MIKE

[MIKE]

Real Japanese steel requires whetstones and the angles aren’t really conducive to the WE. I got Shapton Glass stone set in grits 500-2000-4000-8000. I have sharpened White#2 Blue #2 Hap40 AS and VG-10 all of which diamond stones will only scratch. If you have the money get the WE130 so that you have the latest and greatest.

1 user thanked author for this post.

Bill

[MIKE]

I wouldn’t put the Shuns on the WE. Just get Shapton Glass 1000 and 4000 as well as a strop kit with 1 and .5 micron abrasives and your Shuns will be better than new. I wouldn’t put that CRK anywhere near the WE until your stones are well broken in. You can spend a half day developing your stroke on a slab of steel or else sharpen every beater you have a few times.

[MIKE]

I am new to Japanese knives. After acquiring a set of 5 for a tad less than $1700 I was a little upset that my $1500+ WE system would destroy these blades. I have everything from Blue #2 to HAP40 steels which is 65 on the Rockwell scale. Thank goodness I did my research first. I went out and bought a Shapton Glass set 500-1000-4000-8000 and a stropping set of 1-.5 micron for a few hundred. I never have used stones before but with my WE experience I understood the concepts and after a couple hours of youtube videos I picked it right up. I am glad I made this decision vs going down the rabbit hole of whetstones for my WE. As long as you aren’t reprofiling all one needs is a 1000 and 4000 stone and a good strop setup. If I ever need a chip taken out or feel I need one reprofiled I will send it out for $20.

[MIKE]

<p style=”text-align: left;”>Let this be a lesson to you… buy it cheap buy it twice. Wicked Edge is idiot proof. I am a living example of that. I have $1600 invested in my system. You don’t need all this crap. For day to day sharpening of EDC you can get away with 600grit stones and the lowest tier system. If you have a hundo burning a hole in your pocket buy the next size stone up. I have thousands invested in Japanese cooking knives to Busse Combat knives to your basic Benchmade EDCs. This is why I spent thousands in Wicked Edge and Shapton Glass whetstones in order to respect and maintain the edges as I have received them.</p>

1 user thanked author for this post.

tcmeyer

[MIKE]

Thank you for your thoughts. I guess I will be holding off a month and going straight to the 130. I do have some Gransfors Bruks hatchets but I don’t need to shave with them so I think the 130 should meet all my needs. Thanks for talking me into it. I figured I would go this route. I just needed a little incentive.

1 user thanked author for this post.

Brewbear

[Author]

Posts