David
I had to wait a long time too for my WE to arrive, so when it arrived I took a mental health day to break it in.
I dont carry a firearm but I do prefer the commander over the govt. I edc a benchmade folder of one flavor or another. My commander type is a ED Brown Kobra Carry.
Lucky
I do not own a commander, I have a couple Govt and an Officer. My next purchase might be a commander. I am a 1911 guy bigtime. I even bought the Sig 238, just because it was like a 1911.
I do have another govt coming in from a friend who wants to unload it cheaply. it will be a project gun, as it is a POS to begin with. Another project, after the initial sharpening bug slows, when I receive my WE when I come back from Hunting.
Well, it looks like it’s my turn. I’m from the not so free Southern California. I’m an IT Technician at a High School in Orange County. Just turned 30 this year and wife just gave birth to our first child. A boy. My family didn’t do any camping or outdoors activities when I was growing up, so I was a little deprived.
For as long as I can remember I’ve been fascinated by knives. Pretty much any kind of knives. I think that my parents were a little worried when I was younger about me being into knives. That was until my Grandmother politely let my family know that I’m exactly like my Grandfather. He passed away shortly after I was born, so I didn’t get to know him. From what my Grandmother has told me, my Grandfather had a bit of an addiction to all things sharp. So I guess I’m normal.
Bought my first knife in High School, a horribly cheap overpriced one, and just recently have expanded to Emerson, Kershaw, ZT, Benchmade, and Chris Reeve’s knives.
Spent a lot of time with cheap sharpeners, but never really felt satisfied. Looking to purchase my WEPS very soon. A little bummed about the wait time I’m hearing, but all great things take time.
Nice to meet everyone.
Nice to meet you all!
I think it is required to take a personal day when anything from the WEPS gets delivered :evil: I sure I remember reading it in my contract somewhere…:whistle:
As I mentioned in my first post I was a knifemaker for 5 years, and was even featured in Blade magazine once. 
But then I had a table saw accident (opened up my left thumb and first finger) and after that just didn’t feel like making knives anymore. Of course now, a couple of years later, I wouldn’t mind making a knife or two but I sold my equipment! So someone suggested I get into sharpening and that led me to order a WEPS.
I love guns too and especially 1911’s. My carry gun is a Kimber Compact CDP - love those 4" guns. Knives I have lots what with customs, tons of Case and then Benchmade, Emerson, Strider and all the wife’s Kershaws. Should have lots to practice on when the WEPS gets here!
Don
We have a few things in common, I also like the model 1911, got my first one while I was in the Navy in 1968. Currently I still own three. Wilson CQB compact, Ed Brown Kobra Carry and a Les Baer PII. I have a few benchmade folders and just picked up a Kershaw skyline. I also dabbled in knife making but ran out of interest and gave my forge, anvil, and tools to a good friend, I did keep my Burr King grinder.
Welcome to the forum
Lucky
Lucky,
That was a smart move keeping the Burr King. I got rid of my Bader B3 and really regret it now. I took orders and got way behind before - now I’d just make 'em at my own pace and then sell 'em.
Nice 1911’s you have! I have 7 but nothing as nice as those, although I do have a Spingfield Mil-Spec being turned into a custom. Should be done one of these years.
Hi All,
My name is Chris, I just turned 56 and after ordering the Pro pack on August 8, I received my WEPS on Friday after Thanksgiving – worked out to be a great birthday present for me! I’m a mechanical engineer and amateur knife maker. I took a blade making course from a Master Smith named Rob Hudson almost 10 years ago and I’ve dabbled since then. My avatar photo is a knife I made from a 1†ball bearing with 5211 steel. Finally bought my own forge a year ago, which I’ve not used yet as I’m rebuilding the blower. Recreational shooter as well, I love my Gold Cup .45 as well as sporting clays. EDC’s include a Benchmade McHenry & Williams, a CRKT Lake Design, and for dressy occasions an old Gerber Silver Knight, of which I’ve managed to accumulate several from strategic eBay buys.
Always had knives, always had mixed success with sharpening. Had been looking for something “systematic†with more precision, and my 17 yo son turned me on to the WEPS. He’s got the knife bug as well. After one quick look at the video, I ordered it. Yesterday evening I had my Zen moment with the WEPS. Took a 6†Henkels kitchen slicer which I’ve never been able to sharpen well. Had it for probably 10 years. Put some mellow tunes on in my basement shop. Nuked the factory bevel and edge with 100 grit and went with 19 degrees. Did at least 200 strokes in 50-stroke segments, and very carefully observed the edge using a sharpie. The knife is fairly flexible, so I took extra care on the tip, which had a tendency to bend away from the stone(s) even though I had it in the support. After 200 strokes, I went for the wire edge and very carefully made sure I had it full length before going to finer grit.
Lather, rinse, repeat, with 200, 400, 600, 800, 1000 grits, and then on to the 5 and 3.5 micron strops. Probably did closer to 300 strokes with the strops. Carefully wiped the edge between segments and between grits and re-sharpied. No rush, took my time with everything. I knew I was on to something, as they say, as by about 800 grit, the paper towel I was using to wipe the edge would tend to get sliced, not like cutting paper, but like skinning an apple, if you understand.
So finally after the 3.5, I unclamped the blade and did the thumb test, across my fingerprint. (I’d resisted doing this during the other grits.) Wow….just simply wow. Then I tried shaving my arm. Effortless, like a straight razor. Incredible. Went upstairs and found a very soft tomato. Paper thin slices.
That’s it, I’m good with this, I’m very good with having made this investment. One small thing has latched into place in the world’s gears. I slept well last night!
Chris, welcome to the WEPS. I am 2 weeks into my WEPS journey myself. It is very gratifying doing a good job sharpening a tool so you can do a good job at something else.. I tend to spend alot of time on kitchen items, as I suspect most of my sharpening for others will be kitchen knives, and pocket knives. The hunters and sportsmen will be another. It would be nice to pay off the WEPS in a coffee or lunch here and there from a friend whom I have sharpened knives for, so I can mentally justify buying sets of Chosera’s and Shaptons.
Hi Chris!
First off let me welcome you aboard the good ship Wicked Edge!
I love your description of your first sharpening experience with the WEPS. Very well done my friend. Interesting that you referred to your first try as a Zen moment as that is the way I feel ever since I got the hang of using this rig. Although much of the sharpening is looked after by the fine engineering of the WEPS, there is much to be said about tuning-in with all your senses as you work. This Zen-like tuning-in leads to better and sharper edges IMHO!
Once more Chris, job well done! Put up some shots of your knife if you can swing it!
Very best regards
Leo
51 years old from Central Florida.
I Restore Antique Car interior parts, the woodgraining finish.
Dull tools drive me crazy :lol:
I don’t have much in the way of nice blades just my work knifes SOGs
Just ordered a Macusta Katana to play with.
I Hope to do work for friends also, and just have fun.
I see some 1911 folks here.. cool. Been Looking at the
Kimber Ultra Covert II Not a fan of lasers But like the look, and hear Kimbers are a great Gun.
When I was a Kid in Upstate NY if you could not cut the Bailing Cord on a bail of hay with one swipe
you got an ear full. TAKE CARE OF YOUR TOOLS! :woohoo:
Jdee
Hi Chris!
First off let me welcome you aboard the good ship Wicked Edge!
I love your description of your first sharpening experience with the WEPS. Very well done my friend. Interesting that you referred to your first try as a Zen moment as that is the way I feel ever since I got the hang of using this rig. Although much of the sharpening is looked after by the fine engineering of the WEPS, there is much to be said about tuning-in with all your senses as you work. This Zen-like tuning-in leads to better and sharper edges IMHO!
Once more Chris, job well done! Put up some shots of your knife if you can swing it!
Very best regards
My tip with Kimber 1911’s is put 300 rounds + down the pipe, then start measuring failure issues. It is almost always not enough wear in on the springs.
Laser sights are good for one thing. Defending yourself. Put the red dot on the target and squeeze the trigger. They are great if you use them for what they are good at, but you still need to train iron sights.
Going for mt CCW in a few weeks.
Thanks for the reply :cheer:
I have two kimpers…a Raptor II and and stainless steel ultra carry 2. I love them both, especially the Raptor, which is a tack driver. One piece of advice i can give you is ammo. Be careful of the ammo you use. Crappy ammo will create problems. I have not had any problems with reloads, so long as ful metal jackets are used. Lead nose bullets jam my Raptor. Anyway, IMO you can’t go wrong with a Kimber.
I have 3 Kimbers, let’s have a party!
I shoot moly-coated or jacketed reloads in mine along with carry ammo with no problems.
My 1911`s all run on a diet of reloads, I use a 200 gr lswc. I have had a colt and several Kimbers and they all ran fine. I dont have any of them left now, I am stuck with a Les Baer Premier II, a Ed Brown Kobra Carry and a Wilson Combat CQB compact. I guess I will just suffer along with these! Of these my Ed Brown is my favorite.
Lucky
Hi all, I figured now that I’m officially a WE user I should introduce myself.
I am 28 years old. I grew up in a small logging town of 2000 people in NW Oregon where I really fell in love with the outdoors. I now live in Hillsboro with a population of around 90,000! Talk about culture shock! I work for the city outside in the parks so I cant complaine too much. I am also a volunteer firefighter working towords being a professional Firefighter. I do a lot of cooking and all of these fun things I get to do require you to have sharp knives. My dad always used a small dark grey stone to sharpen his knives with, I was never really able to get that great of results which lead me first to a Smiths nife sharpener. And boy did I ever feel like champ after being able to shave the hair off my arm with my ol’ buck knife! My girlfriend knowing me and my growing obsession for making everything sharp bought me a Gatco sharpener for Christmas last year, and that was all she wrote for me. After that I started looking at ways to better my edges. I first found my way to the Knife Forums website and then to Leo’s post there about the wondrous WEPS. I instantly knew I had to have one, I just had to justify it in a way to my Girlfriend that wouldn’t hurt her feelings too bad. I did that by starting to sharpen knives for folks I work with and I think her seeing how much time I was having to put into each one made it clear to her I needed something more versatile and repeatable to make my customers happy. Now I’m happy to report that I’m a full fledged knife nut! And down the rabbit hole I go!
Hi David!
I am so pleased that my review of the WEPS and the ensuing debate and discussion helped to swing you over to the Wicked Edge. One never knows what kind of effect the words one speaks or writes might have. Mark Twain once said that words are much like bullets, once fired, they cannot be taken back…so be careful with your speech and writing. In this case I am happy I fired off those words on the Knife Forum. Not only did the WEPS turn out to be the best sharpening system I have ever come across, but Clay and his family. co-workers and customers have added richly to my life.
Enjoy your WEPS and welcome to the Wicked Edge family and friends!
Best regards
Leo
Hi my name is Kenny and I am 45 years old.
Sounds like AA 
I have been in Onatrio, Canada for the last 6 years. I am originally from South Africa where many of the citizens carry some form of weapon. I started carrying a S&W 4506 from the age of 18, also had a Glock 40 and a 9mm Para. My brother was always into knives and I showed only a slight interest at the time. Use to have a balisong as my carry knife. Did a short stint in full contact Kung Fu.
I ride mountain bikes and play table tennis and in '83 a friend introduced me to photography, I still enjoy the hobby but have since moved on from film to digital. I have a background in analytcal chemistry so tend to be very methodical by nature.
Since I left South Africa 6 years ago I had to leave all those nice toys behind. About 5 years ago the wife got a Henkel 7" Chef knife. I looked into sharpening systems at the time and was not really happy with what was on the market. Then I came across the Edge Pro which at the time was arounf $150. Having just arrived in the country and with only 1 knife the wife thought it was a bit too much to pay for a knife sharpener. Needless to say I bowed to the will of the boss.
Then last xmas a friend gave me a Benchmade 912SBKD2. The Henckel could do with a sharpening as it is so dull that my wife has cut her finger from the knife slipping. However it would be strange carrying the chef knife on the TTC to have it sharpened at the store we bought it from. Specially since the incident of the decapitation by a deranged bus traveller. So I decided to look again for the edge pro and saw it had jumped very substantially up in price.
I then looked for alternatives to the Edge Pro and saw a youtube video of Clay doing his magic. Started watching his videos and then heard mention that he was sharpening blades for members of a knife forum. That lead to me finding leomitch posting of the WEP and then from there to here. I have contacted Clay via email and got a reply. However as I start this journey and the more I read the more questions I find I have. The most important thing for me is being able to consistently get the same result realitively easy.
My main usage would be to sharpen Japanese kitchen knives I am looking to purchase.
Kenny