New Wicked Edge

[Dean C.]

Finally pulled the trigger on a Wicked Edge a few weeks ago. I have been playing with it constantly getting my technique down as perfect as I can make it and tonight I have finally succeeded in making one of my knives wicked sharp. Previously we had used a lansky at the house, it got the knives back to a working edge but I was never really happy with it.

I started looking into my options getting a feel as to what products were out there. The Edge Pro Apex was the first sharpener to catch my eye but the technique you need to use to get great results was very very labor intensive and you need to "level" out the whetstones periodically and just seemed to me to be a massive pain in the ass.

Next on the list was the spyderco sharpmaker. There was a sharpmaker sitting at my LGS so I went over there to try it out and it just didnt seem like it was precise enough for me especially with my more expensive knives I want the edges on them to be perfect.

Then finally the Wicked Edge came along on my list. It is east to use especially with its clamp system and dual stones for ease of sharpening. The angle adjustments especially with the Pro-Pack II kit it just phenominal the bevels are perfect with each other for the best edge and cutting performance. After less than a month of playing around with the Wicked Edge I can now get a nice mirror polish on my edges and they are razor sharp and can whittle hair at this point.

The only downside to the Wicked Edge is the price point as the Pro-Pack II (the set up you want) runs $750 MSRP. The price kept me from buying it for a long time, but now that I finally can really sharpen my own knives I cant believe I went this long without one. Its gotten to the point where putting a knife in the clamp and making it stupid sharp is almost theraputic for me. That and showing off your crazy sharp pocket knife to your buddies is also fun. But enough talk on to the Pictures.

Gotta have band-aids at the ready.

My stones from 100 grit all the way to a 10 micron balsa wood strop.

That edge is just insane I tried to capture a good picture of the mirror but it is quite difficult to do with a cell phone camera. Also note the Strider porn.

In short if you have considered buying a Wicked Edge do it you will not regret it at all.

 

[Limpy88]

I have a wicked edge for a while now, and love it.
What I found is the 50/80 are needed when fixing edges or working on others knives. I did farmers markets with mine and it speed up the process of fixing a messed up knife to get to the next customer.


And there is nothing quite like the statifaction of whittling hair right after the strop.

 

[Gabriel]

Mine just came in the mail today, but I haven't gotten it out of the box yet. I bought the 50/80 and 200/400 for curved blades also.

 

[tradertator]

It's definitely been something high on my "want list" for a while. Thanks for the writeup.

 

[downlinx]

I have been using it for awhile and love it, i am just glad a buddy purchased one and lets me use it.

 

[Bradsknives]

Dean, nice review!

I have been thinking about purchasing one of these, but now that Dean has one, I think I'll hold off for now......buddy, old pal!!!

 

[perminator]

ive been using a pro pack II for a couple of years now and couldnt imagine going back to the old lansky system i had before. not only are my knives sharper but the edges last alot longer between touch ups.

 

[rhino]

Throwing this out there . . .

Unless you're doing woodworking or something else that is all pushcutting, consider not polishing the edge so much or purposely adding a little roughness back after you do it. Compare how well your knife (especially if it's stainless) slices through fibrous material like rope and cord, leather, etc. compared to the same knife with a super polished edge.

Or don't.

 

[Gabriel]

Throwing this out there . . .

Unless you're doing woodworking or something else that is all pushcutting, consider not polishing the edge so much or purposely adding a little roughness back after you do it. Compare how well your knife (especially if it's stainless) slices through fibrous material like rope and cord, leather, etc. compared to the same knife with a super polished edge.

Or don't.

That is why I didn't bother with the higher grits. Although someday I may change my mind when sharpening knives, possibly, for the kitchen (in case I get attacked in there and need to fight my way out, because I don't cook).

 

[Dean C.]

Throwing this out there . . .

Unless you're doing woodworking or something else that is all pushcutting, consider not polishing the edge so much or purposely adding a little roughness back after you do it. Compare how well your knife (especially if it's stainless) slices through fibrous material like rope and cord, leather, etc. compared to the same knife with a super polished edge.

Or don't.

I put a microbevel on it so it has some "teeth" on the edge I used a 1000 grit diamond to establish the micro bevel. Its kind of a sneaky trick I guess. That being said I do the super polished edges because I like the way they look honestly.

 

[rhino]

That is why I didn't bother with the higher grits. Although someday I may change my mind when sharpening knives, possibly, for the kitchen (in case I get attacked in there and need to fight my way out, because I don't cook).

I used to do a mirror polish. It's fun shaving your face dry with a swiss army knife!

Then I read some stuff Steve Dick wrote when he was testing some high end custom knives whose makers always put mirror polished edges on them. They were awesome knives, but they would just slide over rope when he tried to slice it. Then he'd do a few passes on a fine grit India stone and voila! They cut like demons.

I put a microbevel on it so it has some "teeth" on the edge I used a 1000 grit diamond to establish the micro bevel. Its kind of a sneaky trick I guess. That being said I do the super polished edges because I like the way they look honestly.

They do look cool! And it's great for popping arm hair to impress your buddies. You understand what you're doing, so good on you!

I've actually purchased three (maybe four) knives from people who told me the same person sharpened them with a Wicked Edge. One warned me about how I needed to be careful because I'd never handled anything so sharp, if I tried to shave arm hair it would take the skin, etc. In each case, the bevels were like mirrors ... beautiful! For two of the three, they would not cut 550 cord. I don't mean they had trouble, I mean that I applied a lot of pressure and pulled the knife past it and they slid across the cord. I'm sure they would have sheared it okay if I'd put it on a flat surface and chopped it, but that's not how I usually cut stuff. Upon inspection, the bevels didn't really meet at a sharp edge, it was essentially a flat where the cutting edge should have been. I redid the bevels and now they slice just fine and of course shave arm hair easily.


The third was better. It took significant pressure, but it did tear through 550 cord. It id shave arm hair well when I got it, but I don't need to do much of that. I roughened the edge a bit and it's a much better tool now.

I think the Wicked Edge is a great tool, especially for maintaining the proper angle of the abrasive relative to the blade. The problem for my uses is when the aesthetics of the mirror polish replace utility. Granted that's a problem with any method of sharpening, but for some reason it seems really common with Wicked Edge users. Maybe that's because they work so well that it's easier to polish the bevels.

I've said too much. I know some people don't agree with me on this and I do acknowledge that for some types of tools and applications, highly polished edges are the way to go (like woodworking tools). I just have an emotional reaction when a cutting tool has difficulty going through a piece of cord just because it was polished too much.

 

[grunt soldier]

I have been looking to pick one up for some time when I see them sell used but I mostly run convex edges now and I just don't think the ken onion work sharp can be beat, especially with the blade grinding attachment. It takes about 2 minutes to have your blades on amazing and about 1/2 the price or less of the wicked edge.

Not trying to down play the wicked edge as it's definitely more precise and has a lot more options. I'll probably own one sooner or later lol but for now I'm good with the work sharp ko edition.

 

[Tactically Fat]

I dream of owning one of these one days... But I really can't even come close to justifying the price.

 

[chezuki]

I'm getting great results with my Edge Pro Apex knockoff. (Don't judge me, I bought it to try out the concept and help decide between the real EP or Wicked Edge.)

I like the knockoff so much I am ordering the real thing and a set of Chosera stones. I can put a crazy low angle on my kitchen knives with this thing. My slicer practically falls through a tomato under just its own weight.

 

[phylodog]

I love mine, I've repaired some pretty badly abused blades with it and honed a few well into the scary sharp category.

I designed a tray to hold everything and had a friend of mine make it for me, works great and keeps everything in one place and easy to move around.

 

[phylodog]

I highly recommend buying an angle cube to help ensure that you get the angles where you want them.

http://www.amazon.com/iGaging-Magnetic-Angle-Cube/dp/B0035MIQ6U

 

[Gabriel]

I love mine, I've repaired some pretty badly abused blades with it and honed a few well into the scary sharp category.

I designed a tray to hold everything and had a friend of mine make it for me, works great and keeps everything in one place and easy to move around.

Wow, that is nice.

 

[KokomoDave]

W E has a special dealio to do recurved blades now?

I've got one new in the box I bought off of Jake Forbush but have yet to break the seal on it. I guess I should try it!

 

[rhino]

W E has a special dealio to do recurved blades now?

I've got one new in the box I bought off of Jake Forbush but have yet to break the seal on it. I guess I should try it!

That would be very useful given how common recurves are now.

 

[Limpy88]

They do look cool! And it's great for popping arm hair to impress your buddies. You understand what you're doing, so good on you!

I've actually purchased three (maybe four) knives from people who told me the same person sharpened them with a Wicked Edge. One warned me about how I needed to be careful because I'd never handled anything so sharp, if I tried to shave arm hair it would take the skin, etc. In each case, the bevels were like mirrors ... beautiful! For two of the three, they would not cut 550 cord. I don't mean they had trouble, I mean that I applied a lot of pressure and pulled the knife past it and they slid across the cord. I'm sure they would have sheared it okay if I'd put it on a flat surface and chopped it, but that's not how I usually cut stuff. Upon inspection, the bevels didn't really meet at a sharp edge, it was essentially a flat where the cutting edge should have been. I redid the bevels and now they slice just fine and of course shave arm hair easily.


The third was better. It took significant pressure, but it did tear through 550 cord. It id shave arm hair well when I got it, but I don't need to do much of that. I roughened the edge a bit and it's a much better tool now.

I think the Wicked Edge is a great tool, especially for maintaining the proper angle of the abrasive relative to the blade. The problem for my uses is when the aesthetics of the mirror polish replace utility. Granted that's a problem with any method of sharpening, but for some reason it seems really common with Wicked Edge users. Maybe that's because they work so well that it's easier to polish the bevels.

I've said too much. I know some people don't agree with me on this and I do acknowledge that for some types of tools and applications, highly polished edges are the way to go (like woodworking tools). I just have an emotional reaction when a cutting tool has difficulty going through a piece of cord just because it was polished too much.

I admit I have done this with the wicked edge. I worked the edge so much that the bur created by the strops was very delicate and would break off and leave a dull edge. now I dont do the complete sractch removal and still get a shiney edge but not the mirror it was before.

Did nearly 75 strokes per side with each stone. With 10 different stones. What an mirror it was. Now I barley do 10 light strokes with each and the edge is shiney but not mirror and the edge last for ever.