This thread is a wonderful example of the attention to detail and the professionalism of the owners, employees, and the loyal wicked edge users who make owning a wicked edge knife sharpener a happy community. Cheers for the comments, and pay it forward to the next batch of rookies who flood in to purchase WEPS or accessories in the future and get frustrated when they don't get their toys immediately.
The way I see it is the more hype and popularity the WEPS gets, the better the sharpener will be, the more accessories become available, and more information will be available on the forum, which makes us all a better knife sharpener:)
Got a couple of new Kershaw's yesterday and the factory edge isn't up to my standard so i'm off to smoke a fatty and continue to break in my new ceramic stones:)
Nick

BillWood wrote:


lol, less painful way, just take the hairs off her hairbrush, I usually brush or comb my hair to acquire a hair, it's less painful that way

wcbwx34 wrote:


This is great info.
I use each and every suggestion that's been posted on this thread.
Here is my technique
1.Consistency is key
2.use light even pressure
3.remove burr often (I use a balsa stick which i run along the edge)
4.take your time and pay attention

I managed to use diamond stones 1000 grit, balsa 14&10 paste and leather 5&3.5 paste strops to get a hair whittling edge. I do the same thing as you but I also create a large burr at 1000 grit on both sides, removing burrs with balsa stick and then continue to work both sides at 1000 grit using very, very light pressure. I clean the burr again with the balsa stick gently a couple times. I then switch to my 14&10um balsa strops and after a few strokes I test the edge at several points with a hair, at this point some places are hair whittling. From there I feel the edge by constantly test the edge with a hair and strop with balsa till the entire edge is hair whittling before moving to the leather strops.

I just received micro fine ceramics and nano cloth strops with 1&.25um sprays but have not yet been able to get a hair whittling edge, but I know its because the ceramics are still new and being worked in. It should be possible to get a hair whittling edge on the ceramics in the near future though.

Its a great feeling to get a knife that sharp, have fun dude.
Nick

Worth a try for sure. I don't for see any issues. In my own stropping kit I reserved 14/10 micron paste for balsa, 5/3.5 paste for leather, and 1/0.25 spray on nano cloth. I really like my balsa strops and the edge I'm able to get with them, totally worthwhile.

Great to hear, I also attempted to input a few knives a week or so ago with no result and was wondering if I should just attempt to re-add them, now i know.
thanks Mark.

I have a 30x loop and regret not getting one with a light. I also like having a microscope, i use a Veho 400x but it can be tricky at times and a little frustrating to get pictures but I love the detail I do get to see.

PhilipPasteur wrote:


AWESOME!!!!! you are my idol Phil!!!!!!

WayneAnderson wrote:


I understand, but instead of waiting why not check out the place Ken Schwartz's works, they seem to have quite a bit of stuff in stock, i'm contemplating purchasing the water stones to avoid the wait but then I need to suck up the custom fees:( There are a few places that have the WEPS in stock, you just need to look around

coryschnaufer wrote:


Very well put!!!!

Patience guys, it sucks having to wait but the guys at the wicked edge wont screw you. There are a lot of these stories on the internet and they seem to be popping up more and more.... ever wonder why?? the wicked edge is blowing up and gaining popularity and the reason they are growing is because they don't put out a shitty product. I live in canada and getting the wicked edge and accessories can be tedious at times, so i understand your frustration, and I reassure you they have never screwed me or sent me a shitty product. In another five years there might be WEPS kits in every department store but if we want to have the most current toys right now, there are sacrifices we all have to make.

Anyways, i'm positive one of the wicked edge employees or clay himself will see this post and respond. My .02

My "tricks" for getting and keeping a hair whittling edge is consistency. I cook for a living and the knives i'm referring to are for that purpose. They take a beating during everyday use, but they are cared for and respected as extensions of my hand. I track detailed accounts of my sharpening in terms of mounting settings, angle degree, grit progression, lowest grit ever used, and 400x pictures of the heel, belly, and tip of each knife before and after each sharpening.

When sharpening I test the sharpness of an edge after .4 micron ceramic stones with a hair at several places along the edge to determine if its hair whittling from there I progress to 14um balsa where I stay till the entire edge is hair whittling sharp from heel to tip from left side to ride side. Then I progress to leather, nano cloth strops to .25 micron. I determine when to change grits using a microscope, making sure the scratch patterns are consistent and testing the edge with a hair.

Then on a daily basis with general use I strop my knives on a blank leather strop or blank balsa strop at work depending on the condition of the knife. I have a two sided free hand strop that I've made which has cow leather on one side and balsa wood on the other side (basically a fine and course side). I found a huge change in the quality of an edge i could maintain this way.

This works great for me, the effort I put in maintain my knives is minimum but I get the results I really don't need in a kitchen environment. lets just say a few people have cut themselves by just "looking" at my knives:P I have mirrored bevels, insane edges, and it makes work so much more enjoyable.

PhilipPasteur wrote:


Hey there Phil,
Learning very quickly you are always on the ball. You're right... It was a very vague and generalized comment that i made, allow me to clarify my comment. I was referring to my experience with white carbon (aka aogami 1 (just for you Phil the composition of white carbon steel C 1.25-1.35; W 1.50-2.00; CR 0.30-0.50; Mn 0.20-0.30; P 0.025; S 0.004; Si 0.10-0.20)) I've also found a vague breakdown of ZDP 189 (C 3.00; W 1.50; V 0.10; Cr 20.00; Mo 1.30; Mn?; P?; S?; Si? Not trying to give anyone a chemistry lesson but Phil is right when he said it depends on the type of steel verse the HRC rating. As I am learning you can have the exact same knife from the same brand but the hardness could be 1-3 points different because of the slightly different heat treatments. The main reason I found White steel super chippy was the low amount of chromium that adds toughness to a steel and not having vanadium added at all. Don't get me wrong the persistence of tungsten is what helps white carbon from being so brittle after heat treating but it can only do so much. The other issue with my example is the knife in question is a hand made knife where a blacksmith in some little dark hole with a fire burning is gauging the temperature of the steel by color or experience, which leaves a lot of room for error. The ZDP 189 you offered is a powder super steel that is usually only used in a "lab" production setting where everything is controlled with precision (hence the reason those knives are usually stupid expensive).

In terms of using diamond stones on "hard" steels I still don't support it. I don't see the point of taking a Ferrari for a drive on a snowy day, but hey if you got it and want to its all yours. Like I said I was able to polish and get an edge on the knife using diamond stones, anything is possible with determination and your right it involved a lot of changes in my technique and how i was sharpening. What I meant by "Refined" was an apexed edge free of chips and fractures, uniform at the apex in my case at 400x magnification. I really guess the term refined means something different to everyone, I am working on getting the japanese water stones this year so I can also understand what you mean by "refined." Have you had a chance to see the apexed edge of your zdp 189 under big magnification at various grits? i'd be interested to see pictures.

I hope this helps clear some stuff up Phil, I hope I don't come off as standoffish. Not my intention:(

I experience dirty micro chipping on a white carbon 61-64 HRC using diamond stones, it was all my fault for apexing the edge with diamonds though. I did manage, at the time, to get a edge on that Deba using the diamond stones and finishing with balsa and leather strops, but I had to be very gentle with the diamond stones. I personally don't recommend trying to refine an edge with diamond stones on chippy steel or anything about 62 HRC IMO.

Hey guys,
Just received some new toys for the wicked edge. Bought micro ceramics, nano-cloth strops, 1 and .25 micron diamond sprays to add to my kit from target gallery in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Spoke to Guy on Tuesday and received my goodies on Thursday, I now have two days to touch up my blades with my new toys:) I'm waiting on the water stones to arrive in Canada so I can complete my wicked edge and start purchasing pure white and blue carbon carbon steel 63-67 HRC knives. Anyways, big thanks to the boys at Target Gallery
p.s wicked edge please send a shipment of the japanese water stones to Canada

you should try it on your knee and see if its dependent on the bone. Which can possibly translate into an answer to a question I asked recently "what are the benefits of aluminium or glass strop backings?"

Hey guys,

Question about the possible mounting options for strops. what are the individual benefits of either aluminium or glass to back nano or kangaroo products to the wicked edge handles? Is glass mainly better because of the consistency in flatness?

wickededge wrote:


Not yet, just fine tuning everything before I share my mounting specs, but as soon as I do they'll be share


Thanks, I've been updating my set up hard for a couple weeks now, since that photo i've added a few rare earth magnets and a resting board for the rods. Actually, here is what my set-up looks today.

My goal this year is to acquire the japanese water stones for my collection, I am also reading a lot about the Shapton stones and was wondering if Ken is still producing them? I'm currently purchasing kitchen knives from blacksmiths in japan, i'm really getting into the the pure carbon and some of the new steels such as R2 steel. I purchased my first blue carbon 2 a month ago and have been reluctant to use it because I really don't want to use diamond on them:P I'm just patiently waiting at this point for stones

Thanks for the wonderful information guys

I had the same issue with a japanese white carbon steel deba. It was such a B$%#$, but it was all my fault for using diamond stones on a 64 rockwell knife, I should have used water stones. But who knows white carbon is a super chippy steel.

Hey there wicked edge forum,

I kind of do things backwards, so after spending a few months on this forum i'm finally writing on the welcome mat

I'm joining you guys from Canada, my name is Nicholas, I purchased my WEPS Pro pack 1 and a few accessories last year in June from target gallery's in Edmonton, Alberta. The owner, Guy, was a pleasure to deal with. We had to correspond via e-mail and he was more then helpful. Pretty sure its the only WEPS retailer in Canada now I spent months debating on spending the money on this and i'm so happy I did. Guy made it possible to purchase and have the base shipped for a decent price. He also was able to provide options in terms of ceramics, stropping options, and compounds.

Since purchasing my WEPS I've learned a lot about sharpening and realized that there is so much more information out there to learn. My technique has changed multiple times since that first experience with the WEPS, most recently my techniques have evolved mainly because of information available on this forum. This is one of the best places to learn about knife sharpening and different techniques associated with knife sharpening.

Anyways, cheers to the wicked edge team for putting out a great product out and providing a place where people are free to share their opinions and thoughts about your product and anything else.

Here you can see my current set-up

and the beginning of an OCD sharpening monster in the making, my excel speadsheet attached
[attachment:1]C:\fakepath\WEPS Knife Log.xlsx[/attachment]

if that doesn't work you can check it outHere

Well thats me,

Cheers

Great job, I really like the idea of the slots for the poles with and without stones. My only question is how do you like having the board on the front of the wicked edge verse the back? do you find yourself resting your arms against it when sharpening?

I'm taking my wood board off right now and creating grooves also

R.JeffreyCoates wrote:


It does make sense to me as well. If you think about what would happen if you of put a very acute 30 to 10 degrees inclusive edge on a western steel knife with a RHC of say 55-58, the steel would be too soft and constantly roll over on when used. you can either have a ferrari for a knife that you need to always be careful with or you can have a honda civic for a knife that you can make crazy sharp every once in a while. I can deal with the chippy blades, they do need more care but man, having a razor blade for a month working in a kitchen makes them really special.

cheers