Angle cube marking blade

Welcome to the wicked edge forum
Marking the angle just gives you a reference as to how the stones effect the current angle. If the current angle is wrong, the sharpie mark wont help. The sharpie is just a visual reference as to how close your stone are to the currant angle. The ” cube ” gives you the correct set point that you desire. It confirms that the left side stone angle is what you actually want. and also the right side. I think you are asking if you need the cube… In my opinion, its an inexpensive tool to do the job correctly.. the cube also verifies the profile for each knife that you sharpen. If you have ten knives that are used for different things, like Work knives, everyday carry knives, utility knives, kitchen cutlery, one you categorize the profile of each knife. you can then just set up the wicked edge, using the profile cube. and with just a few strokes, bring the blade back to its perfect sharpness. Some steel will actually grow and oxidize in the draw when never being used, then when you go to use it a year later might find it to have lost its edge. With a known profile of the knife it should only take ten minutes to bring it back to razor sharpness. Some knives use a compound profile, some use an aggressive angle , and some are best used with a less aggressive angle.
Get the cube..
Bill aka ET

This forum had a knife data base on the old forum, but has yet to be transferred to this forum. should be soon. you can use a sharpie to profile the existing edge. then set up your wicked edge. You can not use the cube to determine the blades existing angle. But you can use the sharpie’s mark as a guide. take a stroke and see if the black comes off the top of the edge or the bottom of the edge. or if it removed all of the black…. if this is the case you set up your W.E. properly for that particular blade.
if you only remove part of the black then you have to adjust the angle slightly , either up or down based on what part of the edge you remove. once you find the angle, you can store that information somewhere for that knife , so the next time you sharpen it, you will know the angles, and the placement within the vise. depth and position from center. If this does not help, just tell me. Ill try to make it easier. Don’t over think this… its not that hard, but sometimes angles and geometry causes some people to have a brain lock.. its not a big deal…. once you get it, you will smack yourself in the head once you see how easy it is..
I’m always happy to help if I can.
Bill aka ET