Tattooman

[Tattooman]

Marc.

Thank you again for your counsel and guidance. It is very helpful and appreciated.

Tried another kitchen knife today.  Had success this time.  I had to spend much more time with the 100 grit stone to re-profile the blade and finally created the burr.  Followed the same follow up process from the video you shared.  Time will tell as my wife puts the knife into practice how well the edge holds but it turned out very good compared to those to date.

A few questions.  Using the circular motion with the 100 grit I was able to raise the burr over the entire knife.  Following that, as show in the video, I used the sawing motion and lastly the full traditional stroke. Is there a need to follow up and do that same process with the 200 grit or any higher stones?  I realize likely no with 800 or 1000 but at 2, 4 or 600?  I did not.  Everything I’ve read seemed to have folks going up the the grit sequence with the standard stroke once the burr has been raised with the lower grit.  Was asking for clarity with future knives I will proceed with.

Secondly, It was actually my wife’s observation that I seemed to be putting exceptionally light pressure onto the blade with the stones.  Further suggesting perhaps that was contributing to my challenges.  I was subscribing to the idea of “letting the stones do the work.”  When starting again with the 100 grit I pushed somewhat more and sure enough the results came.   Much lighter as the grits increased and even less so as they were quieted in progressing.  Question is to what degree does pressure with the stones aid in steel removal versus accelerating the breakdown of the diamonds?  I’m guessing I’m too worried about the wear on the stones and that is delaying the breaking in process.  I’m not asking about scrubbing the blades exceedingly aggressively rather if I am trending in the right direction to re-profile some of the knives that have been mis-sharpened AKA abused to date?  Feels like I did the right thing today.  The sharpener deck is fairly dirty as I suspect that is the break in of the 100 grit stones that got such a workout.

Motivated I seemed to get one right.  If all makes sense from your perspective I will continue on.  Thanks again for all the help.

Eric

[Tattooman]

That makes sense.  Thank you Marc.  I think I am on the right track.  I will happily purchase any needed amendments for the system. It has nothing to do with cost or investment in the program. I want to get my feet wet and then wade in further.  Much like other hobbies/crafts….one doesn’t know what they do not know.  This is a new learning curve.  I’m feeling good about the progress.

I’m taking away from the dialogue that my having worked on 25ish knives to date is one large driver in my results and the fact the stones have not been broken in nearly enough yet.  I am assuming at this stage my results are a result of that reality.  As such, I go to work on more of the rough blades, AKA dull as a butter knife, in my basement and re-evaluate results with the system.

Will check back again when I have results to report.  I feel confident it will be with WE results.

Thank you again.

Eric

[Tattooman]

Marc.

This is very helpful.  I had the thought it was the stones not being broken in enough.  I was worried to not push it too much.  Knowing more is doable is very helpful.  Tom in the video starting with the circular movement and then up and down before the standard stroke is insightful.  I was concerned it was too aggressive although I’d seen similar in other videos.  I am back at it tonight.  Anxious to try the new methods.

The upgrade you linked for the system does what exactly?  More alternatives of angle options between the set numbers on the bars?  I didn’t see what was exactly different although I may have missed something.

It this point I am going to work the stones more on the rough knives I have in stock currently.  That and the new techniques should get me progressing down the line further.

I want to thank you for the great info, support and the very fast response.  Great team and community with wicked Edge and all the users.

Much much appreciated.

Eric

[Tattooman]

Hello Marc.

Thank you again for the consult to get me up and going again on the WE system.  Your hints aided me in getting the knife mounted and the different colored marker did aid in seeing the blade with some magnification.  After a few more attempts with knives I do have a few follow up questions.

It seems to me as I’ve worked on the first 4 knives I seem to be between 2 angles on the angle guide.  Perhaps the ink is coming below the bevel but it seems I cannot get the angle to hit the bevel completely no matter what angle I set it at.  When in doubt I chose the angle that brought me up closer to the tip so as to re-profile the bevel.  Not sure if that is proper or if I should have followed a different procedure?  I followed the procedure to find the sweet spot.  The contact with the bevel is consistent over the full length of the blade.  I think the mount was good.  The angle was just slightly in question which I know is highly significant to having success.

Next issue/question is my attempt to raise a burr.  Question is how obvious will the burr be?  From what I’ve read and seen from others they say run a finger nail up the opposite side and one should certainly feel and also hear as the nail runs over the burr.  I cannot tell if the burr is being raised enough.  I can feel some edge but certainly not significant.  I was unsure how aggressively I should be trying to raise the burr.  My gut tells me I never really raised the burr enough but I tried to stay the course.  Once I worked up the scale in grits I was able to get some sharpness.  The best I could describe the sharpness as is “toothy”.  It seems very rough and although it does hold on my finger nail on an angle, it won’t cut paper easily with a sheet of paper pulled across it as the knife is in the vise.   Not sure if there are any hits that may help me.  I watched the video clay did regarding finding the angle.  I think I did it correctly.  Even had another set of eyes look at my set up and review the same information from the site as I did.  We both thought I had it correct but I still think I’m missing a key detail.

Any suggestions or tricks you can suggest would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance!

Eric

[Tattooman]

Thank you Marc.

Yes.  Same initial system I purchased then.  It really has not had much work done with it.  As I said just getting back into the process again.

I appreciate the suggestions especially the ink colors.  I will give it a shot tomorrow and see what results come.  I tried the different angels but perhaps I missed some of the basics.  I will check out the attached video this evening and put it into practice again tomorrow.

Thank you for getting back so quickly.  I will follow up again once I have a chance to try your initial suggestions.

Eric

[Tattooman]

Hello again forum.

I need help from the folks here.  As you can see I have not posted since I first received the system.  Life has been all consuming.  That said, I am finally getting back to trying out the WE system.  I had some problems with mounting the knives in the vise and “Red” from the WE office was very nice to call me and get me straightened out on that front.  Now I am on to trying my hand on some knives.

 

I have been trying to find the angle on a number of knives my wife and in-laws had.  I seem to be doing something very wrong as I cannot seem to find a set up where I have the knife mounted and marked with marker and be able to swipe the edge with the 1000 grit stone and see where the marker is removed?  I move the angle up and down and it doesn’t seem to register any difference.  I thus cannot try to find the sweet spot or work at raising a burr.  It should be noted these are some very dull knives, many years of wear and not in good shape.  I question if the bevel on them has been permanently damaged so as to make finding it’s current angle not possible?  I know some of the knives my wife has have been run through the cheap store bought v shaped sharpener and with that I’m sure any edge has been badly damaged.

I try to look with the naked eye to see the marker removed, have a magnification glass but nothing as advanced as I have seen referenced on the site.  Perhaps it’s my poor eye sight but I simply cannot see the removal of the marker.  I suspect I am missing something very simple but at this stage I am frustrated and have not put an edge on any blade.  It seems I’m making them duller yet.  I tried to even set a new angel on both sides of the blade and then progress up through the stones.  I cannot say I ever really felt a burr created as I’ve seen on some of the videos.  As they said you may progress up through the stones but you probably wont get a sharp edge.  That has proven true for me.

Sorry for the disjointed message.  Just trying to explain parts of the frustration I’m experiencing.  Any advice is appreciated.  I was going to try to reach out to Red again at the office for WE but thought I would check with the folks here first.  Thank you in advance for any help in getting me going in the right direction.  I hope with your direction I can find some wins.

Eric

[Tattooman]

Thanks Organic!

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