The Gen. 3 Pro vs. The Commercial Model

Ken both the Commercial Series and the Gen 3 Pro use the same vise and similar mechanics for the angle adjustments.  About the only differences between the two models are:

• the Commercial Series has the full blue heavier aluminum top deck and enclosed cabinet.  The Gen 3 Pro hoas a partial blue half round top deck plate, and the stone cabinet shelves are open.
• the Commercial Series has a slightly wider-angle range, (14º – 30º) whereas the Gen 3 Pro’s range is just (14º – 27º).   The difference is negligible and I’ve never sharpened a knife with wider than 25 dps bevels, yet.
• the Commercial Series is $1000 more expensive than the Gen 3 Pro.

I believe the Commercial Series Model preceded the first Gen 3 Pro model by a couple of years.  The Gen 3 vise upgrade followed shortly afterwards by the first Gen 3 Pro model were released around 2016-2017.  The “original” Commercial Series and Gen 3 Pro models both had the similar design single lever angle adjuster but used different vises and clamping mechanisms. The Commercial Series jaw release lever was underneath inide the cabinet.  The Gen 3 Pro is really a newer, simpler and more efficient mechanical version of the original s Commercial Series.  With the success of that newer version Gen 3 vise clamping system the Commercial Series model was then updated/upgraded to incorporate this same, newer Gen 3 Vise System.  So now, essentially the only differences between the two models are the Commercial Series has a more elaborate enclose cabinet and a heavier blue top plate.

I really don’t think the extra $1000 expenditure for the Commercial Series is necessary.  The Gen 3 Pro will stand up to the use, just the same.  The designs, engineering and machining are just the same.  The extra money IMO is better spent on additional sharpening mediums and accessories.

The only thing I can think of is the enclosed top deck and enclosed cabinet of the Commercial Series may be for OSHA requirements in a commercial setting or business application like a meat market or restaurant, for sanitary, safety and health reasons.

Every W.E. model I ever purchased I am still using or I sold to someone else who is still using it. I’ve had, I think, 6 different models in the past 7 or 8 years.  None have broken or worn out just with minimum care and light maintenance.  I do not sharpen knives commercially although I have a decent sized collection and variety of knives to keep up with.

There has been some discussion and threads here on this forum related to commercial sharpening with a Wicked Edge.  The W.E.’s sharpening results can be far better and above those of most electric sharpening machines.  I say “the results can be far better”, that is if you spend the time, exercise the care and pay attention to the details necessary to produce these excellent results.

The issue with commercial sharpening is most knife owners don’t need, don’t want or don’t even know from the sharpness results available with the Wicked Edge Sharpeners.  For the usual sharpening customers the results from 5-10 minutes with a belt grinder is all they want, all they need, all they expect and all they’re willing to pay for.  If you’re going to want to get paid for your time and effort producing wicked sharp polished results commercially, you need to have the clientele that wants to pay for this quality sharpening job and the time it requires to get it.

Otherwise, you’ll need to be doing 5 minute slap job style sharpening with your Wicked Edge, to make any money. That or you need to be offering both types of sharpening services, higher end jobs with the W.E. and belt grinder service at value rates, if you expect to make some money sharpening knives with your Wicked Edge.

2 users thanked author for this post.

Dwight Glass, Mike