I've been looking for an easier way to sharpen knives since a pinched nerve has affected the mobility of my dominant hand. The effects are mostly subtle, but precision work and feel just isn't the same. Fortunately my trigger finger was not affected. My check list had the following: No power requirement Ability to set a desired angle other than the one built into my muscle memory. Precise and repeatable Fool Proof Ability to sharpen blades with both full and partial edges Reasonably compact and portable After looking at many of the guided sharpeners I ran across Wicked Edge. You can easily spend upwards of $1000 on their top end kits, but their entry level Go model caught my attention. It's designed to be portable - all parts except the mounting wedge and depth key fit inside the base. and everything goes into a compact case that's included. In the picture below the rods unscrew and fit into the grooves you see in the base front. There is also an allen wrench that fits into a groove in the back. You can also see one of the sharpening stones sticking out just a bit from the base on the left. Two of the dual diamond stones are included with the base kit with 200 grit on one side and 600 on the other. The stones have a hole bored through the center that fits over the guide rod. Other stones are available as are ceramics and strops. The Go also comes in an expanded kit that includes additional stones but that was outside my budget. Basic operation is to mount the blade with the edge upwards and pointing away from the user. There is a depth key that is used to mount the blade at the appropriate height and parallel to the base. The mount tightens at the top, but the machine screw at the bottom pushes away using the top scew as a fulcrum. The grip is creates is impressive with very little torque. This also allows the mount to handle full edge bevels. Next is to adjust the angle of the guides. There are etched angles on the base, but these are only approximate since they depend on the knife width and the actual blade height. I use a digital gauge by Wixey ($25 on Amazon) for this instead. I zero it to the base and then measure with the angle on the stone. When I have the angle set where I want it I simply tighten doen the base. Full edge bevels are a bit trickier since the blade will be tilted slightly away from the adjustment side of the mount. No real issue, I just measure the angles of both sides of the mounted knife and adjust accordingly. I created a simple spreadsheet to help me make the adjustment and keep track of the settings: Sharpening is an up and away motion designed to use as much of the full stone surface as possible. This greatly extends stone life and help to keep the surface flat. You don't need to apply a great deal of pressure, just enough to "feel" the knife edge. Below are videos from Wicked Edge that demonstrate setup and basic use. My impressions follow that. Wicked Edge Go Setup Wicked Edge Go Knife Mounting Wicked Edge Go Sharpening Initial Impressions I am literally blown away by the quality of design and implementation of this product. It's not cheap at $225 for the basic kit, but every penny of that and more is evident in this product. Fit and finish are impeccable. The swivel joints on the guide arms are as smooth as butter. Everything fits and works perfectly. The only use of plastic is in the sharpening stones. Outside of the stones everything else is nicely finished metal. I chose a perpetually dull Heinkle French knife that I always seemed to forget when I was sharpening other knives as my test subject. Once mounted I figured out the process for a full edge grind described above. I chose 20 degrees for the edge after doing some research that indicated 18 to 22 degrees as optimal for kitchen cutlery. At that point I did 10 strokes on each side with the 200 grit face and then alternated 20 more. Then rotated the stones to the 600 grit side and did the same. I tested expecting to need more repetitions but found the knife to already be sharper than I get from a typical new knife. A quick paper test and I knew I was done. Dull to "wicked sharp" in less than five minutes on my first attempt with virtually no skill required. The stones in the base kit are adequate for a very sharp working edge, but I plan on adding additional finer stones as well as ceramics and strops as budget allows. Stones, etc., are in the $80 range per pair, but that's four surfaces so over time is not all that bad for what you get. There are also other accessories that will fit the Go. These include an extended mount so you can achieve steeper angles and longer guide rods. There are also chisel and scissor adapters. One limitation to keep in mind (outside the proprietary stones) is that the sharpening angle changes as the distance changes from the guide rod pivot point to the blade edge. For example, the angle decreases on my French knife as the stone moves towards the tip. In practice it doesn't matter and is barely visible, but it does change a couple of degrees. Regardless, this tool is going to get a lot of use.
Forgot to add to the original post, The Wixey WR300. Inexpensive (about $25 on Amazon) and easy to use. Turn it on, set it on a reference surface and press zero. You are all set to measure angles. The magnetic base sticks to the WE stones making angle adjustment a snap. Also very useful for other purposes!
There is a way to get around having to use proprietary stones. They sell a blank handle you can mount your own stones to: Blank Handles Pack They also have glass and aluminum faces handles designed for lapping films, your own abrasives or sandpaper type materials: Blank Handles and Glass Platens Pack Blank Handles and Aluminum Platens Pack
Truly no buyer's remorse here. I'd like to get your impressions as well if you do get one. The sharpening forums suggest using small pieces of damp chamois to hold full taper blades in place, but the clamp alone seems to work just fine for me. I don't worry about getting the blade perfectly 90 degrees so long as it's fixed in place. That's why I measure the blade angle on both sides and do the math to get the angle I want to set the stone and guide rod.
They look the same size as the ones that come with the kit. Mine measure 1" x 5 3/4". No reason why the stone couldn't be a bit larger unless you mount it recessed. In that case you want to remove about 1/8" from all sides.
