Sharpening advice needed for novice.

CKTG has a large amount of Edge Pro products so we've dedicated a forum to questions on Edge Pro sharpening systems, accessories and techniques.
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ChefKnivesToGo
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Sharpening advice needed for novice.

Post by ChefKnivesToGo »

Dear Mr. Richmond,

I'm just writing because I had a few product/sharpening related questions I was hoping you could answer. I'm somewhat of a novice to sharpening and the majority of my experience has been obtained using the Edge Pro Apex and an angle cube. I've been using the guided system for a while now, and I decided it was time to upgrade from the stock stones, especially since I've started working with harder M4 and M390 steel. I recently picked up the 500 and 1000 grit Shapton glass stones that you provide for the Edge Pro, and was looking to round out my kit with your 140 grit CKTG diamond stone and the 320 Shapton glass stone. However, I've been watching the website for quite sometime, and the 320 grit stone hasn't come back into stock. I was also eyeballing the 2000 grit to extend my finishing grit options, but I've noticed that the 2000 has been out of stock for quite some time as well. Are you still offering these special cut Shaptons, and if so, do you know when these particular grits could become available for purchase again?

On the topic of the Shapton stones, I had a quick question regarding stone maintenance. I've been reading numerous forum posts, including the old CKTG forum, and many users spoke highly of the XXC coarse DMT and the Atoma 400 plate as good stones for flattening the Shaptons (the Atoma 400 grit plate seemed to be heavily recommended for the flattening of higher grit -1000 and above- Shapton glass stones). I have an old DMT course/fine duosharp plate that has the same micron rating as the Atoma 400 (45 micron). Do you think that this would be serviceable for maintaining a full range of coarse and fine Shapton glass stock edge pro stones?

Lastly, I was hoping that you could make a recommendation for a strop purchase. I have been using the 1200 grit ceramic rod that comes with the Edge Pro to maintain an edge on my knives, but I tend to find myself returning to the stones whenever I need to touch up an edge. I have been doing some extensive reading on stropping, and it seems to be the preferable method of touching up an edge, as it saves wear on the stones and the knife (all the information available online is somewhat overwhelming). However, I was hoping to maintain the sharpening precision offered by the Edge Pro when touching up my knives (something I haven't been able to accomplish while using the ceramic rod free hand, I think I'm using far too obtuse of an angle). I've heard good things about the horse and balsa strops you offer for mounting on the Edge Pro, and was wondering which would serve the best for day to day touch-ups. Also, when using a strop to re-align an edge, can I get away with using the strop dry, or would it be better to load the strop with some form of diamond compound. If I should be loading the strop, what micron paste would you recommend for simple touch-ups. I'm not pursuing the perfect mirror edge (yet), just looking to save some wear on my knives and unnecessary time spent on the stones.

Sorry for the long email, I would greatly appreciate any help or advice you could offer on the matter!

Sincerely,

Dylan
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Mark Richmond
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Re: Sharpening advice needed for novice.

Post by ChefKnivesToGo »

Hi Dylan,

We are running out of the Shapton Glass Stones and we're scheduled to get a couple thousand more in March. All of them will slowly sell out before then. I would recommend you get this progression and they're all in stock. It's what we use free hand at our office and it produces good results.

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/ck140grdiplf.html
https://www.chefknivestogo.com/shpr320fored.html
https://www.chefknivestogo.com/sh1kglstfore.html
https://www.chefknivestogo.com/shglst5kfore.html

For stropping I suggest you do this by hand. Get this set:
https://www.chefknivestogo.com/haamstkit.html

You could also add 1 more grit of paste like this: https://www.chefknivestogo.com/chdipa5mi.html
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Re: Sharpening advice needed for novice.

Post by Radar53 »

Hi Dylan, as you've found out the stock stones will struggle with the harder steels used in EDC's & Japanese knives. Also be aware that the EP standard for grit size is quite different to the standard used for Japanese stones There is a spreadsheet here to work out what is what <viewtopic.php?f=5&t=2046>.

I have used the DMT stones for sharpening and they are OK, as is the plate Mark has recommended. I prefer to use larger flattening stones to flatten my EP's so also consider this <https://www.chefknivestogo.com/140grdistflp.html>. The advantage of what Mark is recommending is that you can also use it as a very coarse stone for grinding new bevels or repairs.

I use 140 grit to flatten stones <1k & 400 grit for > 1k if that's any use.

Welcome to the forum
Cheers Grant

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Re: Sharpening advice needed for novice.

Post by TotinChip »

Good news that more Shapton Glass stones for the EP are coming next year!

I also use an Atoma 140 for the SG 220, 320 and 500, with an Atoma 400 replacement blade on the flip side for 1K and up. I suspect that the a 400 grit diamond plate would wear faster if you used it on the 220 and 320 stones.
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Sharpening advice needed for novice

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