Edge Pro v. Wicked Edge v. Work Shop Ken Onion Electric Sharpener

One more thing I feel is worth adding - forget about repeat-ability. The jig pushers always tout this as something we should be desiring, and on the surface sure it sounds great to be able to put a knife back on the jig and hit the same angle over and over again - what a time saver, eh? In reality things work out differently.

The first rule in sharpening is to back bevel (thin behind the edge) every time you sharpen. A knife (in cross section) is triangular shaped meaning it's a wedge, when we remove steel from the edge at the same angle over and over again we make the edge thicker and thicker because we are pushing the edge up into the thicker cross section of the triangle (wedge). To counter this negative effect we should back bevel first, where we start grinding at the point where the edge bevel contacts the side of the blade face (a lower angle than we sharpened at last time) and work our way down to the extreme (primary) cutting edge.

Also, you will find that each differing grit stone wears at different rates, on a jigged system you quickly find that each and every stone change will need an adjustment to the stone arm. What does this do for repeat-ability? Throws it right out the window.


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Here's my s30v honed up to 1000 and stropped on 1 micron diamond on hard felt

 

I had an EP and used it for years but after like literally a couple of hours practice with freehand stones the results were way way better and I never used the EP again

 

Precisely.

 

would look good on a display only knife, people do buy some special editions they don't intend to use, its common in pocket knives

 

Meh, that is not very accurate.
A simple 3 Dollar collar will remove any issues regarding different wear.
For the Edge-pro system anyway.
Add an Angle cube and you would be able to repeat just fine.

I still do most of my honing free-hand, but that doesn't mean I cannot appreciate a product designed to help with what many consider a tedious and difficult job .