Help with tip sharpening. Trying not to blunt the tip

[Jarrod Raley]

hey guys I’m new to this and am about to take the plunge and buy the pro system and several add ons.  I have watched pretty much all the vids I can find and I am now looking elsewhere for info.

I am seeing people using the WE and they are using these strokes that “fly” off the end of the knife at the tip while sharpening.   I thought that this would make the top of your knife blunt and ugly ?         What are the best methods for keeping that tip nice and pointy and very sharp?

 

the other question I have is about clamping the knife. In other systems I have seen and heard knowledgeable people talk about drawing a line from the heel of the blade to the tip and using that to help you get the knife in a position where the bevel will not get wider towards the tip as you sharpen the knife.      The vids I have seen with the WE it seems that almost no attention is given to the clamping position.  They just put the knife into the clamp with the spine parrelel to the table or platform they are using and they go to town.    Please help!  I just want to get it right.  I have high end custom knives that I’m looking to really put some killer edges on and I do not want to use strokes that will blunt the tip or clamp the knife I correctly and have a big wide bevel near the tip.     Thanks for your help!

[Organic]

Welcome to the forum Jarrod!

With all clamped sharpening systems the positioning of the knife in the clamp is a crucial step in the process in order to get good results. You’ll find some information about clamping position towards the end of this thread. It also contains a variety of other useful information for beginners. If you haven’t already, make sure to check out the Wicked Edge knowledge base as well. That’s the official source of answers to FAQ’s from Wicked Edge.

The best way to maintain a perfect, needle like and razor sharp tip on a knife is to go slowly and pay special attention so as to not rotate the stones inward as you come off of the knife. If you keep the stones parallel to the cutting edge the tip will not be rounded. I know that many of the videos you see online show people using a rapid succession of strokes and they can complete a knife in just a few minutes. While the Wicked Edge can be used to rapidly sharpen a knife with great results, the system gives its best results when used deliberately and with a light touch. It is much more difficult to control how much pressure you’re using and how precise your strokes are when you move quickly. Also, it is a lot easier to cut yourself if you’re trying to speed through the process.

I wold strongly suggest that you hold off on sharpening those high dollar custom knives and practice on something that you don’t care too much about.  I’m not saying you’re going to screw up the first knife you sharpen, but why risk it? Reading online discussions and watching videos is a great way to learn and will give you a big leg up out of the gate, but I found that it was no substitute for hands-on experience using the system. I say this as someone who was already a moderately experienced sharpener before I purchased a Wicked Edge and, like you, I read and watched everything I could find before my sharpener arrived.

Keep the questions coming!

5 users thanked author for this post.

wfitz89, Alan, sksharp, Marc H, wickededge

[sksharp]

One thing I concentrate on is to keep my strokes as vertical as possible. If the blade is more than 3 inches or so I’ll use 2 or 3 strokes to make a pass. This has helped me blend the heel of the blade in better and makes it easier to keep the integrity of the tip.

3 users thanked author for this post.

Rufus, wickededge, Alan

[Author]

Posts