Looks like my grandmothers drawer when I was a kid, lol. No disrespect intended…that’s nostalgia. I’m sure some are WWII era and maybe even Depression Era. If they could only tell stories!
I’ll bet you’ll want to keep at least a couple after you sharpen them. We have an 8-inch kitchen knife that we’ve always had, meaning I don’t even remember when/where it came from. I’ve always used it as the birthday cake knife because that’s all it would cut.
I put it on my WE100 and holy schmoly is it sharp now! I’ve used it for about 4 weeks since, and it is staying really sharp. I’ve even bought a cover for it now for keeping it in the drawer, because now it’s actually a threat to cut fingers.
Yea man! I have never thrown a knife away. After getting my WE PP3 those old knives became invaluable and largely responsible for me learning, that and asking everyone I knew for some of their knives but be careful with that because once you do a couple for them they’ll want the rest done. LOL Some of those knives are in my kitchen now and work very well.
Those knives are in my grandmother’s drawer MarcH! LOL
The light touch is a very good tip Chris. I’m always concerned with pressure and technique now where I really wasn’t as much when I started.
That video with the arcs on the cardboard is really interesting. In the video he places a small range of black tic marks on the stones and sweeps that across the blade edge of the clamped blade in order to judge how close the blade edge comes to conforming to the arc that the stone sweeps.
How wide a range (of the black tic marks on the stones) would be considered negligible angular error? This looks like a fairly easy thing to do once a knife is clamped (i.e. adjust the clamp position of the knife edge to be within some range of the black marks), but how much is too much? Is an inch of range what you’d shoot for? In the video it looks like approximately 1" of range of his black tic marks. But what if you can’t get less than an inch no matter what position the knife is in? Does that just mean you have to live with uneven bevels?
If you really can’t get the blade clamped in a way that is going to work well for the whole blade you always have the option of working the blade in sections and changing the clamp position to fit each accordingly. The downside of this is that it takes longer and requires more work. It is by no means impossibly difficult. I did it with my Lansky (before I had a Wicked Edge) when I wanted to sharpen anything over about 6 inches in length and it was fine. You will have to blend the sections at the end.
The reality is that every tool has its limitations and I think you’ll find that all clamp based sharpening tools will require some level of compromise when it comes to optimal clamping position. When sharpening free-handed, you can make adjustments to the contact angles on the fly so it is easier to accommodate a wide variety of grinds and blade profiles. However, you also give up the precision and reproducible results that the Wicked Edge offers and it takes a fair bit of skill to achieve levels of sharpness even close to what an average person can produce with a Wicked Edge.
Thanks Organic, but I think I’m going to avoid moving the knife and blending sections, as I’m still ramping up on the basic techniques and getting good edges repeatably, and all the other basic stuff. I’ll live with uneven bevels if that’s what results on certain knives (at least until I master the basics). The moving of the knife was one of my greatest aggravations with using the Edge Pro that I used previously.
Edit: Never mind on my question about drawing the arcs. I figured out a way to do it using a beam compass. 7.1" is about the smallest radius to just clear the jaws; increase from there to get larger arcs for larger knives.
I threw together a “sweet spot finder jig” using 1/8" whiteboard, and circles drawn with sharpies on the whiteboard using a beam compass. I cut out slots for the handle and tension lever so it can sit right up next to the knife and clamp when clamped. Still need to add a base so it stands on its own. I should also probably buy a clear thin plastic laminate sheet to cover the sharpie marks longer term (the sharpie doesn’t wipe off easily, but it will wipe off).
The black lines are 1/2" apart (in radius), and the red lines are in between, offset at 1/4".
Nice job!
@graphite have you tested it yet?
No not yet. I’ll have some questions to be sure I’m applying its use correctly (I should probably start a separate thread for that, since this thread has its own separate and very useful purpose).
Do you ask because it doesn’t look like it is going to work? I won’t be offended if you see a flaw in it, and in fact it would save me the time in messing with it and not getting the results I’m expecting.
On the contrary, I ask because I’m hoping it will work. I’m looking forward to seeing your results.
Thanks for your post. Just got my pro pack 3 today. Really looking forward to the journey.
Welcome to the forum Joseph! If you run into any issues or have questions that you can’t find an answer to then we are here to help.
Welcome Joseph, you’ll love it!
First go at my new tool today! This thing is GREAT!!!
The many helpful replies to Clay’s original question are dead on IMO, and I won’t repeat them again. Interestingly to me, I learned two things not mentioned yet:
1- my stable of kitchen knives, even those professionally sharpened, were just incredibly dull by WE standards. Since acquiring and using my PP2, food prep is very much easier, more enjoyable, and significantly faster than I could have imagined. I know that is not really a tip or technique, but it was quite an eye-opening fact for both my wife and I that we hadn’t anticipated.
2- all of the wonderful techniques to achieve a WE edge come with practice, analysis of results, tuning your techniques, and more practice. That said, even the very first knife I sharpened with WE immediately became a far more useful kitchen tool than almost all other of my knives, despite not having any WE experience whatsoever. When adopted and applied, the tips and techniques from this forum and the experts who contribute to it just keep making the experience and results better.
In summary, from day one you will get a very sharp result on a knife, and with the help of this forum, videos, the Knowledge Base, and practice, the results will dramatically improve. Gotta luv it!