I got a very nice email yesterday from a gentleman in Vermont (Thanks Al, I hope you received my reply)
It made me realize that I hardly ever mention the Edge Pro in my Blog and yet it is critical component of my sharpening setup.
For me it started about four years ago, I had not heard of the Edge Pro but I was deep into knife sharpening and was just starting up my own business. If you are anything like me, before I purchase anything major I do a lot of research, I read reviews, watch YouTube videos, and I do this for months. I love to agonize over the decision and I even emailed Ben Dale, the inventor and owner of Edge Pro Inc. about his system.
Now at that time, the other world class guided system was the Wicked Edge Precision Sharpener, I was considering that as well.
If you are like me four years ago and on the fence about the Edge Pro, I promise you that you will be completely satisfied with it. Having said that, I have absolutely no doubt the same can be said about the Wicked Edge......it looks wicked, I have talked to the inventor Clay Allison and I know it is also a wonderful device. (More on that later)
However, I have not used it, never seen it so I can only talk about the Edge Pro and I feel qualified to do so, I have sharpened at least three thousand knives on it.
Do not worry about the system not working, if you own one and the knives are not getting sharp, and I mean sharper than any knife you have ever seen than it is something you are doing, and I don't mean any offence by that. I went through is during the learning curve, this is proven system, this is not some fly by night gadget, it was invented over 12 years ago now.......it's cool.
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| Birds Beak paring knife, this style of knife screams out for the Edge Pro. |
The GOOD stuff.
Simply put; it does exactly what Ben Dale says it does, it delivers spectacular edges. Once you have learned the ropes and I HIGHLY recommend watching the videos on the website. Edge Pro, you just need to practice and believe me, you will be the king, people are going to be blown away by the knives. Now of course, there will be those guys who will not say anything, and they will whisper to their sweethearts something like "I could do that without that machine", but in secret, he is blown away to. (Ask me how I know all this :) )
It is sturdy, I recommend the Professional version, I have seen the Apex. Now I sharpen professionally so the choice I made after talking to Ben about it was a no brainer but both deliver the same final edge. The Pro version is just sturdier and bigger, it can handle the Scissor Attachment and will take lower angles but if you are just sharpening your own knives and your friends, the Apex is awesome too.
I have used it a lot, that's an understatement and it is still holding up just like the day I bought it, nothing gets rusty or worn or anything, the machine is superb.
So how sharp can you get a knife with the Edge Pro?
.tiff) |
| Wusthof |
Over time, when you have a few knives under your belt, ten maybe, you will be able to produce spectacular knife edges that are truly like razor blades. I once did a paring knife at a ridiculously acute angle of 10 degrees per side. That knife was like a razor.
So yes, you can the knives sharp, the system forces that. This is precision device that will bring the two sides of the knife, the two planes will meet perfectly at the Apex of the blade and it does this over and over and over.
Are the stock stones any good?
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| My EP Stone Collection. |
I'll tell you one thing, I have a paid a lot of money for stones that ended up cracking ( I can still use them) but in my 4 years not one EP Stock stone has cracked. Also, they are not expensive, you can replace them all for $8.00 per stone without the plate and you don't need to buy a new backing plate every time, just use the same one. (This is assuming you will wear your stones out, you may never do that). I have replaced all the stones because they wore out but it is very easy. You just put them in boiling water for a minute and the stone will come off the plate easily. You clean off the stone a little, make sure there is not glue left behind ( I use Glue be gone) and then you glue the new stone back on. I use that 3M 77 adhesive, it is a spray and it is awesome, I think Ben uses it as well.
( I will add some pictures soon of what I use)
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| Machete |
I sharpen by kitchen chef knives now by hand because I enjoy it but the EP will handle it all. ESPECIALLY hunting knives and tactical knives, I just the EP exclusively for those.
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| Spyderco THE BAD
I found myself going into my friends houses and feeling the edges of their knives and judging my friends because they were dull. I cut myself one day with a knife I just finished and I watched in admiration how clean the cut was, it was not a cut actually, it was an incision.
Yeah these are the bad things about the Edge Pro......seriously, there is nothing else to add. If mine was stolen I would buy another one immediately. ( In fact, I am thinking about hiding it, and telling my wife it was stolen so I could relive the thrill of receiving it in the mail again and owning two)...........this is another bad thing about the EP I guess.
Thanks for being here, it really means a lot to me that people visit my Blog, it makes what I do worthwhile.
If you ever want me to talk about specific things regarding the EP just email me, don't worry, I am not going to pester you or anything.
Now what I will do next is to give some tips and lessons learned, things I have discovered about the Edge Pro.
By the way, have you ever wondered how to clean a ceramic hone?
I used Bar Keepers Friend with a cork, mix up a paste and use the cork and it does a fantastic job on rust
Peter
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