"Leading Edge" 3D printed knife guided sharpening system. Assembly/Build/Use

[777 Edge]

Nicely done Dan!

Next step..some scissors sharpening on the Leading Edge.

 

[Sal Khan]

What stones would you recommend for someone with a budget. Im not sure i want to get crapy diamond stones is there a material that lasts longer in that price range? Or are cheep diamonds a better choice? I mostly care about lower grit for reproofing between 200 and 1000.

 

[cudgee]

What stones would you recommend for someone with a budget. Im not sure i want to get crapy diamond stones is there a material that lasts longer in that price range? Or are cheep diamonds a better choice? I mostly care about lower grit for reproofing between 200 and 1000.

I am assuming you mean for a guided system. If so, and you are on a budget, there is nothing wrong with starting out on the cheap Ruixin replacement stones, i have tried them, they came with a sharpener i bought to try out the design and despite their price they are okay, and the main thing is they work. You can re-profile a blade with the lower grits and get a really good sharp edge with the 600-1500 grits, or that is what they are supposed to be, but they work. You can get them on Ali-Express, or Ebay for stuff all, usually including postage. So if you are on a budget at the moment don't hesitate to try them, i just use them with some water and a bit of detergent, hope this helps.

 

[Sal Khan]

I found a set of three replacement edge pro stones for 35 bucks! They're electroplated!

 

[cudgee]

I found a set of three replacement edge pro stones for 35 bucks! They're electroplated!

Do you mean original Edge-Pro, if so that sounds a good buy to me, but i am not sure of the exchange rate, i have to pay in different dollars, someone will let you know. I do not know enough about them to know what they mean by electroplated in the manufacturing process.

 

[777 Edge]

I found a set of three replacement edge pro stones for 35 bucks! They're electroplated!

Those will likely be the Chinese diamond plates.

They are phenomenal value for money and they work very well. They are some of the most underrated stones around, only because of a perceived bad image by people who have not used them, or people who use them the wrong way. You'll sometimes even find a set of 5 of them on AliExpress for less than 20 bucks. They'll last a long time as long a you use a little soapy water (a drop or two of dish soap in a small water squeeze bottle) to lubricate them while sharpening. Draw a bead of soapy water on them before sharpening, and during sharpening when they dry out. Don't use them dry, or they will wear out much faster.

I would Not recommend the basic Chinese non-diamond type stones, most of those have a binding agent that is soft as butter and they tend to dish after only a few knives. The diamond plates on the other hand, are excellent value for money.

 

[cudgee]

I found a set of three replacement edge pro stones for 35 bucks! They're electroplated!

Did a bit of hunting around for replacement stones, found a set on Ali-Express for a Ruixin-Pro comprising of 11 stones [ 4 diamond, 4 water stones and 3 polishing stones ] for $27 dollarsUS, that is good value, as i said previously i have not had a problem with the water stones, others may have but i haven't.

 

[cudgee]

Those will likely be the Chinese diamond plates.

They are phenomenal value for money and they work very well. They are some of the most underrated stones around, only because of a perceived bad image by people who have not used them, or people who use them the wrong way. You'll sometimes even find a set of 5 of them on AliExpress for less than 20 bucks. They'll last a long time as long a you use a little soapy water (a drop or two of dish soap in a small water squeeze bottle) to lubricate them while sharpening. Draw a bead of soapy water on them before sharpening, and during sharpening when they dry out. Don't use them dry, or they will wear out much faster.

I would Not recommend the basic Chinese non-diamond type stones, most of those have a binding agent that is soft as butter and they tend to dish after only a few knives. The diamond plates on the other hand, are excellent value for money.

I have 3 of the wider ones on the way, the same width as the Edge Pro, will be interesting to see what quality these ones are.

 

[Sal Khan]

Those will likely be the Chinese diamond plates.

They are phenomenal value for money and they work very well. They are some of the most underrated stones around, only because of a perceived bad image by people who have not used them, or people who use them the wrong way. You'll sometimes even find a set of 5 of them on AliExpress for less than 20 bucks. They'll last a long time as long a you use a little soapy water (a drop or two of dish soap in a small water squeeze bottle) to lubricate them while sharpening. Draw a bead of soapy water on them before sharpening, and during sharpening when they dry out. Don't use them dry, or they will wear out much faster.

I would Not recommend the basic Chinese non-diamond type stones, most of those have a binding agent that is soft as butter and they tend to dish after only a few knives. The diamond plates on the other hand, are excellent value for money.

They're from Gritomatic. I didn't get them from aliexpress because I don't want non electro plated. Its the difference between diamonds that are embedded in the metal and ones that are glued to the the metal.

 

[777 Edge]

They're from Gritomatic. I didn't get them from aliexpress because I don't want non electro plated. Its the difference between diamonds that are embedded in the metal and ones that are glued to the the metal.

I have both the Gritomatic ones and many, many plastic backed ones directly from China.

They are basically the same thing, it's a diamond plated metal strip. The Gritomatic basic diamond stone set is glued to an aluminum backing. The ones directly from China are glued to a plastic backing.

All of them are plated diamonds on a metal strip. I do agree that it is nicer to have the aluminum backing and feels more "expensive", but they do exactly the same job in the end. Whether you have the plastic backed or aluminum backed ones, they do the same job.

 

[Sal Khan]

I have both the Gritomatic ones and many, many plastic backed ones directly from China.

They are basically the same thing, it's a diamond plated metal strip. The Gritomatic basic diamond stone set is glued to an aluminum backing. The ones directly from China are glued to a plastic backing.

All of them are plated diamonds on a metal strip. I do agree that it is nicer to have the aluminum backing and feels more "expensive", but they do exactly the same job in the end. Whether you have the plastic backed or aluminum backed ones, they do the same job.

Hmm.... I asked them and they said they were electro plated. Maybe we are not talking about the same product.

 

[Gritomatic]

Hmm.... I asked them and they said they were electro plated. Maybe we are not talking about the same product.

Why do you confused?
The metal strip is a diamond plate (electroplating is the process of combining metal and diamonds). It's too thin and too flexible to be used without support. Aliexpress sellers use plastic blanks. We use aluminum blanks for extra rigidity.

 

[CelloDan]

Nicely done Dan!

Next step..some scissors sharpening on the Leading Edge.

Thanks Burt

Yes, I am going to tackle some scissors next that really reeeeally need it

 

[Sal Khan]

Check it out: https://forum.spyderco.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=90163
What do you think of this mod idea
(Scroll to the picture)

 

[777 Edge]

Check it out: https://forum.spyderco.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=90163
What do you think of this mod idea
(Scroll to the picture)

If you're taking about the first pictures, that's my system printed in black with only the rotatable knife clamp, which is one of the many adapters to my system. It's not a mod, just part of my system.

Do you mean the post with a drawing of an adjustable pivot bearing that can move in and out? If so, there really is no need for this on a non-serrated blade because the angle is perfectly consistent.

One of the posts mentions a serrated blade and a Spyderco triangle rod; if it's a long serrated blade then the best way is to use the magnets on my system (not a clamp), and move your knife every few serrations to stay centered and not round the sides of the serrations.

 

[CelloDan]

EDIT : I measured the angles wrong. I had zeroed my angle cube on the main platform ( just as if it was a knife ) .
I should have zeroed it on the same level as the scissor being clamped. See post after this one

As promised I sharpened a couple of scissors today

Scissors are clamped to the main body of the sharpener by the clamp you see pictured here. The top two screws gently tighten to barely hold the scissors and then the bottom screw is tightened, working in a cantilever action to firmly secure them.
It's important to put rubberized tape inside the clamp to aid in securing the scissors.

I used my Chinese diamond stones ( which as it has been said before should be used lubricated with soapy water )

The bigger scissors have a big secondary bevel. This results in their primary bevel being at quite a small angle.

In order for the stone to reach this low angle I had to take off the fine tuner angle adjuster so the guide rod could be dropped even lower.

Once the factory bevel was found by using a sharpie on the bevel and matching the angle, the actual sharpening went VERY FAST.

A few passes produced a burr, a couple more stones after that up to 800 and off they came.

The burr is easily removed with a diamond plate and by opening and closing them after that.

Intrigued by the low angle on the first scissors I quickly mounted a second pair with no secondary bevel. The angle was much higher.

I suspect that factory angles are all over the place depending on the scissors.

Overall it was a very fast way to sharpen scissors that were quite overdue for sharpening

 

[cudgee]

As promised I sharpened a couple of scissors today

Scissors are clamped to the main body of the sharpener by the clamp you see pictured here. The top two screws gently tighten to barely hold the scissors and then the bottom screw is tightened, working in a cantilever action to firmly secure them.
It's important to put tape inside the clamp to aid in securing the scissors.

I used my Chinese diamond stones ( which as it has been said before should be used lubricated with soapy water )

The bigger scissors have a big secondary bevel. This results in their primary bevel being at quite a small angle.

In order for the stone to reach this low angle I had to take off the fine tuner angle adjuster so the guide rod could be dropped even lower.

Once the factory bevel was found by using a sharpie on the bevel and matching the angle, the actual sharpening went VERY FAST.

A few passes produced a burr, a couple more stones after that up to 800 and off they came.

The burr is easily removed with a diamond plate and by opening and closing them after that.

Intrigued by the low angle on the first scissors I quickly mounted a second pair with no secondary bevel. The angle was much higher.

I suspect that factory angles are all over the place depending on the scissors.

Overall it was a very fast way to sharpen scissors that were quite overdue for sharpening

Don't know if you already know or not, but next time you are getting stones for this you can get the wider stones, exactly the same width as the original Edge-Pro, they make sharpening a lot easier.

 

[CelloDan]

So geometry was never my forte in school LOL.

I realized that I measured the angles wrong on my above post.

I should have zeroed the angle cube on the same level as the scissor being clamped.

Like this

So the new measurement for the first scissor I sharpened would be:

This appears to be quite extreme for scissors.

I measured another set I have and I got:

Most scissor would likely be between 40 and 60 degrees

 

[CelloDan]

Don't know if you already know or not, but next time you are getting stones for this you can get the wider stones, exactly the same width as the original Edge-Pro, they make sharpening a lot easier.

Thanks Leon, great to know

Most of my knives ( 90 percent ) are quite small ( traditionals 3 inch blade or less,) so the narrower stones work good.

Still, my wife wants me to sharpen all the kitchen knives so the wider stones would be perfect

 

[cudgee]

Most of my knives ( 90 percent ) are quite small ( traditionals 3 inch blade or less,) so the narrower stones work good.

That is one good thing about the narrower stones, they are much easier to use on small blade traditionals.
Good idea to have a mix.