Home Forums Gear Knives and Blades Freehand Stones vs guided knife sharpeners

Wicked edge sharpening system. No equal

I can, and do use both. I have come to prefer the EdgePro over stones for most purposes. I rely on Japanese water stones for all my Scandi edge bushcraft knives, and for my Japanese knives. Sandpaper or compound impregnated leather for my convex knives.
One method just won’t cover all needs.

[quote=Judman]This is getting deep... Microscope a blade edge?... I'll just keep doin what I do, and workin up critters how I do, which is a whole lot more than 99% of members here. I love simple flat ground blades that are made to work, and a havalon in the mix too...😂😂🖕😎👍[/

Judman ,

Morning ..
Things are changing - soon your method won't work - you'll saw and hack at a big elk until the meat is rotten .
You'll yell out into the night ''if only i had looked at my blade under a microscope i'd have known'' .

When I retired I left my microscope for another engineer. I do wish I would have brought it home, it was a option for me. I looked back through my old files and don't see any edge images. Sort of surprises me I don't have edge images.

I wouldn't have spent so much time looking at knife edges if the scope wasn't sitting in my office. A very nice Zeiss stereoscope (both eyes open) I picked up at our surplus equipment.

Would be nice to set one up at a big knife show and let people examine their edges. I suspect you could sell lots of sharpeners that way.

Boise ,

There are some cheap $20 handheld scopes that plug into a computer or phone via USB cord .
Bunch of videos on youtube and pics of sharp/dull blades - google .
I didn't want to bore the board with a video .

Many pics of the rolled over edge and chipped off edge you spoke of .

Use free hand stones (high density Arkansas) for knives but a jig for precise angles on chisels. Strop on paper or leather, and frequently use a steel when butchering/filleting.

Cookie, however, can rapidly undo my efforts. She likes to saw even the most tender of cuts using the full length of a blade on porcelain plates.

Really lucked out just yesterday. A neighbor was cleaning out his dad's garage and offered up a 12-inch surgical grade Arkansas stone for $2.00. I told him is was grossly underpriced, but he said "it was of no value to him." Looked absolutely true and unused, so I probably saved about $80 on that one.

One of my many hobbies is flint knapping and we have obsidian readily available even in my yard. That stuff is sharp. Knick ones self with a flake, and it bleeds for 20 minutes. Cuts are so clean and smooth that clots have a difficult time forming. Up side is they will heal in about 24 hours.

Speaking of, here are a few I picked up at a bit over 10,000’... at a minimum, a couple hundred years old and still sharp as a razor.

Have them all...literally ALL...and I agree..

Hmmm.

There are a variety of similar systems (like the Hapstone). It's more the quality of the stones and the ability of the operator rather than the system.

Heck, Gene Ingram uses a Lansky...

As you adjust your wheels, tension your belts and jiggle your jigs the stone of the old ones sleeps in a drawer, and a small, sly voice in your head tells you that you are not a man.

Fully agree, Brad. Though I would say "understanding of the operator with the system's operation" in lieu of "ability of the operator."

I have both edgepros, a KME, both of the russkies (hapstone and TSPROF), sharpmaker, Tormek, Wicked Edge, Warthog, heck, even Bader and Wilton Square Wheel grinders....and lots more. Plus at least 30 types of stones from SiC to Shapton, Chosera, etc...

I get lots of knives from makers that when checked on the goniometer are way off from what they claim. Major issue is faceting, where they don't compensate for stone wear/thickness between initial and subsequent to finish grits.

THAT is why I like the Wicked Edge. The Gen 3 clamp, indexing, microadjustment, and mostly the both side lapping that controls the burr... BUT, as you say...once a guy "knows" the system he has, and how to adjust for consistent angle, they all work... I should have said "for me, there is no equal."

And to add, one of the reasons I love Gene (I have 37 of his knives, and we've had this conversation)...he doesn't say "I sharpened it to 20* on the Lansky", he says "I sharpened it using the 20* setting on the Lansky." Sharp (pun) guy....he gets it!

This isn't drawing!

Let me start by saying Sharp is Sharp period! The blade is either sharp or it is not. What we are really talking about is edge stability, edge retention, and edge toughness (durability).

This can be argued forever but there are things to take into account. First NOBODY in their right mind would ever argue that a guiding system doesn't gives a superior flat edge. We all know that it will give the flattest most consistent edge. But a flat edge doesn't mean it is the most stable edge. Remember sharp is sharp period, and we are talking about the edge remaining so.

I went full circle. I was given a Buck knife back in the late 70's when I was a kid and one of their honing kits which had a soft arkansas and hard arkansas stone. This was when Buck knives were really hard.....I think made of 440C and mine came without an edge. I spent hours trying to sharpen the thing when I first should have had some el cheapo knives to practice with and develop muscle memory and second I should have had a really coarse Silicone Carbide stone to profile the Buck with before I took it to the Arkansas stones. My new Buck came out lopsided and had a "working edge" ie it was still dull but better than a butter knife.

This soured me on freehand sharpening, Arkansas Stones, and caused me to have a preference for carbon steel because it was soft enough to sharpen with the equipment I had at the time. At some point in young adulthood, I got a Lansky kit and worked up my first decent edges. I used the Lansky kit for many years until the internet and Youtube came along and I saw what guys were able to do freehand. I got some dollar store knives and an India stone and learned....actually finished learning how to do it.....by mimicking them. Then I learned a little about abrasives and what is appropriate for what stages in the process. For instance, Arkansas stones are magic for finishing and maintaining some steels but they are not what you need to profile, or reprofile any halfway modern knife.....like I was trying to do with the Buck when I was a kid.

Anyway, now that I can freehand, I much prefer it. Its simple, fast, portable.....and can be as economical or expensive as you want. I actually have a little fun doing it depending on the mood I'm in. Sometimes I like making edges that can push cut phone book paper and shave an ape for fun but the reality is I could get by quite well in the hunting world with a 20 dollar two sided India stone and a bottle of mineral oil.