Achieving an edge

[Greg Kusmierek]

Hello all, I just received my Pro Pack 1 with the Pro Pack 2 upgrade yesterday. I did alot of research while waiting for my sharpener to come so I found out alot of the Do’s and donts. That being said I am a beginner, the sharpener arrived and my first knife I achieved had an excellent edge. This knife was a Calphalon katana kitchen knife. My second knife was a Cold steel Espada which did not go well at all.
I checked the angles before I started, found the sweet spot and achieved a burr on both sides. I did notice that on one side the the edge was wider, which I Would believe that means the angle is different on one side.
Anybody have any suggestions? Thank you in advance….
Oh and by the way, I did check all screws for tightness throughout sharpening. Also, I can only sharpen the knife in the top holes because of the bevel angle and I did notice the clamp does not hold the knife very good, even with mohair taped to the knife.

[tcmeyer]

I’m assuming from you’re opening statement that the stones are new, too. Don’t expect top shelf results until they’re well broken in. There’s a crust of diamond particle sitting on top of the base field of grit. These need to be knocked off before you’ll get really good results. Users generally say that it takes 5 -20 knives to break them in. Get some old clunkers are have at it. Use them to perfect your motions.

I recently had a case of a new pair of stones that seemed to be broken in, but when I sharpened my hardest blade, it chipped it all to hell. Turns out there were a few stubborn particles still to be knocked off. I resorted to stoning on a section of plate glass, which cleared the problem in minutes.

Another thing to watch for and probably not what you’re experiencing, but common to newbies, is having a blade which seems securely clamped actually rock from side to side as you stone it. This is usually caused by tightening the top screw too far, the result being that the blade is actually only held along the spine. Each time you clamp a blade, try twisting on the handle to see if the edge moves.

Be patient, good things will come. Stay with us here on the forum and we’ll solve all your problems.

[Greg Kusmierek]

Thank you for the response… What you did say is true, my third knife I sharpened was a thin bladed kitchen knife and I had a bunch of small gouges in the edge and I also did notice all the surface coming off my stones. It was just weird my very first knife had an excellent edge and the next one was just not up to par..
Thank you, again

[CliffCurry]

One of the things I’ve personally enjoyed about this Hobby(*cough* Obsession *cough*), is the variety of new thing to learn, all kinda happening at the same time…

You’ve got your WE sharpener, vice, & the different paddles, then there is the variety of steel materials we run into, couple this with learning techniques as we go to adapt to these variables and it can be so challenging and so rewarding…at times.

Working the bugs out of the system will get you better consistancy and allow you to practice better form as you go. Everything Tom mentioned above has, and still does, apply to me as well. Breaking in stones is one issue, wiggly blade was a huge one for me and caused me a few serious setback moments when blade shifted about half way thru a sharpening. Not pretty.

Securing the blade, going slow and easy with the tools, and examining under magnification as you go, would be my suggestions to anyone and a good reminder to myself also. :whistle:

[Greg Kusmierek]

Good advice, Im kinda finding that out about going slow and light pressure. Thanks Cliff

[Zamfir]

Cliff is right on!

For the longest time I was not able to get to hht2 with only the 1K stone. With a lot of work over the holidays sharpening for family my stones got some miles on them and my repeating and repeating on many of the same kind of knifes started to show me the subtle differences in pressure and technique can make. Just using the 1K stone can give a very toothy edge but if you do a bunch of whisper light passes it is not as toothy..I mean before I thought whisper light was bs..But it can make all the difference in the world depending on what you are trying to accomplish!

First it was my form on the left I struggled with..but doing many knifes starts to build the muscle memory..then I was able to concentrate on pressure more–er–less..lol..between the 2 hands. check yourself next time you are sharpening..not the scrubbing motion..but the alternating strokes and see how easy it is to NOT be equal pressure wise on each side..it was crazy. Personally, I think it matters much more when you are on the 800/1K paddle..depending on what you are trying to do. I have to go slow in order to keep good form and be conscious about pressure at the same time.

I have done maybe 100 knifes now and I am still having “aahaa!” moments using this system. But I sure as hell have made 100 knives sharper than I ever could have before..can I do it better? sure..that last couple of a % takes a lot of work and form and practice!

[Greg Kusmierek]

Yes, the more I tinker with this system the more im finding out that this an art.

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