From KME to Wicked Edge

[Andys87]

My first guided sharpening system was the KME. Some love it, but I didn’t like my results. My finished edges( looking down them, side profile) looked wavy. Uneven scrubbing… It was easier for me to scrub than to do even strokes.

I recently purchased the Wicked Edge. It is a much better built system. I like the way the blade is mounted, so both sides can be worked on/inspected. My first knife came out decent. Just a cheap kitchen knife. I stopped at 1000 grit. I just did my second knife tonight. A cheaper pocket knife. I went up through the 6 micron lapping film. Wow, my first mirror finish! Also, uniform not wavy. I still think it could be sharper though. I have to break in the stones and work on getting a better burr. The hard part for me is picking the right starting grit for a semi sharp blade. And my burr raising technique. I’d appreciate any input. Thanks.

 

[tcmeyer]

Before you start on a dull knife, take a really good look at the edge, looking for obvious damage.  If you can plainly see that the edge is blunt in some areas, you can probably assume that you’ll need to go to a lower grit than normal.  If you choose a grit, but don’t seem to be able to raise a burr within twenty or thirty strokes, it’s a good indicator that you should go to a lower grit.  The same is true if you can see individual dents along the edge.  Dents mean that if you are looking for a pristine edge, you’ll need to remove a lot more steel.

For touch-ups of edges which I’ve already established, I generally start with 800 grit.  For edges which are in good condition, but I can tell that they’re dull by the light reflected from the edge, I’ll go to 600 grit, or even 400.  I don’t use my 200’s unless there’s a lot of steel to be removed.  For edges which I’ve never sharpened, I’ll start with 400 and if the progress I’m making isn’t rapid enough, I’ll go to the 200’s.  I haven’t used my 100’s in two or three years, but as a hobbyist, I don’t do a lot of re-profiling.

I tend to rely heavily on my 400’s as my go-to stones, but this means greater wear rates and more frequent replacement.  It also means I am spending more hours than necessary, so try not to use any of the coarser grit stones too heavily.

I would suggest that at your stage on the learning curve, you should be practicing on “junk” knives to develop and refine your mechanical motions and to “break-in” your stones.  My first set took me about twenty knives, but the most recent set seemed to be very nearly broken-in when I got them.  Probably technical advances at the manufacturer.  How can you tell when they’re finally broken-in?  They’ll feel smoother and sound smoother.  No clicks and bumps.  If they sound scratchy or feel rough, they’re probably not broken-in.  You’ll also see the difference in the scratch patterns, if you have an optical aid like a loupe or a USB microscope, which I highly recommend.  The scratches from a new set will be rough and irregular.  A broken-in set will leave a scratch pattern which looks like a sheet of sandpaper was used.  All the scratches will be uniform, appearing to be the same depth and width.

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