B) just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Mark aka Hunter Green, a former On-Air RADIO name, as I was in broadcasting from 77’ to 05" !!! I have been sharpening knives for about 40-years on and off and tomorrow my new Wicked Edge arrives in the mail. I got the Pro-Pak 2, and am excited about this system. Clay dear Sir, congrats on a great invention. I sharpen by hand using Japanese WaterStones for the public and have my own business. However, I’ve found there are several people out there that want the Wicked Edge on their knives, so therefore I have added it to my list of options. I feel it will not only provide more service choices, but will also help me when I need to speed up the amount of knives I sharpen to keep from getting backed up, and this system will still give me the “Mirrored Edges” that my company’s namesake has become famous for. “Mirrored-Edges” says thanks to you Clay for a great hit out of the ballpark.
Mark
Happy to have you here Mark! You have just purchased the great Pro Pack II and you will love it. All the best cranking out super sharp, mirror-polished :ohmy: edges for your customers. They will be very happy with the keen edges they receive.
Best regards
Leo
I think you are absolutely correct to include the WE in your services I too like using Japanese bench stones but certain knives are best done with the WE I think they fall into 2 categories cheap chef knives and expensive folders since an expensive folder is likely to be owned by a knife connoisseur who would be upset if there was not perfect symmetry or any slight scratches above the bevel this is where the WE wins through.
I also think once Clay releases the DMT plates and 3m diamond films for sharpening ceramic knives this will offer the very best tool for sharpening ceramics quickly and effectively .
Another exciting release to come will be a scissor attachment and the SWATS which allow for quick adjustment between stone changes particularly when changing from diamond to ceramics or to Choseras.
Be aware that it is possible to convex a bevel by combining stepped bevels by stropping .
Leo Nav
Hey Leo, so tell me ur opinion, ""Kangaroo or Balsa strops in addition to my already purchased leather 3.5 microns ?
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For my own part I tend to use a razor strop with jewellers rouge on one side and CBN spray 0.25µ on the other side and a piece of balsa wood stuck to a floor tile with the CBN spray on it as well.
Leo Nav
I have a barbers razor strop I use for aligning the edges, before it I normally use my two sided leather coated with substrates of .50 microns of Green Chromium Oxide, then go to the .10 red side of Iron Oxide paste. I also have a smaller size horse leather strop. But I am referring to with my Wicked Edge. If I were going to invest, and could only afford one of the two, which would be the better choice ? Go with the selection of Balsa or the Kangaroo strops ? I’ve also got the leather that comes with the pro package. Thanks so much,
Mark :))
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Hi Mark, welcome to the forum! I think you’ll be very happy with the edges from your WE. And please don’t hesitate to ask if you have any questions. Lots of fun!
Thanks Mark76’. I have a barbers razor strop I use for aligning the edges, before it I normally use my two sided leather coated with substrates of .50 microns of Green Chromium Oxide, then go to the .10 red side of Iron Oxide paste. I also have a smaller size horse leather strop. But I am referring to with my Wicked Edge. If I were going to invest, and could only afford one of the two, which would be the better choice ? Go with the selection of Balsa or the Kangaroo strops ? I’ve also got the leather that comes with the pro package. Thanks so much,
Mark ![]()
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I use the standard strops that came with the pro pack if I was to get other strops I would possible look at the nano cloth strops .
I do not do a lot of stropping just enough to remove a burr . Many others on this forum do and I am certain you will get plenty of advice as to what is the most favoured type of strop.
Leo Nav
Thanks Leo. So much
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For some reason I just can’t seem to get the same edge on a straight razor as I do on kangaroo strops. That’s How I finish all my razors, on kangaroo with .125 cbn and they come out pretty nice
the balsa seems to be for larger micron sprays & pastes… It didn’t work well for me on the sub micron level as I believe the pores in the balsa are larger than a micron and the abrasives get “lost”
Josh
BTW Mark, further to your PM…I am really a LEO as my birthday is the 30th of July. LOL! Golly, how Leo can you get???
Leo the Mod ![]()
Hey Leo mine is July 25th .
Leo Nav
[quote quote=“LeoBarr” post=16486]Hey Leo mine is July 25th .
Leo Nav[/quote]
Wow! That is scary! We are both Leo Leos, magnitude one Leos! :lol:
Leo the elder ![]()
In my very limited experience using the WE PP2 (diamonds to 1K and a Choseras up to 10K), I’ve found the Roo strops excellent. I use a 1µ and .125µ combination of CBN sprays to finish most blades.
I’m going to second Josh. I have both and believe the pours to be to large on the balsa for sub um? The Roo is a clear winner in this case. Also if you are looking for a edge with “tooth” the 14/10 balsa are amazing! Followed with 5um and I can whittle hair.
Ok thanks guys. You’re all awesome for helping. But honestly, I’m Not familiar with any of the slang terminology, such as um or 1U and .125 u. .? Sorry, please advise. Lol. Thanks,
Mark.
Ps. Thanks again, I will go for the Kangaroo strops first, and possibly add the balsa at a later date. Plus give me the secret again to whittle hair ? I’ve done so by hand with my Japanese WaterStones, but tomorrow when my Wicked Edge arrives, I will be lost. Thank you.
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[quote quote=“huntergreenbro” post=16493]Ok thanks guys. You’re all awesome for helping. But honestly, I’m Not familiar with any of the slang terminology, such as um or 1U and .125 u. .? Sorry, please advise. Lol. Thanks,
Mark.
Ps. Thanks again, I will go for the Kangaroo strops first, and possibly add the balsa at a later date. Plus give me the secret again to whittle hair ? I’ve done so by hand with my Japanese WaterStones, but tomorrow when my Wicked Edge arrives, I will be lost. Thank you.
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Hi Mark,
I asked the exact same question when I was new to the WEPS. Um refers to the size of the particle in the compound. Here is Wikiedia answer,
Micrometre
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
“Micron” redirects here. For other uses, see Micron (disambiguation).
“Microscale” redirects here. For other uses, see Microscale (disambiguation).
For the measuring instrument, see Micrometer.
1 micrometre =
SI units
1.0000×10−6 m 1.00000 μm
US customary / Imperial units
3.2808×10−6 ft 39.370×10−6 in
Look up micrometre in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
The micrometre (International spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: µm) or micrometer (American spelling) is an SI derived unit of length equaling 1×10−6 of a metre (SI standard prefix “micro-” = 10−6); that is, one millionth of a metre (or one thousandth of a millimetre, 0.001 mm, or about 0.000039 inch). The symbol µm is sometimes rendered as um if the symbol µ cannot be used, or if the writer is not aware of the distinction.
The micrometre is a common unit of measurement for wavelengths of infrared radiation as well as sizes of cells and bacteria and is also commonly used in plastics manufacturing.[1]
Micrometres are the standard for grading wool (referring to the diameter of wool fibres). Any wool finer than 25 µm can be used for garments, while coarser grades are used for outerwear, rugs and carpets.
The symbol for the SI prefix micro-, µ, is a Greek lowercase mu, μ. In Unicode, it has the codepoint U+00B5, distinct from that of the Greek letter lowercase mu so that machines can recognize it as the SI prefix symbol rather than as a letter. Many fonts use the same glyph for the two characters.