I'm gonna' join this thread in two separate posts...
First, re the Edgepro:
In our shop we have both Wilton and Bader professional class grinders, and My Grandpa-in-law has a 2005 Tormec. With that over $5,000 in tools available to me, I firmly believe the Edgepro is the cat's azz.
DMB if you are looking hard at the edgepro the only stones you really need are the 180/220, the 320 and then skip to the 600. This will cover everything you should need to do. I keep messsing around with the polishing tapes up to a 3000grit to humor myself but reality indicates the 600 is plenty sharp.
I agree with the 600 as the finishing stone on the likes of D2 and S30V. On the coarse end I do not agree that the 220 (the 180 is no longer offered) is adequate. If any reprofiling of the blade is required the 120 is a must. Or, one should order a couple of blank rods and mount DMT XX diamond or Norton coarse stones to them for the reprofiling chores.
Are the stones Diamond, or regular Arkansas?
I have diamond stones with the Lansky, as I think they remove steel faster than the regular ones.
The Edge Pro uses synthetic water stones - silicon carbide in the coarse and aluminum oxide in the others.
Thanks for the info on the Edge Pro. I'm seriously looking at the Australian made sharpening system WMacD mentioned. It is a high class system that is well designed and made.
When I finish a knife, and am ready to sharpen it, I knock the square edge off the blade where the edge bevel starts on a grinder, so I don't have to do all of that work on the Lansky. Just saves time and effort. I start with the coarsest diamond stone in the Lansky to get a good edge bevel profile, then work down through the grits to the finish stone. Keeping that edge bevel flat, on both sides, is so important for a good edge.
I have a Bader grinder I bought 27 years ago, that has a 2 1/2HP motor on it, and all I gotta say is that it is a horse. I have two other grinders that were made up for just doing flat work, and another set up for slack belt sanding, for handles. The platen grinder has an 18" platen that can be rotated from horizontal to vertical and set at all angles in between. It sees lots of use.
Thanks for your input on the Dendritic vs S30V. That good to know.
Phil Wilson did several articles on S30V years ago in Blade Magazine. As a result, I started using it too. I know the edges on S30V blades are excellent, I just hadn't figured out which steel was best for edge holding, it, or Dendritic. David has his picture with one of his knives after cutting 3000 pieces of 1" hemp rope, without having to resharpen it, that impressed me much. David's wife is from Flint, MI, and is a really nice gal to talk to as I always wound up talking to her when I made an order for his blanks.
You're right about David being a pioneer in his line of work. I felt he never got the credit he deserved. David is one very bright guy. And, his father was tug Boat Captain..
The first knife I ground in 1980 was on a Wilton Square Wheel.
Take care,
Don