Knife Sharpening,,, Work Sharp? Wicked Edge? Or EdgePro Apex?

S

Smiddy

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Apr 20, 2013
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Just wanted to get some opinions of what is a good sharpening system. I want to put a good precise edge on the knives I have, something that will take guess work out if it. I have seen the general consensus is a Work Sharp, Wicked Edge, or EdgePro Apex. What are your experiences with these and opinions? Thanks
 
Edge Pro Apex AAALLLLLLLL DAAAAYYYYYYYY

I have no idea about the wicked edge but it looks sound as well. The extra benefit of the edge pro apex is that the stones are AMAZING. That's half the battle.

I'm leary of the work sharp. Never used one but the general feeling is that you can really damage a knife if you don't know what you are doing. I would almost buy it and find a leather strop for it...use it for polishing / cleaning. Or keep the absolutely finest grain on the sand belts. I dont' think I could bring myself to drag a $300 knife through one
 
I know this doesn't answer your question directly but I don't own a sharpening system. I use a leather strop and compound and that's all I've ever used. I can sharpen at home, in the field, anywhere without needing to take or set up a sharpening system. I've even used a piece of cardboard with compound on it for a field strop. I've also never worried about angles. I rarely need to "sharpen" my knives. I just keep them maintained. I few strokes on the strop when I'm done with a knife and I'm shaving with it again. If I damage an edge then I might have to get out the sandpaper and spend a little more time on it but it's not a long process. I believe that a strop and compound provides the easiest, quickest and most durable edge. It's also much less expensive than sharpening systems.
 
I use the Stropman 4 stroke at home and the KSF field strop kit away. Every sharpening system has it's limitations in what it can or can't sharpen. Sure they are precise and all but if you pay attention to detail, go slow, and practice, you can't beat a good leather strop. Cheap, easy and relaxing.

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A while ago there was a guy on YouTube who had both systems (jdavis882). From what I recall, he gave a slight edge (no pun intended) to the WEPS system. But he was able to get very good results from the Edge Pro as well and stated so. As I do not own an Edge pro, I cannot comment on how all it can be applied to various sharpening scenarios. I do own a WEPS with the ball and socket joints and use an angle cube to replicate as an exact angle as it can measure, and I am able to get very good results with either a V bevel or a convex bevel. I have the arms that are infinately adjustable with respect to angle. I do not know if a convex bevel is possible with the Edge Pro. But, The WEPS is very expensive. You have a plethora of stones to choose from including diamond to Chosera water to ceramic to pasted strops with diamond paste at a variety of grits from very course to 0.5 microns. The system I find to be flexible to many applications and very consistent in the result. Is it worth the extra money? I cannot say as I do not have the Edge Pro to compare it to. Will it out perform sand paper, a mouse pad and pasted strops? In my hands, yes. Perhaps not in others hands. One thing for sure, if you invest this much in a WEPS, you are likely to use it, and not likely to build your frehand skills with stones, sandpaper and strops.

Edit: I do all of my kitchen knives on Japanese water stones freehand. I have built this skill to the point that I could get by and not use the WEPS at all. But it is a very easy thing to sharpen a knife previously sharpened on a WEPS. It takes only a few minutes and very little loss of steel to make them hair popping sharp again.
 
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I use smiths 4 inch course and fine double sided diamond stone if its dull as a butter knife. Otherwise I stick to the strop with some green on it. I can get one hair popping with just those two items in just a few minutes dull to slicing. Just takes a bit of practice.
 
My experiences:

I had a Work Sharp, and found it was far too easy to mess up a blade unless you're EXTREMELY careful and keep the blade moving at all times. I hated it, so I returned it for a refund.

I've never used an Edge Pro, so I can't speak first hand to it's benefits or idiosyncrasies. I did a huge amount of research (as always) and have heard from others that have them. Second hand, they said the toughest parts are holding the blade in consistent position and compensating for different thickness stones. I decided not to go there since I wanted something a little more repeatable and fool proof.

I have and currently use a Wicked Edge, Sharpmaker, Tormek, Diamond Stones, Water Stones, Shapton Ceramic Glass-Backed Water Stones, and Strops. I believe it's all about the best tool for the job. My preferences (yours may vary) are:

Nice Knives and Kitchen Knives - Wicked Edge, hands down. It's pricey but also fast, simple, bullet proof, and repeatable. The clamp holds the blade in position for you during the whole operation instead of you having to hold it. The stones are all identically sized, so there is no compensating for different-thickness stones. They have a huge selection of different stone options for future expansion, if desired. It's a "dry" system so there is less sloppy mess to clean up. The Angle Cube and new ball-bearing joint arms let you dial in an angle to 1/10 of one degree.

Working Knives and Touch-Ups - Sharpmaker and Strops.

Woodworking Chisels and Plane Blades - Flatten the backs with Diamond Stones and Shapton Water Stones and then hone the bevel with the Tormek. Use the Tormek Power Strop for final tuning.

I hope my experiences have helped you. Good luck with whatever you end up choosing!
 
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I use an edgepro (not apex, but the results will be identical) and find it most useful for reprofiling a blade. I use a leather strop with no compound for maintenance. I have been pleased with the product.
 
depending on the steel, with most FBs being 01, a loaded strop with some Bark River compound has always done well. I'll sometimes follow up with a fine grit sand paper on mouse pad to make them hair popping sharp.
 
Smiddy I'd like to send you an email or pm. Have you considered updating to gold here to enable messaging and to support bladeforums? It is well worth it. Best,
 
Vayu said:
Smiddy I'd like to send you an email or pm. Have you considered updating to gold here to enable messaging and to support bladeforums? It is well worth it. Best,
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You know I have been meaning to do that... So I just did. I got the Gold Membership. Thx
 
Thanks everyone. This is turning out some great information for me. Keep it coming, I will be checking into several things you guys have mentioned.
 
Ankerson here on Bladeforums has some really informative edgepro demonstrations on YouTube.
 
I gave my dad a nice bark river, he sent it through his work sharp and totally ruined the edge. sad times:disturbed:
 
dcycleman said:
I gave my dad a nice bark river, he sent it through his work sharp and totally ruined the edge. sad times:disturbed:
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That hurts my heart man. Unless it's really bad Bark River can fix it for you. It's probably worth a shot.
 
dcycleman said:
I gave my dad a nice bark river, he sent it through his work sharp and totally ruined the edge. sad times:disturbed:
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That edge can be brought back. I do not know how the "WorkSharp" works, but either Bark River or applying some of the tried and true Freehand methods would bring it back nicely. I would be willing to sharpen it for you gratis, just pay shipping both ways. What model BRK is it, and what steel?
 
Thanks guys, yeah it was a bummer especially after I showed him videos on how to do it freehand and he didn't listen.
Mcveymac- thanks for the offer, I will probly take advantage of brkt spa service. I don't know how it will come out though as he ate up a good chunk right near the ricasso.
 
dcycleman said:
Oh yeah - it is a light hunter in cpm 154
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No worries. Just let me know if I can help out here. CPM 154 is an easy enough steel to work with, yet holds an edge very well. BRK will likely be the best bet to make it servicable from the damage. If you need it sharpened leter, just let me know.
 
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