Very nice. Now you won't have to change knives to get the dirt out of your finger nails.

Little tip if you're having trouble whittling hair. I have found it's much easier to get a hair to split if you hold the hair by the tip (not the root). Hair is scaley and if you hold it by the tip, you are going against that grain and can get the whittling action started more easily.

So far the edge is fine, but it hasn't really been tested. It's generally just used for opening letters and boxes. I think it will be fine. I used a low speed belt sander with a 50 grit belt to remove most of the metal. I kept a cup of ice water near by and dunked it and held it until ice cold about every 5 - 10 seconds and the blade never felt more than slightly warm to the touch. I took the last 1/32" or so off with conventional and diamond stones by hand.

Edit: Also, I used a post-it and a sharpie layout a straight edge so I could see my progress. It's still not dead flat on the top, but I accomplished what I wanted. It can now stab into stuff and I personally prefer the look.

I was given a Benchmade Bone Collector as a gift. I really liked the handle, and it was my first D2 blade. The one thing I wasn't crazy about was the shape of the blade. I decided to grind off the hump on the back. I was very careful to keep the blade cool so I wouldn't mess up the temper / heat treatment. See the before and after below. I just love it now.

Let's see if these pictures will upload.

Before



After

I broke the tip on my SOG Spec Elite. This is the first tip I've broken since owning my Wicked Edge. I was surprised how easy it was to fix. Just started with the 200 grit and stayed out at the tip until I got a new one made. Then I went through the grits and started feathering back into the rest of the knife at 1,000 grit. Stropped it up, and you'd never know what happened. So much easier than trying to do it free hand.

I haven't done anything to effect the heat treatment. The D2 knife had previously only been sharpened on a Lansky and / or crock sticks. The Spyderco only on the WEPS.

I say one rolled after cardboard, but in the same use I cut some plastic banding on the package. The plastic is more likely the culprit.

My gut tells me I'm only straightening my burr and not removing it. I've noticed in videos most people spend more time doing one side at a time rather than alternating strokes. I'm pretty ambidextrous so I generally go straight to alternating strokes after establishing a burr. Maybe doing more strokes per side would help.

I sharpen my EDC's at about 19 degrees per side. If I cut anything other than hair or paper I seem to roll the edge.

2 cases recently were my Spyderco Chaperal (S30V) and a Benchmade Bone Collector (D2). Both rolled cutting stuff like plastic and cardboard. They aren't cheapo knives, so the steel shouldn't be the issue.

Is my angle just too low for EDC tasks, or could I be forming a wire edge that I'm not taking off with the finer stones / strops.

I generally finish my sharpening with the 1200 / 1600 ceramic then 5 / 3.5 micron leather strops. I then usually do a few very light passes freehand on a strop at a higher angle. I know that's overkill for everyday cutting tasks, but I like showing off the arm hair shaving ability when somebody tries to tell me how sharp their knife is.

Gamut: an entire range or series <ran the gamut from praise to contempt>

It's not a gamut check. He means he will go through all of the stones, then check the results.

I think it's Boss Hogg you are thinking about...

I've had my WE 2 days, and already thinking about the lawn mower, but I'm pretty obsessed about the lamn mower blade most of the time anyway.

I'm new to the forum and WE. I saw the Accuremote angle gauge accessory for sale on the WE site, and that got me thinking about the level app I have for my iPhone. I was wondering if anybody has used anything like this instead of a real tool designed for the job.

itunes.apple.com/us/app/ihandy-level-free/id299852753?mt=8

I know the accuracy is not going to be near as good. My main goal is making sure both sides are at the same angle and that I can repeat it next time, not that my angle = exactly "X" degrees.

There are drawbacks. you can do the left side, and the app will auto rotate, but not on the right. You either have to flip the phone around and read it from the back, or do some subtraction in your head. Also, it's not magnetic, therefore not hands free. I did find a new feature that I was previously not aware of. If you tap the measurement you can toggle between 1/10th accuracy and 1/1000th.

Anyway, just thought using something free and easy would be better than using nothing and hoping. Thoughts?

My wife just bought me the Wicked Edge Pro Pack. I've been drooling over it for months, but she knows I'm too tight to buy it for myself.

It came in 2 days ago, and it hasn't had much downtime since. I'm loving it!

I've tried to sharpen by hand my whole life with pretty poor results. I bought a Lansky system about 10 years ago and my results improved greatly, but I would spend well over an hour sharpening (and flipping) 1 knife. When I saw the WE online, it was love at first sight. One set-up, and off to the races. Being naturally left handed, but growing up doing everything right handed makes it very easy for me to use both hands simutaneously.

I'm still breaking in the stones, and can't get a mirror polish yet. I know with time and experience it will come, but the sharpness and time saved are already quantum leaps over anything I've ever experienced. Great product!

Now I have a list going for Christmas...Extra coarse diamond, ceramics, maybe some more strops (already cut into one a little). Once I get all my old knives razor sharp, I'll have an excuse to get more knives!!!