Organic

The re-designed (current model) is the one that I have. I have only done 3 pairs but can say that it did a great job. I find that the available angle flexibility is quite good and I would recommend it. Please note that this will not be good for barber shears since those are usually convex ground.

I think you’re all misunderstanding the situation here. Tom does not have a Wicked Edge sharpener. He is using a Lansky.

If you’re having trouble on a specific knife then I would make sure you formed a burr at the lowest grit. If you can’t get a burr then I would guess that the problem is that the knife has a bad heat treatment.

I like the idea of some official apparel. As amusing as that particular design would be I’m not sure that Clay would love the idea of so closely associating the Wicked Edge brand with hand injuries. One of the selling points is to keep your tools sharp so that you avoid unnecessary injury.

Practicing on a knife you don’t care about is always a good plan.

On the few pairs that I have sharpened (a grand total of 3) I have just matched the existing factory angles using the sharpie method. Unfortunately, I did not think to record the angles that they were sharpened at.

Welcome Anthony!

Which model did you get?

Here’s a thread on another forum about re-finishing knives: http://www.chefknivestogoforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=2557

You can re-finish the flats of the blade. A lot of people do this with sand paper or whet stones. I have never done it myself, but the processseems to be very similar to sharpening.

Stropping was the most difficult part of the system for me to make sense of as well. Keep at it and I’m sure you’ll get it sorted out. It seems that every individual has to figure out the right balance between angle adjustments and pressure before they get the stropping results that they’re looking for. The solution for me was to use way more…[Read more]

Stropping is usually a great way to shine up (and improve sharpness) to a well formed edge. I think you’re the first person I’ve encountered who said that stropping was regressing their edge polish. How are you measuring the 2 degrees? If you’re going by the angle readings on the Wicked Edge itself then it is possible that you are dropping the…[Read more]

Length is only one factor to consider. For example, if the blade has a tanto then you’re going to need a lot more time. You’ll want to sharpen the blade in two distinct sections in that case.

If you call Wicked Edge they should be able to answer your question. I don’t have that model so I have no idea, but Wicked Edge has real people answer the phone and they are quite knowledgeable.

I think a logical addition to bring increased refinement to your edges would be either the 3 micron and 1.5 micron lapping films with a glass or aluminium handle set or the 1 micron / 0.5 micron strops set.

I thought the conclusion of the article as it related to edge retention and angle suggests that more acute sharpening angles correspond to better edge retention. Why would you decide after reading that to go and sharpen all of your knives more obtusely than you had been previously? Did I miss something?

I agree with Marc that Japanese chef knives are preferable to European style knives when it comes to cutting performance and edge retention. European knives like Whusthoff are very thick and obtuse by comparison and tend to be made of relatively soft steel by comparison. The flip side of that contrast is that European knives can take a beating and…[Read more]

Here’s an image of a knife sharpened with the 0.6 micron ceramics with no stropping (not my image or work) from another old thread.

Strops or stones?

The 0.6 micron ceramic will leave the edge with a hazy looking mirror based on my experience. It will reflect clearly enough to read text, but it isn’t a brilliantly shiny edge like you get after stropping. I do not believe that there is a true replacement for strops in a sharpening progression.

Here’s an old thread that asks a question along the…[Read more]

You will notice that the sprays tend to be for very fine particles that are often not available in any other form. The emulsions are my preference over the pastes because I find that they are easier to distribute onto the strop surface in a even fashion.

It is a very handsome looking setup. A single well padded handle on the top could work. There are a lot of guitar amplifiers that weight well over 50 pounds that can still get away with a single handle.