-Kiku-

[-Kiku-]

000Robert wrote:

Yes, the AAG works pretty good but I’m not sure what it’s made of.

In your photo, it looks like a sheet of plexiglass.

 

000Robert wrote:

I bought my PP3 with rolling carry case and aluminum base last year, and if I remember right, I saved about $75 from not buying everything separately.

I considered the savings from buying the Pro-Pack III but decided against it for a couple of reasons:

• I don’t need/want about half of the stuff that comes in Pro-Pack III,
• I can save more $$$ by paying a little more and then take the 15% discount on every individual item (I know a military vet who owes me several favors).  Besides, the 15% savings doesn’t apply towards Pro-Pack III (Wicked Edge policy).

Robert, did you get the Vise Key?  I am wondering what it’s for exactly…

[-Kiku-]

@ MarcH,

You’ve expressed your interest in my rationales behind the choices on my NEED/WANT list.  So here they are:

From the –NEED– list:

• Low Angle Adapter ($75) – All of my Japanese kitchen knives have secondary bevel angles of below 13°, beyond what the basic adapter can allow.
• Generation-3 Jaws for 1/4″ Thick Blades ($82.50) – Some of my blades are 5mm thick, too thick for the standard mount.
• Depth Key ($3) – Some of my blades, such as the cleaver, are quite tall.  So being able to mount them at a lower height will help.
• 800/1000 Grit Diamond Stones Pack ($95) – To help me transition to the lowest grit ceramic stones.  Also a good stopping point for grinding M390.

From the –WANT– list:

• Even with the Generation-3 Powder Metallurgy technology, the typical size of vanadium carbides in Bohler M390 makes it difficult to give these blades a mirror-like finish.  So for M390 knives, something like 600/800 grit stones should be adequate for good sharp performance.  On the other hand, ZDP189 steel can attain mirror-finish much easier than M390 due to finer grain structures.
• I intend to mirror-polish some of my high-end knives.  And doing so would require sub-micron stropping compound.  This is the reason behind 1/0.5 µm strops and the prerequisites for it (4/2 µm strops, Super Fine 1200/1600 Ceramic Stones Pack).  This also means I have no need for higher grit diamond plates that comes with Pro-Pack III.
• My other knives are made of R2 stainless steel and such.  For these, I expect 1200/1600 grit ceramic stones should be more than enough.
• I prefer to strop than to use lapping films.  So I have no need for the 3 µm lapping film + compounds that comes with the Pro-Pack III.
• As for the Hard Carrying Case, my kitchen is really cluttered.  While I can temporarily make room to set up the WE130 sharpener, once I am done, I need to pack and stow them away.  Unless the basic WE130 unit comes with a bag or an encasing shell, I’ll need a proper storage container for the sharpener and all its accessories.

Believe it or not, my configuration comes out to be at least a hundred dollars cheaper than the WE130PR3 option.  It has just about everything that I seemingly could need/want, and nothing that I don’t (higher grit diamond plates and lapping films).

If any of the accessories on my need/want list are what you perceive to be based on misconceptions, please feel free to correct me.  I always welcome criticisms and advice, especially if they end up saving me some $$$.

I was also hoping others could provide me with some valuable feedback with their user experience of Wicked Edge leather strops and Adv. Alignment Guide, but nobody has done that yet.

[-Kiku-]

Thank you for the advice and great suggestion.  I forgot about the USB microscope…

I did a cost analysis to help me sort through what I need/want, and also to give me a reference for comparison to WE130 Pro-Pack III.  Here’s what I found.

WE130 Basic Sharpener + aluminum base ($734) comes with:

• 100/200 Grit Diamond Stones Pack ($80 value)
• 400/600 Grit Diamond Stones Pack ($80 value)

In addition, I –NEED– the following (subtotal $255.50):

• Low Angle Adapter ($75)
• Generation-3 Jaws for 1/4″ Thick Blades ($82.50)
• Depth Key ($3)
• 800/1000 Grit Diamond Stones Pack ($95) – To help me transition to the lowest grit ceramic stones

And I –WANT– the following accessories (subtotal $586):

• Super Fine 1200/1600 Grit Ceramic Stones Pack ($99)
• 4/2 Micron Diamond Emulsion and Leather Strops Pack ($66)
• 1/0.5 Micron Diamond Emulsion and Leather Strops Pack ($66)
• Hard Carrying Case ($355) – Geez…pricey much?

And two items I haven’t figured out yet (subtotal $11.50):

• Advanced Alignment Guide ($9) – Does this thing even work well?  What’s the material?  Plexiglass?  Polycarbonate?  Borosilicate?
• Vise Key ($2.50) – What does this thing do?  A mystery …

Total Cost (w/o AAG, VK):  $734 + $255.50 + $586 = $1575.50

The projected cost of a precision digital angle measure + high-quality USB microscope:  $150 (approx)

Big investment.  I wonder if Wicked Edge offers any seasonal discounts?

 

P.S.  I noticed that Wicked Edge doesn’t have 400/600 grit ceramic stones (the flat ones) included in the basic WE130 system.  Is it too much of a jump to go from 400/600 Grit Diamond Stones to directly Super Fine 1200/1600 Grit Ceramic Stones?  If I can, that’s $95 less I need to spend.

P.P.S.  What kind of leather do these strops use?  Want to know if I can strop on these without using any stropping compounds.  Some type of leather are supposedly naturally high in silicates…

• This reply was modified 3 years, 2 months ago by -Kiku-.
• This reply was modified 3 years, 2 months ago by -Kiku-.

[-Kiku-]

Marc H wrote:

“Based on my experiences with W.E. brand products, W.E. does not delineate “versions” for their various models. There are indeed differences that may been seen by experienced users. Some of these difference may be with internal parts though and not determined without disassembling.” That said I can say there have been subtle changes/upgrades to improve functionality in both the micro-angle adjusters and locking mechanisms and internal cam assembly parts for the WE130 model. I cannot state or remember exactly when, these more recent upgrades I’m thinking of took place. But I can say it was well after 2017 and 2018. Those version dates seem a lifetime ago. There were the clearly recognizable design changes right about 2017-2018.

…If indeed the models they’re offering are V2017/V2018 these will not have the most recent upgraded parts to the micro-angle adjusters and locking mechanism or the internal cam assembly parts.

Thank you for the info, Marc.  That answers most of my questions.

Contrary to what numerous YouTubers and various knife enthusiasts will have one believe, I think knife-sharpening requires considerable investment in time and commitment to be truly good at it.  I believe that’s true of any art in general.  And I’m one of those people who enjoys sharp knives without wanting to invest in the time and energy necessary to be an expert in sharpening knives.

Mostly as a culinary enthusiast, the knives I own vary in price, from $80 Tojiro to custom-made $800 ZDP189 Kiritsuke.  I also own some hobby knives made of Bohler M390.  Because most of the knives in my collection are made of high-end exotic materials, I really want to take the guesswork out of sharpening them (maintaining a constant bevel angle, for instance) if and when I choose to sharpen them myself.  Until now, I’ve been sending out my knives to a professional sharpener to have them serviced on traditional whetstones.  But that comes with the usual inconvenience of shipping them out and a turnaround time of about 3 weeks until I get my knives back.  I want that to change, and that’s why I am currently in the market for a nice sharpening system.

In my opinion, I don’t think owning a sharpening system such as WE130 will automatically enable a person to churn out sharpened knives like a ‘pro’.  I suspect some knowledge and skills are still required, especially when dealing with materials such as M390 and ZDP189.  And it is in this regard that I would like to learn which of the three Pro-Packs would be best suited for me.

[-Kiku-]

Hi, Marc.  Thanks for the response.

I learned about the different versions from the websites of several authorized dealers.  Digging further, I found out that the numbers (i.e. 17 vs 18) refer to the year of the model.  So “WE130PR3-17” was made in 2017, and “WE130PR3-18” in 2018.  As to what those changes were, that’s a complete mystery to me.  The official Wicked Edge website has no mention of recent updates to the upgrades.

Unless somebody here who knows the difference can educate me on the difference between the two models, the only way for me to get more info is to contact the Wicked Edge themselves next week.  But based on what you mentioned, it appears locking/cam mechanisms underwent a change in 2018, and there’s hasn’t been an update since.

[-Kiku-]

I don’t know how to create a new thread (nor do I remember how I created this thread here in the first place) so I am just going to ask this question right here:

Upon reading through detailed descriptions of Wicked Edge products, I think I am leaning strongly towards WE130 ProPack III.  However, this package (correct me if I am wrong but ProPack III comes with the WE130 core set, correct?) costs a whopping $1250.00!!!  So I’m trying to see if there’s going to be any major discount coming up soon.  I think I read somewhere some time ago about an upcoming Black Friday discount event later this year, but I think it will be only for WE130 core set and not the ProPack III itself.

Any idea as to when the discount on WE130, if any, will be offered later this year?

• This reply was modified 4 years, 1 month ago by -Kiku-.

[-Kiku-]

Hi, MarcH.  Thanks for the detailed response.  I understand much better now.  And I’ll be sure to read up on the WE Shoppers and Buyers Guide and find out which of the WEPS package will serve me the best.

If I have any more questions, I’ll ask them here. 🙂

1 user thanked author for this post.

Marc H

[-Kiku-]

Hi, Robert.  I looked at both WE130 vs Generation 3 Pro.  Between the two, there’s a significant difference in their angle range.  Why is that so?

One would think that the higher-end model would offer a greater range of capability, but it doesn’t seem to be the case with Generation 3 Pro at least with regard to its Angle Range.

[-Kiku-]

Ditto.  I am in the same situation as the OP.  Given the issues with the current Generation 3 Pro, one of them being that adjustment screws become loose during use, I am waiting for the release of Generation 4 that has most, if not all, of the flaws from Generation 3 Pro fixed.

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