NotSharpEnuff

Don’t feel too bad about cutting up your leather strops. Everyone has done it a few times. Like Marc said, strops with cuts in them are still fine to use. They don’t look good, but they still get the job done.

If you determine that the issue is not caused by the blade leaning in the clamp then you may need to pay more attention to how much you are working each side. If you work the right side more than the left side then it will have a wider bevel even if the bevel angles are identical. The bevel widths can be evened out by working on the small side…[Read more]

Clay almost always uses edge trailing strokes in the videos that he produces because edge trailing strokes are generally easier to execute in a safe manner. Both edge trailing and edge leading strokes will get a knife sharp, but edge leading strokes have been shown to yield a cleaner apex. See this thread for details.

10 degrees per side is a very acute angle even in the world of high end kitchen cutlery. Are you sure you are getting a burr? The angle at which the knife is sharpened shouldn’t affect whether or not you can develop a burr.

Welcome Robert!

Welcome Caleb!

Despite what some knife manufacturers may lead you to believe, the angles on most production knives vary quite a bit from one example to another even of the exact same model. The best way to find the angles on your knife is to use a the sharpie method. The two sides of the existing bevel might not even have matching angles.

Welcome Jayson. Make sure to check out the articles in the Wicked Edge Knowledge Base (link at the top right of the forum).

I own the micro-fine ceramics and I like them. I will typically use them after the 1500 diamond instead of reaching for the lapping films. The ceramic stones are not a rapidly consumable item like the lapping films are (although you might be able to wear them down over the course of a lifetime or two of sharpening). They also leave a different…[Read more]

A solution that sometimes works for folders with little to no flat spot is to remove the blade from the handle and then clamp on the pivot area of the blade. Alternatively, you can try the Tormek small knife jig, but that is a compromise and will introduce its own issues.

I don’t count strokes when sharpening. I go by the results that I can see with the aid of a magnifying device (usually a loupe, but I also sometimes use microscopes). Once the bevels are looking like I want at a particular grit I will then do several (again, I don’t count) alternating strokes with decreasing pressure before moving to the next grit.

Make sure you check out the knowledge base (link in the top right of the forum). These are articles compiled by the WE team and many of them are aimed at new users.

What’s the most important thing you’ve learned (about sharpening with the WE?)

What you are experiencing is normal. Small knives at low angles is a difficult combination for the WE. The low angle adapter doesn’t clamp these knives very well either which you have clearly observed as well. Your best bet is to go for a more obtuse angle. Some people have modified their sharpeners to have a riser block between the clamp and the…[Read more]

The silicone should be fine. I’ve seen others report using a gun cleaning rod and a lubricant to free up the movement of stones on the rods. The Tormek is probably your only real option for clamping those Microtech knives.

As long as they are the same grit I don’t think it should matter too much. There will always be some remnant of the larger grit particles in the strop until you replace the leather thought.

That’s a nice modification.

I think airscapes gave you some good advise.  It takes most users about 10-15 or so knives worth of experience before they get results that start to impress. I suggest you check out this thread with advice from experienced sharpeners for new WE users.

Stropping not only polishes the bevels but it also increases sharpness. I can personally attest to the fact that knives which would not whittle hair before stropping were able to do so after stropping.

I think you’ve done a good job highlighting the differences between the pro pack 3 and the gen 3 pro. The wider angle range and the ability to adjust angles completely independently do make the WE130 sharpener in the pro pack 3 more versatile. The gen 3 pro offers the advantage of speed and ease of use. If you ever decide to explore convex…[Read more]

Thirty knives per strip of film is the best lifespan of use I’ve seen anyone report.

Welcome Richard!

Those diamond plates take time to wear in. I was also unimpressed with my first several edges. Now my setup allows me to get hair whittling edges every time. I could never do that before.