Chazz

[Chazz]

I just discovered a bit of irony, here. I just got back from urgent care for treatment of what I thought was a boil. Turns out I was actually bitten by a bug. Can’t escape the macabre humor in the title of this message thread: “bitten by the bug!” LOL! Ouch!

[Chazz]

Well, I went and did it! Bought a WE130 and some accessories. Picked up a set of junk knives from Walmart to break in my stones with, and to practice on. Just finished my first sharpening attempt. Did pretty well, I think, for a newbie. I tested the edge on the Sharp edge tester and got a 335 result, before sharpening. Pretty good, I think, for a $2 knife. After I ran it through the stone progression I got a 285, which I am pretty happy with. By the end of the progression I was getting confident enough to use the stones without the safety shields that I started out with. Happily, I didn’t harm myself.

One mistake that I am disappointed with is my stropping. I forgot to move the angle inward (more acute), when I stropped the blade. I knew that I had to do this, but just forgot. I presume that I would have gotten an even finer edge if I had done this properly.

One question I have is about the burr. I had no problem finding the angle and drawing burrs on the initial stone. However, I didn’t attempt to find burrs on subsequent progressions. Should I have raised burrs on each stage in the progression and would that have led to a finer edge?

[Chazz]

Thanks for all the input and advice! I decided, and have ordered, a Spyderco Sharpmaker with a couple of accessory rods. I, finally, came to the conclusion that the Spyderco, along with my Chef’s Choice machine, should make a pretty good combo that meets my current needs, at a fraction of the cost of the WE. I didn’t rule out a WE, or another system, at some time in the future.

1 user thanked author for this post.

Marc H

[Chazz]

Marc H wrote:

Welcome Chazz, I’m west of you on the gulf side of Tampa Bay. Sitting here sharpening a friends fish fileting knife on my WE130. I suggest the Pro Pack III. It’s the WE130 with everything you’ll need to get started and do top notch jobs. There’s more then that which is included, you may want later, but that’s a great introductory setup. I’ll private message you.

Thanks for the suggestion, and the PM you sent me. As far as the Pro Pack III goes, I don’t want to spend that much, at this point. If I do get into this big time, I might add to my initial setup. That, and the fact that my wife would kill me, constrains my initial investment. Also, the Pro Pak doesn’t come with the scissors attachment, which I would like.

 

Stay safe!

1 user thanked author for this post.

Marc H

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