Organic

From what I have observed, the 2200 / 3000 fits really well after the 1500 grit diamond stone and before the 1.4 / 0.6 micron ceramics. If you dig back in the forum archive you will find a thread around the time that the 1500 stone was introduced where Clay shared several microscope images of scratch patterns left by the 1500 stone as well as the…[Read more]

Excellent work! That’s the beauty of the Wicked Edge; you don’t have to be an expert to get expert level results.

That same thing (knife opened in pocket resulting in very bad laceration) happened to a friend of mine about 15 years ago. He recovered and was okay, but that taught me early on to only cary with the blade towards the seam of the pocket as Expidia described.

That was a repost from @Alan. It is not my setup.

This is the type of mod Tommie is talking about.

I think you’re misunderstanding what is meant by lowering the gen. 3 pro. The relative positions of the arms and clamp are maintained while the shelving unit underneath the sharpener is removed. This makes it so the sharpener sits lower down on the bench or table making it a better working height for some users. It will have zero effect on the…[Read more]

Do you think this is also dependent on the steel? I would imagine that it would be easier to cause these types of micro chips on the edge trailing strokes if you were sharpening a high hardness steel whereas a softer steel might be more forgiving.

That one has seen better days. I look forward to seeing the transformation.

I also scrub at the beginning of every grit and it doesn’t seem to cause a problem. I finish each grit with several edge leading strokes and light pressure to establish a uniform scratch pattern.

The strops v lapping film question gets posed often. It is a misunderstanding to think that you should choose one or the other. The lapping films are basically single layer thick semi-disposable high grit diamond stones. Use the lapping films if you want a higher degree of edge refinement than you are getting with the stones. The lapping films are…[Read more]

Let us know how it turns out!

I can’t imagine wanting oil stones for your WE. The oily mess is just too much of a hassle and I’m glad to be rid of it.

That looks good with an even bevel width from heel to tip. I have a feeling you’ll be saying that same phrase to yourself often as your stones continue to break in.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and observations. It sounds like you’ve got the skill set well under way and are producing very sharp edges already. The satisfaction that comes from transforming a dull or even semi sharp knife into a truly sharp knife is something that doesn’t ever seem to wear off.

I thought the idea behind using a soapy solution on the stones was to keep the steel dust under control. Breathing in fine particulates on a regular basis can carry serious health risks.

I have tried it a time or two and it does keep the dust from becoming airborne.

The advantage of the BESS test is that it provides some level of quantification rather than just a qualitative measure of sharpness. Quantifying the sharpness is useful for meaningfully comparing sharpening results obtained from differing grit progressions, differing edge angles, convex vs hollow grind vs V-grind, comparing strop progressions, and…[Read more]

I’m located in central MA, so about a 6 hour drive away and probably too far. I think we have a few other forum members in NY state, so perhaps one of them will offer to help. My suggestion is to go to your nearest thrift store and find a few used kitchen knives to practice on. This way, if you destroy one of them while working you will only have…[Read more]

If I remember correctly the ultrasonic cleaner is not recommended because it can break down the adhesive on and cause the stones to come off the paddles. I would email or call Wicked Edge and double check with them before getting the sonicator.

Nice work!

For what it is worth, I do the three finger test often and have yet to cut myself during said test. That either says that it is a safe(ish) test, or my edges aren’t very good. I leave that for you to judge.

Call WE or email them. Their support is very good.