Wicked Edge - Finding Your Angle

[@randynordquist6139]

Clay I’m unable to match the the sharpening angle on each edge. The the guide doesn’t even come close to the measured angle

[@nordmende73]

Thanks.

[@notruss1]

I just bought one of these and it seems there is some confusion on the instructions on how to use it. You say in the video you already know the edge angle, so obviously this video for demo purposes. You say all the marker is being taken off at 2:15-2:17, but I'm still seeing marker on the shoulder there. Why are you sharpening both sides at 3:57 before you draw a burr? You sharpen both sides before you have a burr? From my understanding about basic knife sharpening it's 1) Determine angle, then draw burr. 2) Push burr over from other side. 3) Wash and repeat as you go up in grit levels. 4) Hone on strop if desired. How do you know when to progress to the next finer level stone on this system?

[@WickedEdgePrecisionSharpeners]

Great questions! I think that was mostly some residue on the shoulder from sharpening at 2:15-2:17 and maybe a little marker that spilled over onto the flat of the blade. I remember when I made that video that I was confident in the match-up at that point. My preferred technique is to: 1) find the angle with the marker on both sides 2) color the bevel again and do alternating strokes until the marker is gone - the reason is to not do too much sharpening on one side by going for a burr too early. What ends up happening when you do it that way is that you remove a lot of material on the first side trying to get the burr, then not nearly as much on the other side because it's easier to get the burr after you've brought the edge down on the opposite side first and then you can end up with uneven bevels 3) once the marker is gone, concentrate on one side until you get a burr - this should come very quickly since you should be at, or very close to the edge, already 4) draw a burr from the other side 5) progress through the grits - no need to create a burr w/ each grit When to switch stones: When the new stone goes across the ridges and valleys left by the previous stones, you can hear the resistance and you can feel it in your hands with the new stones. With each stroke, the resistance becomes less and you keep progressing until you feel/hear that the resistance is the same with every stroke, which tells you that you've smoothed out the ridges from the previous stones and replaced them (and the valleys) with smaller ridges and valleys from the new stones.

[@notruss1]

@@WickedEdgePrecisionSharpeners Very good explanation, thanks. I can feel when the stones smooth out and quiet down as I go up in grit. Sometimes I get stuck wondering "if it's done yet" at the current grit. I have had a few times when I progressed through the stones 100 up to 1000, but was not satisfied with the sharpness at the end and I have been trying to figure out what I did wrong. Is it the wrong angle? Did I not spend enough time on lower grits? Does the blade need to be reprofiled? Did I not create a proper burr from the start? My lack of experience is certainly a contributor. Your explanation of the 2nd sharpie marking after angle ID and smoothing strokes before creating a burr makes sense. However, I have been using a marker and then a 1000 grit stone to find the angle. I use the 1000 grit with no pressure so it only removes marker and not much material. Is that really throwing off the apex to the point where I need to mark it again and even it out before creating a burr? Are you suggesting that by aggressively creating a burr on one side first it may create two different bevel angles when it wasn't that way before? How could that happen unless each side of the sharpener is set at a different angle? Not sure if I understand. When you are trying to identify the current grind angle you should not be trying to remove anything but marker. It would be good to see a troubleshooting video and/or white paper in the knowledge base on the WE website for different situations and how to remedy common issues. Thanks

[@WickedEdgePrecisionSharpeners]

@@notruss1 The biggest reasons for a knife not feeling sharp enough: 1) Never apexed the edge and drew a burr from both sides 2) Stones not broken in yet 3) Using too much pressure with the stones 4) (especially in combination w/ #3) Not alternating strokes with the final stones, causing the burr to remain and be pushed to one side 5) Angle too high for the cutting task 6) Finish wrong for the cutting tasks (use toothy finish for slicing, especially fibrous materials or materials with a tough exterior | use a polished finish for push cutting like shaving, paring, chopping and carving) Sharpie: 1) Use the marker and fine grit stone to find the angle 2) Color the bevel in again and switch to coarser stones (only go as coarse as you need. You can lower the grit if drawing a burr is taking too long, especially if you're re-profiling the edge) 3) Alternate strokes with the coarse stones until the marker is gone on both sides 4) Draw a burr from one side, then the other 5) Progress through the grits Drawing a burr: 1) Working on one side for a long time does not result in different angles but can create bevels of different sizes because more metal was removed from one side. It also can push the edge off of the centerline of the blade affecting steering while cutting