Edge Pro

[maa14]

So I was thinking about getting an edge pro and was wondering what y'all thought about it. I haven't heard anything bad about it at all and it looks pretty much foolproof. I was looking at getting the apex 1 and getting a couple higher grit stones. Also I already have a sharpmaker w/ the UF rods and am getting good results with it. Another thing is I was looking at getting a paramilitary 2 or Gayle Bradley, But I can only get one of the three right now so was wondering what you guys would probably get first if you had this decision.
Thanks

[chuck_roxas45]

As I've heard, no sharpener is foolproof.

An edge pro and a sharpmaker make a good combo. Edge Pro for rebeveling and Sharpmaker for touchups.

If you're good at freehand, you're already a step up in the edge pro learning curve.

I'd get an edge pro before any other knives. Get the cheapest kit and just get some congress tool stones. The congress tool stones work very well. You just need an edge pro 120 stone for reprofiling(heavy metal removal).

You'll either have to use the edge pro tapes or a set of strops and some compound if you want polished bevels.

[maa14]

As I've heard, no sharpener is foolproof.

An edge pro and a sharpmaker make a good combo. Edge Pro for rebeveling and Sharpmaker for touchups.

If you're good at freehand, you're already a step up in the edge pro learning curve.

I'd get an edge pro before any other knives. Get the cheapest kit and just get some congress tool stones. The congress tool stones work very well. You just need an edge pro 120 stone for reprofiling(heavy metal removal).

You'll either have to use the edge pro tapes or a set of strops and some compound if you want polished bevels.

Ok thanks. This is pretty much what I was thinking and I guess a better way to say what I meant (about foolproof) is a shorter learning curve.

[jackknifeh]

Ok thanks. This is pretty much what I was thinking and I guess a better way to say what I meant (about foolproof) is a shorter learning curve.

What Chuck said is correct. I can and have typed short stories on how much I like my Edge Pro and why. I'll keep this short. Primary benifits of an EP. Any edge bevel angles you want. You are not limited to notches at every 3 degrees or anything. You can set the EP to any angle that is already on a knife. A sharpener with "set" angles sometimes requires that you do some or a lot of reprofiling before you can actually sharpen a knife. You can set the EP to the same angle you used the last time you sharpened it thus reducing the amount of steel you remove each time you do a touch up. Actually for touch ups I use Spyderco's ceramic fine and UF bench stones. I love them but am not proficient enough at free hand sharpening to do reprofiling free hand. The Edge Pro is a really nice system. There are others also but I don't know of any that are better. Also, with the Apex you can sharpen scissors. It's not designed to but there is a "trick". I learned about it on this forum. Ok, I'm getting started again. I'd suggest getting the Apex 1 like Chuck said if funds are tight. If you get additional stones later from Congress Tools (great idea) you will still need to get the aluminum blanks. You can order them from EP or get the material and make them yourself. The EP stones are really nice also so if you go ahead and get them you'll then have the blanks you need. Then when it's time to replace stones, get the Congress Tools stones and glue them to the blanks you already have. Congress Tools has different type stones that have different results. I use the EP stones and Congress tools MOLD MASTER and FLEX stones. They cost approx. $4 - $5 instead of $8 for the EP stones. Then I've found the best way to get a mirror finish on the bevels is by using a series of 3 or 4 different grits of diamond past applied to leather strops. There is a seller on ebay that is VERY reasonable for the diamond paste. The EP polish tapes work good but I like the strops better. I also learned about the diamond paste here. In fact I think it was Chuck who came up with that info. There is so much to learn from the guys here that it boggles my mind.

About the Gayle Bradley. Get it. I could talk about it for an hour also but I won't. It's just a great knife IMO. The M4 steel blade is really great IMO but I'm no real expert. M4 is used quite a bit in chopping and cutting competitions. That is about as good a testimony as you can get about a knife steel.

Sorry for the long wind.

Jack

[Slash]

I prefer a convex grind/egde. So, I don't think the edge pro would work for me.

[sir_mike]

I prefer a convex grind/egde. So, I don't think the edge pro would work for me.

So what do you use to sharpen that edge?

[Slash]

So what do you use to sharpen that edge?

a good strop keeps them nice. that's after I put a my edge freehand with a few stones. I try to keep close to the factory angles best I can. only giving them a slight convex not caring to much about the angles. unless the factory edge is real screwed up.

I use dmt 8" fine/extra fine and spyderco 306uf, which usually gets the factory edge where I like it. I don't get to crazy into reprofiling on my more expensive knives. but, the cheap ones that don't have the grind I like, sandpaper is your best friend. I am looking into some various 1x30 or 1x42 belt sanders as I also work with wood. So, that would be handy for knife stuff too.

[sir_mike]

I was afraid you were gonna say "freehand". LOL

I had better try some other sharpening setup.

[jackknifeh]

I ordered the 5" Spyderco fine ceramic stone (303F). It should come today. I have a 5" stone blank for the EP and I'm going to glue the stone to it and then have the Spyderco 5" fine grit ceramic stone mounted on the EP. I'm really looking forward to see what kind of bevel polishing I can do with it. The stone should be here today think, maybe tomorrow.

Jack

[Slash]

I was afraid you were gonna say "freehand". LOL

I had better try some other sharpening setup.

Check out darex work sharp. It's not to expensive and will produce a convex edge.

[maa14]

I'd suggest getting the Apex 1 like Chuck said if funds are tight.

Jack

What if funds aren't that tight but enough so that I cant get the pro? My budget has increased quite a bit so I was looking at the whole edge pro kit that they have at chef knives to go withy he pretty much full set of chosera stones (400, 1k, 3k, 5k, and 10k) plus the 220 and 400 grit EP stones, a 45x magnifier, a 125 Grit diamond plate which can be used for stone flattening, and a felt block. I think I would like this one a lot, and the EP stone can be replaced fairly cheaply with new ones and I feel I would like this better because they are the coarser grit stones so they wear the fastest. Please write some opinions on this I am planning to order an EP on Monday.
Thanks!!

[jackknifeh]

What if funds aren't that tight but enough so that I cant get the pro? My budget has increased quite a bit so I was looking at the whole edge pro kit that they have at chef knives to go withy he pretty much full set of chosera stones (400, 1k, 3k, 5k, and 10k) plus the 220 and 400 grit EP stones, a 45x magnifier, a 125 Grit diamond plate which can be used for stone flattening, and a felt block. I think I would like this one a lot, and the EP stone can be replaced fairly cheaply with new ones and I feel I would like this better because they are the coarser grit stones so they wear the fastest. Please write some opinions on this I am planning to order an EP on Monday.
Thanks!!

If funds aren’t tight I’d suggest from experience to get the Apex #4 with the set of EP stones. I’ve never used the chosera stones so can’t speak from experience about them. I’ve heard good things about them. If I had the extra cash I’d get the chosera set for a first purchase expense. Be assured that THE EP STONES ARE GOOD. But I use other stones which give different results. More on that later. I’d like to see the results from chosera stones. EP 120 and 220 stones for heavy steel removal is a good idea. A magnifier is a good idea. Essential I would say. The diamond plate? Maybe something else. I couldn’t find the diamond one on the site but I’ve been looking at this one (http://www.chefknivestogo.com/pestfl.html) for a while. It’s cheap and silicone carbide may be better than diamonds in the long run. Here’s why I think that. I used a DMT coarse stone to flatten my EP stones for about a year. It flattened the stones fine. I was always getting a mirror polish on my edges but there were tiny random scratches left also. That’s after using the 600 and 1000 grit EP stones. I thought I was rushing through the stones and not removing all the scratches left by the coarser stones. Can’t remember why but I bought a $5 bag of silicone carbide from EP to flatten my stones. I didn’t get the glass base because I had made an ugly 12” square base to use. Anyway, that stuff did a much better job of flattening the stones AND I didn’t get the random scratches any more with the finer stones. I don’t know for sure but it’s possible that diamond particles were breaking off the DMT stone and lodging themselves in my EP stones. If that was happening they were scratching my edge as I sharpened. The SC from EP is a messy way to do things. I put the SC on the glass, add water and flatten the stones. Then I carry my base outside and rinse it off as well as the stones which are covered with the mess. I go outside because I have a septic tank but if you are on a city sewer system just use the sink. So, the SC peacock stone may be another choice to consider. I haven’t gotten one yet but for flattening stones that’s my next product to try. I got one of those felt burr removing blocks for $3.95. I believe with all my heart and part of my liver that I wasted $3.95. I’ve never seen a more useless item. I seldom leave negative reviews but I did on this item. Read it if you want. It’s one of the reviews on the item. Others seem to like it though.

Those are my thoughts on your questions about a first purchase. Here’s some more info you may want to consider later when replacing stones.

I’m sure you will like the EP. After a little practice that thing becomes second nature and you can do just about anything to an edge you want. You can just sharpen your beer buddy’s knife or produce a razor sharp beautiful mirror polish finished edge for the pretty girl at work.

Replacing stones later after you see how you like what you get initially. I have been using stones from Congress Tools for a few months now. These are NOT water stones though so I don’t know the best way to use them with the EP. I won’t use oil. Too messy especially since the stones are upside down on the EP. I have used water and that works. I have the moldmaster 320, 400 and 600 grit stones. The 320 removes steel fast. The lower grit stones should be awesome for heavy steel removal. They are in my future when it’s time to replace coarse stones. They leave a great scratch pattern on the bevel. If you don’t need a mirror polish these are the way to go IMO. If you do want a mirror finish, the pattern the MM stones leave is easily stropped out, especially with coarser grit strop compound. Very nice result. One thing though. The 600 grit stone when using water gets very soft. Stroke normally and you will shave off the surface of the stone. I use the 600 stone like this. Stroke like it was a strop, dragging the blade across it. If I’m polishing the back bevel I use the 600 grit stone because the stone isn’t touching the sharp edge which is at a higher angle. I also have the FLEX 400 and 600 grit stones. These are very nice and leave a much better polished finish than the MM stones. I haven’t used the coarser FLEX stones but these guys may be an economical way to replace a full set of stones for the EP. You do need the stone blanks for the Congress tools stones. I also have bought EP stones without the blank and glued them to the blanks I already have. Just remember that when buying extra stones. I haven’t needed to yet but Lowe’s has aluminum bars at the right measurement to cut my own for a lot less than ordering extra blanks from EP.

Tapes and strops for the final touches. I haven’t been able to get a really great mirror finish with any stones I’ve tried. The tapes that come with the EP work but it took me a while to get the hang of them. They do work well though. I even bought some adhesive 3M polishing sheets to cut into my own polishing tapes. They work well also. After using them a while I just prefer the strops though. I’ve gotten good at free-hand stropping so I can get good results. I think I just haven’t gotten a good technique down using the tapes. When you are learning to do something you have to think about it while doing it. That’s me and the tapes right now. With the strops I can do that with out using my brain. So, I can strop while watching TV. I don’t need to concentrate that much. I think it was Chuck that recommended coarser grit diamond compound to use for stropping. I got some 28 grit, 15 grit and 5 grit compound on eBay. Very inexpensive compared to the DMT diamond paste I’ve been using and does a fantastic job of semi-finishing an edge. The coarser grits remove remaining scratches that the finer grit strop compounds leave. I still use the DMT strops I have. I think for the finer grits DMT may be the better quality product. I like all of the DMT products I’ve used.

Jack

[jackknifeh]

I forgot to add pictures of my EP base that I made. It isn't pretty but it works when sharpening and flattening stones. It is a piece of wood with a 12" mirror glued to it. I'd rather use just glass but the mirror was handy, right there and free. Some people have mention that the EP is less convenient to use than other sharpeners. That's true if you put it away in it's case all the time. I just sit the board anywhere with a container to hold the stones and stuff.



The row along the side is seperate to keep it from getting scratched when flattening stones so the suction cups on the EP will stick.



Jack

[maa14]

If funds aren’t tight I’d suggest from experience to get the Apex #4 with the set of EP stones. I’ve never used the chosera stones so can’t speak from experience about them. I’ve heard good things about them. If I had the extra cash I’d get the chosera set for a first purchase expense. Be assured that THE EP STONES ARE GOOD. But I use other stones which give different results. More on that later. I’d like to see the results from chosera stones. EP 120 and 220 stones for heavy steel removal is a good idea. A magnifier is a good idea. Essential I would say. The diamond plate? Maybe something else. I couldn’t find the diamond one on the site but I’ve been looking at this one (http://www.chefknivestogo.com/pestfl.html) for a while. It’s cheap and silicone carbide may be better than diamonds in the long run. Here’s why I think that. I used a DMT coarse stone to flatten my EP stones for about a year. It flattened the stones fine. I was always getting a mirror polish on my edges but there were tiny random scratches left also. That’s after using the 600 and 1000 grit EP stones. I thought I was rushing through the stones and not removing all the scratches left by the coarser stones. Can’t remember why but I bought a $5 bag of silicone carbide from EP to flatten my stones. I didn’t get the glass base because I had made an ugly 12” square base to use. Anyway, that stuff did a much better job of flattening the stones AND I didn’t get the random scratches any more with the finer stones. I don’t know for sure but it’s possible that diamond particles were breaking off the DMT stone and lodging themselves in my EP stones. If that was happening they were scratching my edge as I sharpened. The SC from EP is a messy way to do things. I put the SC on the glass, add water and flatten the stones. Then I carry my base outside and rinse it off as well as the stones which are covered with the mess. I go outside because I have a septic tank but if you are on a city sewer system just use the sink. So, the SC peacock stone may be another choice to consider. I haven’t gotten one yet but for flattening stones that’s my next product to try. I got one of those felt burr removing blocks for $3.95. I believe with all my heart and part of my liver that I wasted $3.95. I’ve never seen a more useless item. I seldom leave negative reviews but I did on this item. Read it if you want. It’s one of the reviews on the item. Others seem to like it though.

Those are my thoughts on your questions about a first purchase. Here’s some more info you may want to consider later when replacing stones.

I’m sure you will like the EP. After a little practice that thing becomes second nature and you can do just about anything to an edge you want. You can just sharpen your beer buddy’s knife or produce a razor sharp beautiful mirror polish finished edge for the pretty girl at work.

Replacing stones later after you see how you like what you get initially. I have been using stones from Congress Tools for a few months now. These are NOT water stones though so I don’t know the best way to use them with the EP. I won’t use oil. Too messy especially since the stones are upside down on the EP. I have used water and that works. I have the moldmaster 320, 400 and 600 grit stones. The 320 removes steel fast. The lower grit stones should be awesome for heavy steel removal. They are in my future when it’s time to replace coarse stones. They leave a great scratch pattern on the bevel. If you don’t need a mirror polish these are the way to go IMO. If you do want a mirror finish, the pattern the MM stones leave is easily stropped out, especially with coarser grit strop compound. Very nice result. One thing though. The 600 grit stone when using water gets very soft. Stroke normally and you will shave off the surface of the stone. I use the 600 stone like this. Stroke like it was a strop, dragging the blade across it. If I’m polishing the back bevel I use the 600 grit stone because the stone isn’t touching the sharp edge which is at a higher angle. I also have the FLEX 400 and 600 grit stones. These are very nice and leave a much better polished finish than the MM stones. I haven’t used the coarser FLEX stones but these guys may be an economical way to replace a full set of stones for the EP. You do need the stone blanks for the Congress tools stones. I also have bought EP stones without the blank and glued them to the blanks I already have. Just remember that when buying extra stones. I haven’t needed to yet but Lowe’s has aluminum bars at the right measurement to cut my own for a lot less than ordering extra blanks from EP.

Tapes and strops for the final touches. I haven’t been able to get a really great mirror finish with any stones I’ve tried. The tapes that come with the EP work but it took me a while to get the hang of them. They do work well though. I even bought some adhesive 3M polishing sheets to cut into my own polishing tapes. They work well also. After using them a while I just prefer the strops though. I’ve gotten good at free-hand stropping so I can get good results. I think I just haven’t gotten a good technique down using the tapes. When you are learning to do something you have to think about it while doing it. That’s me and the tapes right now. With the strops I can do that with out using my brain. So, I can strop while watching TV. I don’t need to concentrate that much. I think it was Chuck that recommended coarser grit diamond compound to use for stropping. I got some 28 grit, 15 grit and 5 grit compound on eBay. Very inexpensive compared to the DMT diamond paste I’ve been using and does a fantastic job of semi-finishing an edge. The coarser grits remove remaining scratches that the finer grit strop compounds leave. I still use the DMT strops I have. I think for the finer grits DMT may be the better quality product. I like all of the DMT products I’ve used.

Jack

Thanks! I just listed all of that stuff in the one post because it all comes in one kit on CKTG called the "edge pro custom chosera set" I think for $320. I thought this would probably be the best idea to buy this kit and probabaly spend less money in the long run instead of getting the whole kit with EP stones then upgrading to the set of choseras for $200+. And since the chosera kit comes with the 220 and 400 grit EP stones also I can replace those cheaply with the MM or FLEX stones or just new EP stones. Also I kinda think I would agree w/ you on the felt block... Pretty much rather have a strop to move the burr to the edge. Also I have watched a bunch of jdavis882's (I think crimsontideshooter on here) vids on youtube and he RAVES about the chosera stones. So I think I might just go with the chosera kit. I think I will really like the EP a lot.
Thanks!
P.S. The base thing is a good idea and also I don't have a beer buddy....I'm 14

[jackknifeh]

Thanks! I just listed all of that stuff in the one post because it all comes in one kit on CKTG called the "edge pro custom chosera set" I think for $320. I thought this would probably be the best idea to buy this kit and probabaly spend less money in the long run instead of getting the whole kit with EP stones then upgrading to the set of choseras for $200+. And since the chosera kit comes with the 220 and 400 grit EP stones also I can replace those cheaply with the MM or FLEX stones or just new EP stones. Also I kinda think I would agree w/ you on the felt block... Pretty much rather have a strop to move the burr to the edge. Also I have watched a bunch of jdavis882's (I think crimsontideshooter on here) vids on youtube and he RAVES about the chosera stones. So I think I might just go with the chosera kit. I think I will really like the EP a lot.
Thanks!
P.S. The base thing is a good idea and also I don't have a beer buddy....I'm 14

I just read the info on the set you are getting. That does look like a very nice set. Please let us know what you think of the chosera stones. I know I'd like to know. Good luck with your sharpener when you get it. Like any tool it will take a little practice to get the hang of. Maybe a few hours or a few days. Get some "not that important" knives to practice on. If you have any questions you have two places to go that I know of. Ben Dale who invented the EP is very easy to deal with via email or on the phone. Go to his site to get contact information. When I got mine I contacted Ben several times during the first month. Also, you can ask questions here as you know.

No beer buddy? That's good. Maybe a pretty girl at school? If friends want you to sharpen knives for them remember this. An average charge for this service is $1.00 per inch. That's just for a sharp knife. If the customer wants the edge to have a mirror finish also it will take more of your time, wear and tear on your stones, etc. Therefore additional money is deserved by you. Get some of those bucks back from this investment. Oh yeah, I recommend documenting the angles you put on different knives. Like my Gayle Bradley has a back bevel of 12 degrees per side and an edge bevel of 18 degrees per side. This serves two purposes. It's easier and a little faster when it comes time to touch up the edge. Just set the EP to the angle you have written down for the edge bevel and it will hit your edge perfect. Also, if you have two knives, one sharpened to 20 degrees per side and one to 15 degrees per side you can see if there is any difference in how they cut. Depending on what steel the blade is made of and what the knife is used for can determine the angles you choose for a particular knife. A 15 back bevel and a 20 edge bevel is what the Sharpmaker is set to and a perfect standard for an EDC knife.

Jack
Edit: I don't think you are spending enough money so you might want to consider a $3.95 stop collar which is on this site. http://www.chefknivestogo.com/5drstcowhexk.html

You will not need this for quite a while. It is used when stones get worn and you will be using stones that are different thicknesses. A new stone and a stone that is thinner will hit the edge at slightly different angles. This will make that problem easier to deal with.

[maa14]

I just read the info on the set you are getting. That does look like a very nice set. Please let us know what you think of the chosera stones. I know I'd like to know. Good luck with your sharpener when you get it. Like any tool it will take a little practice to get the hang of. Maybe a few hours or a few days. Get some "not that important" knives to practice on. If you have any questions you have two places to go that I know of. Ben Dale who invented the EP is very easy to deal with via email or on the phone. Go to his site to get contact information. When I got mine I contacted Ben several times during the first month. Also, you can ask questions here as you know.

No beer buddy? That's good. Maybe a pretty girl at school? If friends want you to sharpen knives for them remember this. An average charge for this service is $1.00 per inch. That's just for a sharp knife. If the customer wants the edge to have a mirror finish also it will take more of your time, wear and tear on your stones, etc. Therefore additional money is deserved by you. Get some of those bucks back from this investment. Oh yeah, I recommend documenting the angles you put on different knives. Like my Gayle Bradley has a back bevel of 12 degrees per side and an edge bevel of 18 degrees per side. This serves two purposes. It's easier and a little faster when it comes time to touch up the edge. Just set the EP to the angle you have written down for the edge bevel and it will hit your edge perfect. Also, if you have two knives, one sharpened to 20 degrees per side and one to 15 degrees per side you can see if there is any difference in how they cut. Depending on what steel the blade is made of and what the knife is used for can determine the angles you choose for a particular knife. A 15 back bevel and a 20 edge bevel is what the Sharpmaker is set to and a perfect standard for an EDC knife.

Jack
Edit: I don't think you are spending enough money so you might want to consider a $3.95 stop collar which is on this site. http://www.chefknivestogo.com/5drstcowhexk.html

You will not need this for quite a while. It is used when stones get worn and you will be using stones that are different thicknesses. A new stone and a stone that is thinner will hit the edge at slightly different angles. This will make that problem easier to deal with.

Ok thanks a ton for all the info. And I was about 95% sure I was going to turn it into a "neighborhood" style business, once I get used to the sharpener which, I feel won't be long. And I will keep you updated on the choseras. I will probably post a couple of the edges in the "show those edges" thread in the pic. Gallery. I was also actually planning on getting the drill stop collar also O And....I am homeschooled LOL

[maa14]

As I told y'all I would, I ordered the "edge pro apex custom chosera kit" today off of CKTG hopefully it will get here some time this week!!!!

[maa14]

The EP should show up tomorrow according to the FedEx shipping tracker!! I am extremely Excited!

[maa14]

Well, got the EP today and there wasn't much of a learning curve for me at all! The first edge I got off of it was on a orange kershaw skyline, I didnt take much time so, The edge wasn't a perfect polish but was pretty good looking(will post pics tomorrow) but I took it to a leather belt with car polish on it as a strop and then a plain leather belt. It is hair whittling!!!!! I love it! But, after I was done sharpening, I was setting the stones out to dry and the 1k chosera hit the tile floor it broke into about five pieces, there goes 30 bucks...... But I am going to get another one tomorrow. From now on I will be sharpening in my room with carpet on the floor and handling the stones much more carefully anyways, I love it and will be using it for all of my sharpening with the sharpmaker for touch-ups + strops. I think this was a great purchase!

[chuck_roxas45]

Congratulations!