Another New WEPS User

[Joey]

After having my cousin (limpy88 here) sharpen a few of my knives on the WEPS I knew I had to have one. So, I began watching various forums and ebay for a used one and after a few months of searching for the right deal, I found one and it came in the mail Monday. Since then I have sharpened three of my Henckel kitchen knives with really good results. I will be posting a thread about that latter, that is if I can manage to stop sharpening the knives I have long enough to snap some pics and do a write up. I’ve uploaded my settings into the knife database and hope others find it useful. Anyone know how the points systems works for the knife database?

Currently my set-up includes everything from the pro-pack I plus the 1200/1600 ceramics except for the base and strops. I know eventually I want to get the strops and the 50/80 grit stones. Which you recommend getting first, the strops or stones? Which strops would you get? Leather, Balsa or Kangaroo?

[DARRELL ALLEN]

Currently my set-up includes everything from the pro-pack I plus the 1200/1600 ceramics except for the base and strops. I know eventually I want to get the strops and the 50/80 grit stones. Which you recommend getting first, the strops or stones? Which strops would you get? Leather, Balsa or Kangaroo?

Welcome to the WEPS forum………I have the PP 2 set up, have bought the 50 / 80 stones ( have only had to use them once on an old military Kabar that needed total reprofiling with nicks removed ) so, I would suggest getting some strops first. I personally prefer the feel of the Balsa strops myself, but have both that and the leather ones………..have just added some of the nanocloth strops with the 4 micron CBN spray, which I haven’t had a chance to try yet, and would LOVE to be able to afford a few of the key Naniwa Chosera waterstones, but that’ll have to wait till I win the lottery, LOL. Not sure about the points system for the database, but I am sure somebody else will gladly explain it. 😆

[Mark76]

Welcome to the forums! Enjoy your WEPS!

What to get next really depends on what you want to achieve. The 50/80 stones are very coarse stones. I seldom use them, but they are very good for major reprofiling. The strops are all different. I use normal leather strops with WE paste a lot, this gives you a nice mirror-like finish after the ceramic stones. The roo and nanocloth strops are great, I use them for really fine diamond sprays.

Whatever you get, you can’t go wrong! But first experiment with what you’ve got and then see what you want to do next.

Molecule Polishing: my blog about sharpening with the Wicked Edge

[Matt simmerman]

Welcome to WE.

I have the pro pack 1. 100/200; 400/600; 800/1000 and 5/3.5 strops.

Honestly my next purchase will be an angle cube.

Those choosers stones look pretty awe one but a little rich go my blood currently. Would like too also get some strops to get the mirror edge, maybe the 1200/1600 ceramics. Then again the 50/80 stones would save me a bunch of time reprofiling. Just started reprofiling a martini filet knife and that is taking some time. Having a little trouble with the setup but I am getting there.

Options seem endless lol happy hunting.

Peace

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk – now Free

[Keith Burt]

Welcome to WE!

I also have the pp1 but Christmas came early. I have the full Chosera set, the curved medium/fine stones, the leather 5/3.5, two blank leather sets that I purchased some diamond paste for. I also have a blank set that I tape 1000, 1500, 2000, or 2500 grit sandpaper onto. I used the sandpaper with good results before I got the extra leathers and paste and chosera. My wife bought me the hard case because she said she didn’t want to have to pick up after me (still). The angle cube is a necessity, I would say before you buy more stones. Oh,, and then there is the pp2 upgrade kit really tightens the angles! OOOOh I love my WE!!!!!!! B)
:woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:
Must sharpen knives! Must buy more toys!

[Jack Montrose]

+ 1 what Darrell said, I have the PPII and the 50/80 stones, 5, 3.5, 1 & .5 leather strops. Honestly the 50/80 stones are really handy for reprofile/removing nicks, but you will use the strops when you want to impress your family and friends. I can’t honestly tell you I get sharper with the strops, Clay says he can measure the difference but you will get screaming sharp with diamond and ceramics and if you use your knives like I do thats really what your looking for anyway. Like others have said its all about what you want, reading the newspaper off of the edge is nice, I have fun with it and always do family and friends knives that way (impresses the you know what out of them) but, for my good kitchen knives and edc’s I just go to diamonds and ceramics, they get shaaaaaarp. B) everything there is to know about the weps is in the wiki and forums, just read till your eyes bleed, rest and read some more, glad you got your new toy/tool, enjoy.

Jack

[Dennis Gocong]

I don’t know about the bleeding part, Jack 😉 …..but hey, if it works for ya, then GO for it!

I too finally bit the bullet and purchased the PP2 upgrade kit and the strops (stnd leather and kangaroo). I get great results with the PP1 setup and all my friends are really impressed with the sharpness of their knives, but I’ve always been curious to go to the next level. So I’ve committed to it. Yes, its expensive, but as others will attest, your obsessive self will be made happy. I recommend going for it!

[Jack Montrose]

Yes Daug, I’m a reader, I read for two months here before sharpening my first knife (although that was the first day I got my weps). We all get bitten by the bug the first time a knife gets super sharp. I love it and can’t thank Clay and his team enough for giving me my play time. Can’t imagin getting sharper edges than I am getting but, how do your chosera stones work for you (my money is burning a hole in my pocket he! he!)?

[Dennis Gocong]

Hi, Jack
Great to meet ya on this fine forum. I’ve been away for a spell, and with my wife always in the kitchen cooking up storm and dulling up the knives…..I’m always reminded of my chore to keep her edges sharp. So what better way to keep her happy, and at the same time keep me happy with an upgrade.

The Chosera stones can only be described in one word, “Awesome.” If you want a mirror finish and you want it fast, nothing beats them hands down. So for me it’s money well spent and I highly recommend them. The strops with diamond spray or paste is to achieve ultra sharpness for my high carbon Japanese knives…..and you know what I mean when I say, I obsess over this way too much!

[Jack Montrose]

Thanks Daug, What I really ment to ask is, do the chosera stones make your edges sharper? I get the desire to make the edge shine once in a while (mostly for showing off 😛 ). The chosera stones would have to make a discernable difference in sharpness to justify the expense for me. B)

[Dennis Gocong]

Absolutely they do! Even though I want a mirror finish, I want them sharp as sharp can be….and they are shaaaarp! Then again I have the 2K & 5K stones that I use for when I want the knife’s edge to have a bite when used for cutting meats and other proteins. The 8K & 12K Shapton super stones creates a very sharp razors edge, but in my opinion a little too delicate and won’t last long. So to keep a more durable edge I’ve resorted to going to higher angles (>20°) whenever I sharpen with the higher grit stones. Their versatility and the resultant sharpness of these two stones are worth it in my opinion as long as you know what performance requirements you want out of your knives.

[Jack Montrose]

OK, Daug I’m in.
I will order a full set soon and report in after testing them out. Clay will be soooo happy $$$$$$. But more importantly (to me anyway) I will be too. Thanks again for the information and keep your fingers off the sharp side. :silly: Oh! buy the way, the only reason I haven’t ordered them sooner is the thickness difference, didn’t want to change angle to accommodate after the diamond and ceramic stones.
Jack

[Dennis Gocong]

Jack,
Yep there is the drawback with change angles due to the thickness of the stones, but with an Angle Cube (AC), it’s a quick (few seconds) check and you’re on your way. BTW if you don’t have one already an AC is a must just for these types of checks regardless of which media (diamond plate, ceramic, chosera stones, etc.) you’re using.

Have fun, and as the most interesting man always say…..”stay thirsty my friend!”

[Jack Montrose]

Yes I have an angle cube, in fact I have never done a knife without setting up with it. I agree it is a necessity with the weps, as an old machinest, you just can’t proceed untill the setup is perfect. Boy that brings back old memories, I was an indentured apprentice from 1969 till 1973 then journeyman and prototype machinest untill 1979. Then moved into management untill I retired in 2006 (at 55 yrs. old). Never looked back :cheer:

[Johpe]

Thanks Daug, What I really ment to ask is, do the chosera stones make your edges sharper? I get the desire to make the edge shine once in a while (mostly for showing off 😛 ). The chosera stones would have to make a discernable difference in sharpness to justify the expense for me. B)

As you know from the thread that I posted (Link) I’m a very happy new Chosera owner, and my stand point now is: if you’re considering them – get them! They are that good (but pricey).

They make a great difference in getting a really sharp knife, I do however think that you can probably get equally sharp with ceramics and strops but you will need to put in a lot more work with that setup and your risk rounding the edge since you will have to strop a lot. With the Choseras you get a super refined and perfect V-shaped sharp edge every time and the progression is really quick. I still do recommend custom fitting the stones on the handles so the next grit can soak while you work with the current grit.

To get back on topic; I would say get angle cube, pp2 upgrade and then finer stones and strops before the really coarse stones. I’ve only missed the coarse stones once on all the knives I had time to sharpen.

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