Hello men,
Some of this will be a repeat from the welcome mat, however, I am 44 years old and I have been a collector of knives since the age of 7 and have been sharpening since the age of 12, I have improved quite a bit from my beginning efforts. My first stone was an Arkansas soft stone and I have been improving how I sharpened from that time. I am sure some of you have seen or read "The Razor Edge book of Sharpening" by John Juranitch. That book set me on fire at the age of 15. It helped me understand the science of sharpening, and helped me on my technique.
I have owned just about every system that there is to own, including the Juranitch "Razor Edge" system which I have been using for years. After building my confidence us I got away from that system and got back to hand sharpening so that I could get a prettier finished product, but was still not satisfied so now I am on the WEPS train going full speed ahead.
I am very satisfied with the edges that I am getting and now trying to see what direction I want to go in customizing (stone, leather, etc.) so I can produce an even better edge.
I am also a huge fan of the 1911 and have owned 12 Kimbers, 4 Colts, and 1 Wilson. Trouble is I always find someone who wants the ones I have worse than I wanted them. I also like Benchmade, as well as Chris Reeve knives, Spyderco, Strider, and my most recent purchase and my current EDC is a Hinderer XM-18 3.5".
As DAUG has already mentioned I have sharpened everything I own, except for one bowling ball that I intend to get to, as well as sharpening for some of the people I have already sharpened for in the past. Let's let the fun really begin.

Jerrie

JerrieBarber wrote:


I got the same inspiration from Mr. Juranitch as you... from a Popular Science article he did (in the 70s I believe). But it took me a long time to act on it.

BTW, even for those that are a Wicked Edge user, I highly recommend this book. It has a lot of info on what makes a knife sharp!

Hi,

My name is Phil. I'm 45, have a wife and 3 young kids and I live in the Portland, OR area. I have loved knives all my life starting from a young age. My first knife was a Barlow folder that I got for cub scouts. I am an Eagle Scout and my boys are in scouting so I enjoy getting outdoors and camping/hiking/fishing. I did not really know anything about high end knives until less than a year ago. I bought a Spyderco Endura Clip-it back in 1995 and I thought that was really an expensive knife. I decided to replace it a few months back and thanks to the internet I became exposed to the addiction of knife collection. I now own several higher end folders. A 3" XM-18 flipper, a Les George VECP 1.0, Benchmade 806, Benchmade 615, 2 CRK Mnandis and a CRK Large Sebenza. I also have some nice fixed blades now, an Esee Junglas, a SOG Navy Seal. I wish to be able to keep all of these knives razor sharp on my own. I tried other sharpening systems and was unsuccessful. I am VERY thankful for the WEPS.

PhillipHyun wrote:


Welcome!

When you say you got in to better knives you weren't kidding. That's some seriously high end stuff you got there. Nice!

Ken

KenBuzbee wrote:


Thanks Ken! Yeah, I went a little overboard at first! This is actually what remains after I got rid of some knives that I felt I would probably never carry. What remains is a nice variety that I put into rotation for EDC and enjoy for a few days before rotating to another. I really appreciate each one.

Hello All -

I have been an on and off again knife collector since I was 10. Unfortunately I was that age when my father passed away and did not have someone to help fuel my passion. Biggest reason I would fall in and out of the knife world was I could never get a knife as sharp as I thought it could.

Fast forward to a month ago...

I am an avid salmon fisherman and take great pride in the appearance of the fish once it is cleaned. The best way to accomplish a nice fillet is practice and a sharp knife. When possible a friend would let me use his electric sharpener. The sharpener did a nice job but I knew there had to be more. After a few searches I came across the WES site and knew i had found a home.

In my adult life I have fallen down several rabbit holes. The latest being knife edge perfection, in my case I am defining perfection as the correct edge for the job it is intended to perform. Prior to the most recent rabbit hole started to master great lakes salmon fishing, pointer dog training/upland hunting, deer hunting, fly fishing, fly tying, fishing rod building, tequila, cigars, and triathlons.

I am looking forward to the new skills I will learn from my experience with the WES and the members of this community.

Let the fun begin!