My gen 3 is on the way and I think I'm going to try some lapping film. Thanks for taking the time to show use the results.

Kool video. Nice to see the edge transition to mirror. I think I'm sold on your product. Thank you for the vid.

Stoked to see ya back, Clay!

This is how I always sharpen my knives on the Wicked Edge. I LOVE the bite that the edge leading strokes give you. I've read a few posts on the WE forum about the lapping films and a mirror finish. I'm really thinking about trying this out. Thanks for the video Clay!

@starlightengramA

3 жыл бұрын

Yeah. Thanks! I give a click, too!

Awesome, Ordered mine today!

I just got my Wicked Edge Go about a week ago. Stones/strops I own: 200 / 600 800 / 1000 1500 / 2200 5μm / 3.5 μm diamond paste on leather strops Although I love the crazy sharp finish I'm getting after breaking the stones in, I've been wondering what my next step should be to get closer to a mirror edge. Now I believe I have my answer: glass platens with 6μm & 3μm, & then probably 1μm & 0.5μm diamond lapping film. My jaw hit the floor when I saw how fast the mirror shine formed on that ZT blade! I'm glad to have watched this to learn lapping film technique; I had no idea they require an upward-only stroke, same as the strops. I also didn't know that, if desired, I can use downward strokes to minimize burr formation with diamond plates. Thanks Clay, that's really useful to know! At first I was hesitant to spend the money on this system, but now I'm so glad I did because the results are extraordinary. The unit itself is clearly made to last a lifetime or longer, & the stones seem like they'll also last a very long time. I realize this video is several years old now, but if anyone reads this & happens to know: About how many average-size pocket knives would you estimate can be done on one pair of lapping films? There are 5 pairs in each pack, so I'm curious how long a pack should last. Thank you, Clay, for this incredible & revolutionary sharpening system, & everyone remember to stay sharp! 😀

@ClayAllisonNM

3 жыл бұрын

You're exactly right about the next steps. I usually get 10-20 knives with a strip of lapping film. The truck is to not use too much pressure and to clean them off with alcohol and a paper towel when they get black.

@newera3757

Жыл бұрын

@@ClayAllisonNM I have a problem when I'm using the system. What I mean is front of my knives get "taller" edge then heel of the blade. (Front/tip of the blades and where the "belly" is wider than back/heel of the blade. Sometimes 2x / 3x bigger than the back. Please help.

@WickedEdgePrecisionSharpeners

Жыл бұрын

@@newera3757 that's a common issue people tub into but there is an easy solution. Check out this video: kzread.info/dash/bejne/imakubV9h6vZl5M.html. Using the technique for the sweet spot will help a lot.

@newera3757

Жыл бұрын

@@WickedEdgePrecisionSharpeners Thank you! Question: It's necessary to splash ceramic stones with water before the use or complete dry is fine?

How do Gerber lined steels, and Wenger Swiss smooth steels stack up to ceramics and micron gel strips? I have no experience except for fine white diamond/pumice stone, steels, and fine files. I've always wanted to try guides like you're using to repeat the path consistently. My hands alone holding tools in the air can only approximate that precise repetition. PS. How much magnification would I need to use to see a 3 micron edge like the edge of a sheet of plywood at arm length?

Couple comments about films. I did try a "regular" WE stropping stroke and it worked ok. Now I switched to edge-perpendicular up-down stroke. One, Clay was warning against. In my experience, if edge is relatively flat, film won't get cut. Also, I use films on glass plates, so this might be a factor too.

@ClayAllisonNM

7 жыл бұрын

I've found that I can do the stroke you're talking about on some knives without cutting the films. I just have to be careful not to slide the films along the length of the blade while using a downward stroke.

@johnkennedy9078

6 жыл бұрын

Clay Allison can you please tell me if I still should even use my WE strops? I also have the ceramic 1200 and 1400s I use. My only concern is when I reprofile, some of the scratches seem pretty damn deep. Should the films remove the deeper scratches? Side note. I bought the extra coarse stones after spending 5 hours reprofiling a Firstedge Elmax fixed blade with my 100 grits LOL.

Hi Clay, nice video explaining the use of the lapping film. I currently own a field & sport pro with 50/80,100/200,400/600,800/1000 1500 grit stones with 6 micron lapping film 1200/1600 grit ceramic & 3.5/5 micron strops. I am also currently waiting on my wicked edge go to ship. I also have the digital angle guide to get exact angles. What stones do you suggest I use to keep my wustof classic cutlery knives sharp at (they are sharpened at 14 degree angle). Also what progression to do d2 steel one knife from Knives of alaska & other from benchmade. I think I need to get the advanced angle guide also to get more exact & taking out further guess work in future of refining edges in future. All help & suggestions appreciated.

@WickedEdgePrecisionSharpeners

6 жыл бұрын

Great questions. You've put together a really good setup. A lot of cooks I know like to stop at 1000# on their German cutlery. They'll go finer with some of the Japanese blades but like a little bit of tooth on stainless steel. Since you've got the angle down so low, you might go a little further, maybe to 1500# and see how it performs for you. For the D2 blades, the progression/finish should depend on how you're using them. I'd probably start w/ a 1500#/6 micron finish and a little stropping at the same angle, especially for skinners. If you're also using the Knives of Alaska caping knife, I'd probably spend more time and polish it further.

@BBBYpsi

6 жыл бұрын

The knives of Alaska I have are the featherlight pocket knife D2 steel & the others are the fishermans combo fillet knives are 440C steel. Do you mean 1500 diamond grit when you put 1500#. By the way got my edge go & got the deluxe carry case & found out I can put not only two extra sets of stones but the digital angle guide,Jewelers loop & one of your erasers in it. I sent Kyle a photo of it. Gonna take it out on the road with me just to promote your product & sharpen other OTR drivers knives that might need sharpening. Lots of guys knives out on the road get very dull cutting cardboard zip ties..... I saw your video on micro bevel great idea for all purpose. Gonna take with me in the deluxe case the 200/600,800/1000 grit stones & also the 1200/1600 ceramics. I did a really crappy video (not good at making them) of the edge go with a 25 yr old cheap pocket knife that probably had a hard time cutting butter. Now it is nice & sharp. Ok enough of me rambling on.

I have the pro pack 1 and recently got the 1200/1600 ceramics. I guess my question is what diamond lapping films do I start with, so that I don’t overlap my work done with the ceramics. Any suggestions? I was debating just getting the glass platens alone, but possibly with the 1500/platens? Thanks

@ClayAllisonNM

5 жыл бұрын

Good question. From the 1600 grit ceramics, I'd go straight to the glass platens and skip the 1500/gl. You'll have the best success with a 6 micron and 3 micron combo.

hey clay, Will the aluminum films yield the same results as the diamond films? also, which film is best to use after the 1500 stones. one more questian, can you peel the films off the handles and save them so you can use a different film

@ClayAllisonNM

7 жыл бұрын

Hi Daniel - the aluminum films give the same results. They're not quite as quick and they don't last as long as the diamonds but the end result is the same. I'd go with the either the 9 or 5 micron films after the 1500 stones.

Hi Clay, may I ask a question, I am a custom knife maker, just started less that a year ago, don't have a website set up yet, been sinking all my spare cash into tools and metal...but I am having issues get an even sharp bevel, no problem getting the shape, 2 x 72 inch belts are great for that but I want to get an even finish, and ideally a mirror polish, my question is how effective is your matching on longer blades, say 6 inches and how tough is it, if I spent a 10 hour day sharpening a bunch of knives would that break the machine? I am looking at the we130, to give it a go, would love to hear your thoughts, oh I do a lot of big recurve knives, would your machine work with those. Previously I have used stones, belts, a spyderco sharpmaker, lansky systems, and a paper wheel system, and they all seem to give me uneven results.

@ClayAllisonNM

7 жыл бұрын

Shelley Raskin I think you'll be really pleasantly surprised with the ease of use and consistency of results. The machine we'll definitely stand up to the amount of sharpening you need to do. Six inch plus blades are no problem, nor are recurves.

Hi Clay. What angle were you sharpening your ZT at? You worked on a couple of my blades several years ago and did videos for them and I ended up buying a Gen-1 W.E. I tend to use 17 degrees for my ZT and was just curious what you're using.

@ClayAllisonNM

7 жыл бұрын

Hi Adam. I think I remember your knives. I sharpened that ZT at 20 degrees per side, mostly to match the factory grind and to keep the bevel size down to illustrate the point of how positioning affects the size of the bevel at the tip.

@Donkeys_Dad_Adam

7 жыл бұрын

I tried going up to 20 degrees but I just couldn't get a super sharp edge out of it so I stuck with 17 and that always seemed to work best on my ZT. Thanks for answering. and Yes, you worked on my Jon Graham RAZEL about 5 years ago... That was a cool knife.

Helllo... Quick question. I just got Wicked edge Stones .6/1.4 Micron . Just want to make sure... I use the .6 first then the 1.4 side??? Right sorry about the question

@ClayAllisonNM

5 жыл бұрын

No problem and thanks for asking. You use the brown 1.4 stone first and then the white 0.6 stone.

@3obardThawn3

5 жыл бұрын

@@ClayAllisonNM thank you so much... that's why you're all the best... great Customer service !!!

hi i bought the pro pack 2, question instead of the 6 micron lapping film what substitute ceramic or another stone could i use any help would be great just sick of buy the film but it works awesome!

@ClayAllisonNM

6 жыл бұрын

Thanks for writing. The ceramics will improve the polish and finish but won't give a mirror finish. My favorite next step is the set of 4/2 micron strops. They really give great results after the ceramic stones in the PP2. You can use them before the 1/.5 strops.

@whitefly0099

6 жыл бұрын

sorry clay i got it wrong i have the pro pack 3 lol and was wondering if there is a strop i can use instead of the 6 micron lapping film? i love the lapping film but would like to get a strop that would do close to the same ..

@ClayAllisonNM

6 жыл бұрын

In that case, the 4/2 strops are the best bet: wickededgeusa.com/products/4-2-micron-diamond-emulsion-and-leather-strops-pack?variant=29495125837

@whitefly0099

6 жыл бұрын

thanks Clay u the man!

Hi, Clay. I just happen to be on this video but, I have watched several of your videos and I have a question. Is it possible to sharpen a Kukuri with the Wicked Edge or is that something it isn't designed for? Just curious as I am getting into making knives and am thinking that if the Wicked Edge will sharpen Kukuris, it will do about everything I will ever make! I doubt any of my Kukuris will have more that a 14 inch edge so, that is about all I can think of asking. Thanks!

@ClayAllisonNM

6 жыл бұрын

Kim Curtis you can definitely sharpen a like I with our systems.

@ClayAllisonNM

6 жыл бұрын

Kim Curtis I have a video posted about it somewhere. One thing to watch out for us blade thickness: if you're looking at one of our systems with the Gen 3 clamp, you'll be limited to a blade thickness of one quarter inch.

would you do anything after the lapping films?

@ClayAllisonNM

7 жыл бұрын

It depends on how far I want to take it. I've got some new diamond emulsions from Jende that we're getting ready to add to the site and they're really impressive. Using the 4 and 2 micron emulsions on leather strops after the lapping film is pretty awesome.

Would it at all be beneficial to hit the edge with 5mu/ 3.5mu strops after the 3mu film?

@ClayAllisonNM

6 жыл бұрын

Jacob Acosta Master Scribe absolutely.

@jacobacostamasterscribe2200

6 жыл бұрын

Clay Allison 👍🏻I’ve ordered the pro pack 1, and added the 1500/glass, 6mu and 3mu films as well as 4/2mu emulsion leather and 1/.5mu leather emulsion packs. Excited to get some nasty nasty edges

@TorlingJarl

6 жыл бұрын

Well, how do you like it? I also got one recently and I'm obsessed with it.

@jacobacostamasterscribe2200

6 жыл бұрын

Torling the diamond lapping films are just the bees knees. Super quick polish using the 6mu and 3mu after the 1500 diamond. I prefer the 4/2mu poly diamond spray to the 5/3.5mu paste though. Takes a little more time if you’re anal about getting every. Single. Little scratch out and want a perfect result, but a great result is quick and easy

I also noticed you are only stropping/ sharpening the more or less flat part of the blade, and not using a second motion to hit that last curve to the tip. Any ideas?

@ClayAllisonNM

3 жыл бұрын

I think it doesn't show well in the video but I usually do get the whole tip. Sometimes I'll go back and just cover the tip area with a little extra attention.

I'm not sure how big your operation at Wicked Edge is, but I think it would be great if you could get an electron microscope and based on real evidence, make specific guides on which stones and strops to use to get a specific type of edge and also how to exactly sharpen. Which motions to use and how that affects the end result. Which edge types are good for certain types of steel and certain types of usage. Then compile all this info in a big wiki, with detailed instructions, data and pictures. And also make some cool videos about it. That's what I, as a potential customer of sharpening equipment for $1,000 to $2,000, would wish for.

@ClayAllisonNM

6 жыл бұрын

P8qzxnxfP85xZ2H3wDRV interesting that you say that! We're working with Los Alamos National laboratory to do exactly that this year.

@P8qzxnxfP85xZ2H3wDRV

6 жыл бұрын

That's great news. I'm very much looking forward to it. It's amazing that you would actually reply here. So I need to use this opportunity to ask a question. I'm looking at the Gen 3 Pro system right now for the purpose of sharpening mostly expensive kitchen knives to the absolute highest sharpness. For preparing artistic foods and sushi. I looked through all the options and I thought that I might go with the ceramic 1200/1600 ansi-grit and the 1.4 and 0.6 micrometer stones. What I can't figure out is the last step after that though. Breaking any remaining burr and getting rid of any filaments. The next step would be the 0.5 and 0.25 micrometer compounds, but should I get them on leather or on balsa?

@ClayAllisonNM

6 жыл бұрын

I think you can safely skip the 1.4/0.6 stones and go to strops. I'd choose the 4/2 microns in cow leather, then the 1.0/0.5, also in cow leather. From there, if you want to go further, then I'd get the .25 poly diamond spray and the .125 CBN spray on kangaroo. The other route is to skip the ceramics altogether and go with the 1500/glass with lapping films. You can then pick up a set of glass platens to go further with the lapping films, skipping most strops until you get to the kangaroo leather.

I know it wasn't meant to be apart of the video, but being that you are from wicked edge, and any one else chime in please, are there any videos on the proper technique for sharpening a much more curved blade like a Karambit, also, another question, any advice on how to get the tip of the knife really pointy? (sorry i couldnt think of a better word lol) I saw he rarely went all the way to the end of the knife. Sorry for the noob question, hope someone can help! A video would be great!

@WickedEdgePrecisionSharpeners

6 жыл бұрын

Great questions. This is a really old video showing me sharpening a carpet knife that has a very similar curve to a karambit and the principles are the same: kzread.info/dash/bejne/kX-apa6mk8WbldY.html. As for the tip, it's hard to see it in videos, but I do always sweep off the tip and they end up like needles, provided that you don't rotate the stones on the rods as you come off the tip.

@ericclement1592

6 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much, especially for the timely reply. All you guys at wicked edge are the best!

But you never said how many knives you could get per film

@ClayAllisonNM

Жыл бұрын

We used to say about 10, but after this recent BLADE Show, we think 20 is reasonable.

Edgefm M

I bought your Wicked Edge Sharpening System. It's really great. The thing that I don't understand is why I have to watch advertising here. Why monetize videos for peanuts?

@ClayAllisonNM

2 жыл бұрын

I didn't think we were monetizing the videos. I'll double check our settings and correct if it's on our end. Thanks for the heads-up!

@Zone_Stomper

2 жыл бұрын

@@ClayAllisonNM Thanks for responding so quick sir. Your sharpening system is really great. I got the Wicked Edge Gen 3 Pro Model & a few extras. I'm slicing through thin paper while only using the 1 micron diamond emulsion. Haven't even tried using the 0.5 micron yet.

@Zone_Stomper

2 жыл бұрын

That's with only a 15.5 degree angle on each side.