Wicked Edge Inspired Knife Sharpener

[KellyCraig]

This is in process. Just a simple mod or five to go and it's ready.

I bought an Edge Pro a few years back and it made a night and day difference in my knife edges. All it takes is getting near where you need to be, then tipping the blade and you are back three steps. The Edge Pro keeps me from fighting that problem, whether sharpening my pocket knives, carving knives or kitchen knives.

The Edge Pro made such a big difference, wifey and I were talking about something being wrong with the potatoes, because the knives all but fell through them. We had been raised with the standard "rock back and forth with all your weight on it to cut it" kitchen knives. Yeah, our sharpening skills were a comedy.

The Edge Pro sharpened knives were so sharp it made cutting things a breeze we weren't prepared for.

I have long been enamored with the Wicked Edge, in spite of its many drawbacks, like having to buy extra and very expensive parts to sharpen knives the Edge Pro wouldn't flinch at. All that for $1,00.00 to $1,500.00. or more.

What I do like about the WE is, not having to flip the knife and having all settings stay stable.

I am experimenting with changes like holding the handle, instead of the blade, so the problem of the sharpening stone hitting the blade clamp doesn't even make it out the gate.

Too, I have a lot of wood and thick composite or even Plexi of various colors that can be glued and drilled to make the stone holders.

I already have some really have composite, like you'd find on a science lab table, for the base, a bunch of jig parts (e.g., track, knobs), various rods rescued from dead printers, some 1" aluminum for mounting things, an assortment of nuts and bolts, and some 1/4" plastic I can bend to make an adjustable table to hold the knife clamp, and so on.

I did have to buy the swivels and a self centering vice (one of the complaints about the WE is, one side of the clamp is stationary, to the knifes can be held somewhat catty whompas.

[KellyCraig]

* Tried to edit the photos. I give up. I'll just add.



* The clear Plexi can be raised and lowered, in case of need (to further alter the angle at which the stones meet the blade. It, also, can be moved forward or back, in case a longer knife is used.



* The front post (brass rod, because I had a bunch) can be swapped quickly to swap rods for height adjustments. Again, for dealing with angles.



* By clamping the handle instead of the blade, and supporting the blade, the problem of the stones hitting the clamp during sharp angle cuts is solved.

The post supports the knife blade. Obviously, it stops it from being pushed down, but it helps with flimsy blades, like fillet knives.

Eventually, I might 3-D some caps for different width knives. It'd just be a thin cylinder that dropped down over the rod and had a notch on top, so the blade can't slip sideways (if flimsy).



* The stones for these run near or over $100.00 each, so I'll make a bunch using hardwoods and composites. Once sized to account for the thickness of diamond, ceramic and leather, I'll laminate them to the blocks and label them for grit and compounds.

A centering pin vice makes short work of drilling rod holes in the stone mounts that slide on the rods. The cost would be paid for in the savings for the cost of one factory stone set.


* I'm playing with ideas to insure the blade is perfectly 90 to the base.

ONE idea involves light and shadow. I tested it an it seems to work, if the light is centered over the blade and a white sheet (e.g., paper or plastic) is just under the blade. If the shadow appears heavy on one side, adjust accordingly. A white piece of plastic could have grid marks on it, to help calibration.

ANOTHER idea is, just a good, old fashion square that rests on the table. It could be double or single sided, depending on a whole bunch of factors.