New user cleveland ohio area

[Marc H]

Eric, I didn’t realize you’ve already used your stones with 25 knives.  I would expect that would be enough knives to break in your stones well.  Possibly your rough blade results may simply be that you hadn’t apexed the knife edges, evidenced by a noticeable burr,  or you didn’t sharpen the knives long enough, well enough or with the correct technique.

There is a bit of a learning curve using the WEPS.  In addition, the learning curve may differ a little bit from sharpener model to model. That said, once you figure it out so you know where you’re applying your stone work, evidenced by the scratch patterns, then you can control and direct this stone work resulting in a sharp knife edge. You’ll know then that you’re on the right track. From then on your results should continue to improve as you refine your technique with gained experiences.

Marc
(MarcH's Rack-Its)

[Tattooman]

Marc.

Thank you again for your counsel and guidance. It is very helpful and appreciated.

Tried another kitchen knife today.  Had success this time.  I had to spend much more time with the 100 grit stone to re-profile the blade and finally created the burr.  Followed the same follow up process from the video you shared.  Time will tell as my wife puts the knife into practice how well the edge holds but it turned out very good compared to those to date.

A few questions.  Using the circular motion with the 100 grit I was able to raise the burr over the entire knife.  Following that, as show in the video, I used the sawing motion and lastly the full traditional stroke. Is there a need to follow up and do that same process with the 200 grit or any higher stones?  I realize likely no with 800 or 1000 but at 2, 4 or 600?  I did not.  Everything I’ve read seemed to have folks going up the the grit sequence with the standard stroke once the burr has been raised with the lower grit.  Was asking for clarity with future knives I will proceed with.

Secondly, It was actually my wife’s observation that I seemed to be putting exceptionally light pressure onto the blade with the stones.  Further suggesting perhaps that was contributing to my challenges.  I was subscribing to the idea of “letting the stones do the work.”  When starting again with the 100 grit I pushed somewhat more and sure enough the results came.   Much lighter as the grits increased and even less so as they were quieted in progressing.  Question is to what degree does pressure with the stones aid in steel removal versus accelerating the breakdown of the diamonds?  I’m guessing I’m too worried about the wear on the stones and that is delaying the breaking in process.  I’m not asking about scrubbing the blades exceedingly aggressively rather if I am trending in the right direction to re-profile some of the knives that have been mis-sharpened AKA abused to date?  Feels like I did the right thing today.  The sharpener deck is fairly dirty as I suspect that is the break in of the 100 grit stones that got such a workout.

Motivated I seemed to get one right.  If all makes sense from your perspective I will continue on.  Thanks again for all the help.

Eric

[Marc H]

Eric, you are indeed on the right track. I commend your efforts.  It’s clear to me that you’re figuring this out exemplified by the questions you’re asking and your experiences and observations you’re sharing.

The W.E.P.S. are hand tools.  With them we are first grinding away damaged and misshapened knife edge steel starting with the coarser grit diamond stones then eventually polishing up the refreshed surfaces with the finer grit diamond stones.  The amount of force and effort we apply through the stones are commensurate with what we’re trying to do.  Your observation and experience while doing this is really your best teacher for how to do it best.  You are right on it.  There is a balance to be struck between the proper applied stone pressure and excessive wear placed on the diamond abrasives.  It’s a learned thing.  Through practice and experiences we learn and develop a feel for the proper amount of pressure we need to use to get the job done.

In general I use more stone pressure with the coarser grits at the start and lighten up on my stone pressure with subsequent finer grits.  You’ll learn shortly that you don’t always need to begin with the coarsest grit you have.  In your situation, the 100 grit.  Some knives are in better shape or in a less poor state of dullness and the 200, 400 or even 600 grit stones will suffice.  Observations and the lessons of experiences from sharpening while trying different methods, just what you’re doing, is the best way to figure it all out.  As you figure out which methods work best for you and put these all together you will eventually develop your sharpening technique.  Which grits you use, with how much applied pressure and the direction of your stone strokes, when and how you string these all together to achieve the results you like is what you’re learning now.  Some sharpening strokes are directed in a way simply to make their scratch patterns easier to see your progress and help you know if your efforts are done thoroughly.

The sharpening process is for the most part pretty regimented and about consistency.  With time you’ll also learn how to change it up as you adapt it or individualize it to specific sharpening circumstances.  That all comes with observations, experiences and a willingness to try or to experiment with different methods.  Soon you’ll have a handful of good sharp results under your belt.  Then you’ll better be able to judge what works better for you and what has worked less well.  You’ll sort it all out and put it all together to refine what’s ultimately to become your basic sharpening technique.

You’ll decide with time and practice when and where to use circular strokes, scrubbing strokes, or any of the other strokes.  That’s all up to you and what you need to achieve.  The important thing is that you’re aware of the variety of strokes we have at our disposal and you know how and when you can use these. Nothing is really set in stone other than we tend to work from more aggressively to less aggressively using coarser grits first and finishing with finer grits.  With time you may seek more refinement for your cutting edges and maybe a better polished feel and appearance.  There are additional mediums like strops and various lapping films to help with this.

Enjoy the journey!

Marc
(MarcH's Rack-Its)

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