Newbie From Texas!
- This topic has 19 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 11/04/2018 at 8:13 pm by
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Welcome!
The WE does great things for kitchen knives old and new alike.
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Welcome to the Wicked Edge Forum and W. E. Community “dmsaez”. I too, have and sharpen predominantly kitchen/chef’s knives. Also, I have a pellet grill and love to smoke meats. Texas brisket at home, woo hoo!!
dmsaez which particular Pro Pack did you purchase. It’ll help us to contour our helpful advice.
I suggest you read through the Forum as much as you can there’s a ton of good info to gleen. There are also many good YouTube videos worthwhile watching. Clay Allison, our WE Creator has produced many of these videos.
Welcome!
Marc
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Thanks MarcH. I’m actually a transplant to TX (originally from NYC). After 20+ years in the Air Force, I decided to make TX my home. I tend to favor the laws and mindset of the South! Lov’in my RecTech RT700 Pellet Grill. Regardless of manufacture, its great focusing on the rub and meat you’re cooking and not keeping the fire stoked at a certain temp (something I have no skill at).
That being said, I purchased the Pro Pack I (without case). Starting to read/view quite a bit of what’s available and planning to start working on some old, cheap knives to gain experience and break in the stones.
Again, thanks for the welcome!
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The WE knowledge base is a great resource as well and contains detailed answers to many of the commonly asked questions.
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Don’t worry too much about all of the little details at first. Most of the things that get discussed on this forum are related to getting that extra 20% of sharpness that’s possible if you work consistently and with attention to detail. Your first few knives won’t be perfect even if you do everything correctly from the beginning because the diamond plates need some use before they preform their best. Pick a knife that you don’t care too much about for your first sharpening victim and practice on it until you’re confident. As you have undoubtedly seen, the members of this forum are happy to help you figure it out if you run into a problem.
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dmsaez, What’s your apprehension? Share some of your concerns with us. Maybe we can help you through it. We have alot of practicle experience here. No one will judge. There is quite a learning curve, to using a Wicked Edge System. I like to say using a WEPS it isn’t simple. But it isn’t too hard either.
Marc
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Thanks for the assistance and concern…the last statement was more of a “WOW” factor when reading about the science, skill, etc. that goes into sharpening materials. So, I am taking everyone’s advice and have picked out a heck of a knife to cut my teeth on (pun intended). A set of 4-knives were given to me by my roomate when my wife and I first got married (they were used and we were young Airman at the time – meaning “broke”). These have been abused and the particular knife I will start with has nicks running along the edge as well as an area of the edge that is bent over a bit (see images). I’m guessing I will begin by using a honing steel to straighten the edge before i begin to rebuild it (see images and try not to cringe).
Almost forgot to add, they are WashingtonForge Yorktowne (Japan). From what I can find online, they are cheap 🙂
I would begin by removing the damaged steel to expose an edge of fresh steel. This can be done using a coarse stone, hand held, used perpendicular to the knife by running it along the edge top and in line with the length of blade. If the damage is severe, I have used a metal file in this method to spare the abuse on my W.E. sharpening stone.
When you remove the damaged steel the edge remaining may be quite thick, so it may require a lot of bevel work to create a new cutting knife edge.
From what I see in your photos, the knife edge doesnt appear all that bad and should sharpen up without too much steel removal.
Marc
(MarcH's Rack-Its)I used that exact Wixey model, for years. I liked it’s easy repeatability and stability. It’s a good device and easy to use. There are more precise units. They are also more expensive. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the precision and results you’ll see using the Wixey. That being said, yes, an angle gauge I believe is an absolute necessity. The angle indicators on the WEPS are just a guideline and not necessarily true. They only reflect angles close to true for a minimum number of knife sizes, shapes and characteristics. To achieve consistent “relative” angle guide rod settings, the digital angle device is the tool of choice.
The forum developer “ChrisB” is working to make the Forum search function more effective and efficient. We discussed it earlier this week.
Marc
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The other necessary tools, IMO, are a lighted magnified device and a safety device. I use a USB Microsope with a laptop computer, but a lighted hand-held micropscope, or lighted jeweler’s loupe will work just fine. It all depends on what you’re able to spend. I also use safety devices like these. I like the safety shields. After cutting off the very tippy tip of a finger, I no longer sharpen without them. I was fortunate. With our Wicked Edge sharpened knives, it could have been much worse.
Marc
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