Edge Pro Apex Reccomendations

[BK14]

Hi everyone,
After being a knife nut for some time, I am looking to step up my sharpening game. I currently use a Spyderco Sharpmaker, with the addition of the Ultra Fine rods. With this setup, I can usually maintain a shaving sharp edge on most of my knives. However, recently a few knives I have purchased/been gifted have had less than satisfactory factory edges. Not dull per se, but very uneven seeming. A Benchmade 710 (even more painful due to how much I love the knife) seems to be the worst offender so far. While using a sharpie on the edge, I would have to hold the knife at a radically different angle to remove the marker from the edge on the tip than from on the base. I have done lots of research, and am thinking that maybe some time in the near future I may want to invest in an Edge Pro Apex 3. The 3 seems to be a good balance between accessories and price. So my questions for the experts... Is this a good idea? Could this system and model help with correcting bad factory angles? How does it handle serrations and slight recurves like on the 710? Also, I am not always brilliant or mentally inclined for such ventures, so how steep is the learning curve? Last question, how versatile is the system? I like being able to use many different types of blades/materials. Can the stones be used freehand for things such as axes?
Thank you all so much in advance for the input, answers, and suggestions. I always am hesitant to spend very rare "knife money" on anything but knives, but am telling myself that it will make me enjoy all my blades more. I am really hoping to start learning more about sharpening from this subforum, and will definitely try to start spending more of my BF time in this corner!

 

[Mo2]

Kme or edge pro. Kme is clamped system which is easy to use and the diamond set is cheaper than the edge pro with basic stones. My issue is the angle changes when I flip the knife to the other side. Some one did say there may be a way of fixing that but I haven't tried it yet.

In any case i prefer the edge pro myself. But it's not clamped so you have to hold the knife (a magnet can be added to help). And you have to learn to use both hands, it's much easier for people who are ambidextrous. Also a lot more to learn. But I feel my edges come out much better on the ep. Practice makes perfect. Got mine from the exchange with lots of extras like small knife attachment, stone thickness compensator, angel guide and buncha other really useful stuff, which adds up but I find they are necessary to an extent.

If you have the time to learn, I would suggest it. If you want simple and less learning curve kme (still have to learn a bit but less so). Kme also costs a bit less. Many folks have no issues getting amazing cutting edges on both systems.

A vendor here called gritomatic also sells a hapstone which is even better with more attachments and stones varieties etc. It's also all metal construction. It's like an edge pro on roids. I got the ep because I found a great deal on it otherwise I would have got the hapstone.

Anyway... Gritomatic also has a huge stone selection for all 3 systems. Cbn, Venev bonded diamond stones, various finishing stones etc.

One thing I would also get if you use anything other than diamond is the edge pro stone flattening add on. It's a flat surface you can put your system on and also flatten your stones. The cbn, kme and dmt diamond stones don't need to be flattened tho.

So you've got to choose what you think is gonna be best for you.

Edit: kme can also sharpen broad heads/arrows and recently they come out with something specific for axes. But I assume you can use either ep or kme stones to free hand an axe, tho the ep has longer stones. Not sure about sharpening an axe on the edge pro, never thought of that. Maybe.

 

[banksy]

I've owned the Apex but didn't enjoy using it on account of the mess.
If you're not bothered about a mirror polish, I'd definitely recommend the KME with diamonds.

 

[BK14]

I've owned the Apex but didn't enjoy using it on account of the mess.
If you're not bothered about a mirror polish, I'd definitely recommend the KME with diamonds.

Thanks for the recommendation! I read somewhere that due to the clamp, the KME doesn't allow for sharpening bigger knives, or blades without sufficiently large flats. Is this true?

 

[Mo2]

Thanks for the recommendation! I read somewhere that due to the clamp, the KME doesn't allow for sharpening bigger knives, or blades without sufficiently large flats. Is this true?

that is very true. not sure the limitations as i dont have any huge knives yet. largest i have are 4.2" folders that are not very thick. i would not want to sharpen anything large or thick on the kme.

the TechStudio TSProf would probably be more idea for larger knives. you could also just use bench stones instead. a work sharp with blade grinding attachment also a decent choice (tho it will be convex) for larger blades is decent, but there is a learning curve with it too.

 

[Anderdale]

How much does the kmes angle change when flipping the knife? I've ever heard of that.

 

[brasileiro]

I have Ruixin (cheap version of Edge Pro Apex) I didn't like because I'm right hand and it takes lot practice.
I have Hapstone from Gritomatic as Mo2 told.
I have my own jig build before hapstone reach me.
Hapstone allow you to sharp larger blades like machetes. There is a version that comes with rotating clamp system witch is more ease and faster when flip the blade.
I can't speak for KME or Wicked Edge or even Tech Studio K01/02 because I don't own they.
Hapstone also comes with magnetics that is a come in handy.
The is also the worksharp but it works with belts and I don't own it too.
There are Lansky and DMT aligner systems but their limitation is angle and knife size.
For me Hapstone suit to a t.

Edit: if you want a "portable" jig and don't care about especifc angle, lansky or DMT are a good choice. If angle matters, so Edge Pro Apex can fit any bag.
But if you want a larger and precise system I'll recomend Hapstone.

 

[brasileiro]

Thanks for the recommendation! I read somewhere that due to the clamp, the KME doesn't allow for sharpening bigger knives, or blades without sufficiently large flats. Is this true?

Not true at all. You can sharp by sessions. What for me is boring.
I prefer to get a minimum angle difference at tip or near the handle than having to move the knife several times

 

[awestib]

There is also this for reprofiling ...

 

[awestib]

But in a more serious way, I only used the Edge Pro Apex a few times and the set up and the whole procedure didn't agree with my way of thinking at all. I like reprofiling either by hand on a coarse stone or on a belt sander. You already have the Spyderco Sharpmaker - get a good coarse stone and thin out the back bevel, then finish up on the Sharpmaker.