a few good instructional videos on Youtube too.

Tip on using your Wicked Edge system: Look at the pic of my setup. Notice the white and yellow adjustable stops. I use one on top of the rod and one on the bottom which limits each stones travel. I learned the hard and expensive way that I did not notice I was slipping off the bottom of the blade edge and scratching the knife's blade face up! Cost me $150 for a new replacement blade. The WE forum member is called ""Airscapes" who makes these stops up and sells them for something like $12. I suggest getting a set of 4. Wicked Edge should include some type of stone stops for the prices they get for their systems!

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expidia1 said:
Good advice from a poster above is ask this on the Wicked Edge forum. There are some very experienced members there that are always happy to help. I own a WE Gen III unit that has the self adjusting clamp. But as the poster said some use a piece of leather or chamois to make up the difference in angle. Chamois also protects your blade from scratching by the jaws. I've also read posts on the WE forum where some owners will turn their degree bar around so they are not being locked into the dimples. There are a good amount of WE videos up on Youtube where they mention the jaw clamping issue. Clay the owner of WE has a few good instructional videos on Youtube too.

Tip on using your Wicked Edge system: Look at the pic of my setup. Notice the white and yellow adjustable stops. I use one on top of the rod and one on the bottom which limits each stones travel. I learned the hard and expensive way that I did not notice I was slipping off the bottom of the blade edge and scratching the knife's blade face up! Cost me $150 for a new replacement blade. The WE forum member is called ""Airscapes" who makes these stops up and sells them for something like $12. I suggest getting a set of 4. Wicked Edge should include some type of stone stops for the prices they get for their systems!

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Oh man, I need to get some of these stops. Great idea. Do they hold tight? Just takes one little slip and you've got a scratched blade.
 
Yes, they hold tight. I’ve tried several versions. Last ones were great, all metal but they were a pain to move as I had to use a small allen wrench to tighten, loosen and retighten with each grit change.
 
I would definitely recommend to keep sharpening cheap knife or kitchen knives after you have sharpened 20 plus you will have a better feel for it.
 
I started with a pro pack and really struggled to keep bevels even. Upgrading to the cam lock vise was an expensive choice, but it made a world of difference. It is fool proof. I actually emailed Clay about just making it the standard offering, but he said it is too price prohibitive.

if I could do it all over, I’d buy the WE with the cam lock vise and skip all the extra stones, strops, films, etc.
 
jfowler1 said:
I started with a pro pack and really struggled to keep bevels even. Upgrading to the cam lock vise was an expensive choice, but it made a world of difference. It is fool proof. I actually emailed Clay about just making it the standard offering, but he said it is too price prohibitive.
if I could do it all over, I’d buy the WE with the cam lock vise and skip all the extra stones, strops, films, etc.
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Good advice. I started with the Gen 3 pro and then sold the vice part to an office mate for $150 and upgraded to their latest Gen 3 Pro vice as I did not like seeing diamond and metal particles falling into the cam area which prematurely wears the moving parts this expensive device.
The stones I use are the 100/200, 400/600, 800/1000 if you are only doing kitchen knives many WE users stop right there!
But the 1500 stone is a winner as the mirror starts appearing as soon as you use it. They sell a 1500/2200 stone set. I added the microfine ceramics in lieu of the DLP strips as they are expensive and contaminate easily. For $120 the ceramic is not cheap but it can pay for itself when you don't have to keep replacing DLP's in 3 different grits at $30 per grit/sheet. Strops are a staple and the last stage. A set is only $45 (Just don't stroke down with strops or you will cut right into the leather).
 
Sure is a shame to spend 500 bucks on a sharpener and then still have to spend alot of money to have what you should have gotten in the beginning.

All I want to do is to be able to sharpen CRK at 20 degrees and not look like a hack job. And yes I still have plenty of practice to do.

So help me out here, do I continue to throw money at this unit or move on? I have the pro pack 1, with the angle finder and the adjustable ball joints.

Also does anyone sharpen a knife or carry a knife that has two different angles? One side 20 degrees and one side 22 degrees? Just curious. Was told that this is a good way to keep the bevels looking equal. I took this with a grain of salt.
 
russ25 said:
Sure is a shame to spend 500 bucks on a sharpener and then still have to spend alot of money to have what you should have gotten in the beginning.

All I want to do is to be able to sharpen CRK at 20 degrees and not look like a hack job. And yes I still have plenty of practice to do.

So help me out here, do I continue to throw money at this unit or move on? I have the pro pack 1, with the angle finder and the adjustable ball joints.

Also does anyone sharpen a knife or carry a knife that has two different angles? One side 20 degrees and one side 22 degrees? Just curious. Was told that this is a good way to keep the bevels looking equal. I took this with a grain of salt.
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Definitely be sure to check out the WE Forums on their site. The members their have a very deep knowledge base and can likely troubleshoot some things for you.

Any system whether it's a KME, Edge Pro or WE will have learning curves. It's odd that you are getting different angles. I still suspect the blade is not sitting properly in the vice. Have you tried to leather trick? Also, be sure to position the clamp just on the flats. This is a photo of a Small Drop Point Sebenza clamped it. I usually put the studs up against the clamp just slightly and try and get the main edge as horizontal as possible. Disregard the crappy edge. This was pre-sharpening on an old blade. I was just playing around with blade positioning in the clamp.

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I’m not following regarding the rod stops. Those scratches caused by slipping off the edge on the down stroke, correct? That’s not even possible on my unit.
 
rta108 said:
I’m not following regarding the rod stops. Those scratches caused by slipping off the edge on the down stroke, correct? That’s not even possible on my unit.
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Which model and clamp do you have? The top of the Cam Lock Clamp sits up quite a bit higher off the angle rod compared to the standard clamp. I can definitely come down below the edge of the knife on my Cam Lock Clamp. I mainly use up and away strokes when sharpening and try not to use a scrubbing motion unless I'm really hogging off some steel with an angle reset.
 
aleforme said:
Definitely be sure to check out the WE Forums on their site. The members their have a very deep knowledge base and can likely troubleshoot some things for you.

Any system whether it's a KME, Edge Pro or WE will have learning curves. It's odd that you are getting different angles. I still suspect the blade is not sitting properly in the vice. Have you tried to leather trick? Also, be sure to position the clamp just on the flats. This is a photo of a Small Drop Point Sebenza clamped it. I usually put the studs up against the clamp just slightly and try and get the main edge as horizontal as possible. Disregard the crappy edge. This was pre-sharpening on an old blade. I was just playing around with blade positioning in the clamp.

M25h12Al.jpg
Click to expand...

Thanks Aleforme, I haven't given up just a little frustrated still. I called Wicked edge and spoke with them and do feel a little better. Also got the adjustable pivot bushings. Really paying special attention to the clamping part of this process. I am sure I will learn to use this system well, just taking longer and more money than I had hoped for.

Oh and one more thing, Aleforme, I see what you did there, Shame on you my friend! LOL
 
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