Here's a short video, the latest installment of "TheApostleP Knives 101." In this one we'll cover the method I use for locating / fixturing the Chris Reeve Sebenza (or other high hollow ground knives) for sharpening on the Edgepro.
The fact that there is some kind of bizarre rivalry that exists between guys who sharpen knives based solely on what sharpening system they've chosen to use is just so petty it's hilarious. Some people get so emotionally tied to their own purchases and their own way of doing things that they will take any opportunity to scorn and ridicule someone else for making a different purchase or choosing another way to do something. Obviously the results you get speak for themselves so there's absolutely no point in trash talking your particular choice in sharpening tools. You get fantastic edges with the edgepro, some guys do great work with the wicked edge, other guys do great with the KME system. Some people are so damn childish. They all work well enough to finely sharpen piece of steel. Thanks for all of the great tips, Rob. Love your channel.
Good job Rob. Keeping those tips symmetrical can be pretty tedious. "Slow and low is the tempo". (edge pro mantra) I've never used a wicked edge but it looks like the correct mantra would be, " we must, we must, we must increase our bust! "
Enjoyed the video very nice of you for the prayers for all service people. My daddy turned 91 the 8th of this month he lives in D'lo Ms.which dureing world war 2 sent more people than any place in the u.s.a..They have a real big to do on this day and my daddy is the only 1 left he is on the news in Jackson Ms. every year for a good many now.Always enjoy the videos and the channels that brothers of Christ have all have a blessed day Randy.
I highly recommend you get some strong magnets and mount them under the edge pro. I did and it makes mounting the knive so much easier, you barely gave to hold it and it keeps it in one place so you get a consistent angle.
That was very interesting & informative. Your technique is obviously proven through the quality & consistency of the "ApostleP edge". Thanks for yet another great video, and I hope everyone said a prayer for all the service men & women who gave their lives, and to their family members who endure such loss.
Thanks Rob, Ive had the same problem with hollow ground blades. White knuckled forcing the flat and it still didnt work :( At least it was a $12 Chinese knife not a Sebenza. I favorited this one and the edge pro tips 3 since my old man brain struggles with your math.
Hi Rob, excellent vid as always. I was just wondering, have you used the Wicked Edge system and if so, what are your thoughts about it? I appreciate that it's ridiculously expensive, but does it offer any advantages over the Edge Pro..? God bless you mate and I look forward to more reviews in the future.
Since I do not care about exact angles, I pretty much do all my knives on the face or grind hollow or not, its just easier. with a knife like that I would just go ahead and do the knife in sections, and move the knife to get the tip end. It is nice not moving the blades, but everything seems to come out better looking when I move the knife. All preference. You get used to do doing tricky things after you've done a good 30 plus knives on the edgepro. After a while I found that if the tracking widens out at the end or the tip, as long as its a tiny bit you won't notice the difference! I just bought a full set of shapton glass stones, they are amazing!
Rob, I have been subbed to you for quite a while. Your angle cube is very high tech. Clearly you know someone at NASA to get that type of equipment 😁. Gob bless my friend and keep up the great videos!!
Thank you for your great videos, Tell me if this method is correct. I put the sebenza on the table like you suggested then I sharpie the blade, then I set stone until I get the factory angle. Then sharpen, then I zero the angle finder, then raise about 4 degrees. Could you also set the knife on table, use the angle finder and set to zero then sharpen at any angle you want?
I rarely use factory edge angles... because I don't want to go insane!!! The more knives you sharpen, the more you'll realize that factory angles are rarely consistent from hilt to tip, rarely the right angle for effective cutting, and rarely symmetrical from side to side. With very rare exception, and CRK's are not one of those exceptions. I reprofile every knife I sharpen. CRK uses a very odd geometry which they like for durability, but it doesn't cut very well. They apply the secondary bevel on a contact wheel which produces a concave edge. Then they finish with a pretty aggressive fabric polishing wheel which produces a convex and quite obtuse cutting edge. I basically hate their factory grind. But your method for setting the secondary bevel to match the factory angle and raising 4 degrees for the micro would work if you had a consistent factory angle.
Rob, now that I own a Sebenza 21 I'm thinking of reprofiling and sharpening it. You mention in your video a secondary bevel of 16 DPS, right? Do you apply a micro bevel on the Sebenza 21 as well?
Hey Rob, I keep on coming back to this video. Appreciate all your vids really. I'm wondering what advice you might have sharpening a sebenza 25, as opposed to this 21. What advice would you give for someone really trying to maintain a close as possible to perfect edge bevel through the entire thing, especially the belly and tip. I know the 25 has I think a much larger hollow grind, but never held a 21 so this vid is my main reference point. Thanks buddy hope you had a great new year.
+David Weglarz They both like the same method. I have gotten better results using the small knife attachment for the EP though. It gives a more consistent bevel width because you can let the tip fall back toward the pivot and still clear the corner of the table.
Rob. if you could help please. i have a new tony bose sowbelly in d2 steel . if i use the edge pro apex to sharpened it . how hard would it be. i used the edge pro apex with a1 steel cm54 cpm 154 ats 34 and carbon steel but never used it to sharpen d2 steel. i heard d2 steel is a stubborn steel and hard to sharpened any experience. i could not say no to a tony bose custom in d2 thanks
Hey sir, I have a bench made 9050 the blade is half serrated and half traditional. I hate the serations.. If I shipped my knife to you for your typical rehab and edge restoration how much would you charge to polish the serrations out?
Oh dude... You really don't want to do that. The resulting knife would look horrible and perform worse. You'd lose far too much blade to make it all look even and you'd be left with a thick spike. I'd recommend selling it and buying a plain edge version. Sorry...
I remove the white plastic piece when not sharpening a double edged blade. I feel it has a better straight edge to keep the knife at the correct angle.
@@Mike-ul1xn I presume you gentleman are suggesting this method as with the Sebenza, we have little to no "flat" areas on which to balance the knife on the Edge Pro blade table. This issue is exacerbated if you have the thumb studs on BOTH sides of the knife.
Rob I just found your channel and I'm blown away with all the great info, thank you.. I have a quick question, I read somewhere that you had a way to remove scratch's from a sebenza, could you point me in the right direction? I have a new sebenza 21 insingo, and I'm thinking about making it a user but wanted to know if there was any way to remove scratch's before I do..
@TheApostleP - Quick question for you, for one of my CRK knives in the box there's some literature recommending to use the spyderco tri-angle sharpener which seems like a great system, I've seen videos of it and its affordable. Would you recommend that system over and edge pro like you have or a wicked edge system, or KME sharpener? all of which are a lot more money.
Burkinater 48 In a word, no. The Sharpmaker is a great touch up tool, but not well suited for precision sharpening where lots of material needs to be removed, which most factory edges require. If you have 7 or 8 hours to sharpen your Sebenza, however, knock yourself out 😉
Man I am enjoying my 940 1. But it has been a pain to sharpen. The factory grind was so bad it looked like a recurve. And the heel of the blade is just like the ones in your vid. I tryed knocking it down. What did you use to even up the heel on those 940 1 s? And do you progress through the stones when you sharpen the micro beval? Or just use your highest grit. Cant seem to polish that micro beval either?
The key to that first inch of edge on the 940 and 940-1, as well as many other knives btw, is getting rid of the heel where the plunge grind intrudes. If you don't, you'll actually induce a recurve because the trailing edge of your stone is kicked up on that plunge grind, which causes the leading edge to dig, thus causing a low spot or recurve. You can minimize this by appying pressure on the trailing side of the stone at the heel, and evening out that flare. I do the micro bevel with the 1000 grit stone and 2000 grit polishing tape. If I'm sharpening a really low grindability steel like S90 or Elmax, I might drop down to 600 first. Hope that helps :)
I'm thinking about getting a new new multi tool what's your recommendation? My old requirement is it have all the typical tools you'd expect and a pocket clip.
I love the Leatherman Charge Ti / TTi. If you're a bit budget minded, go for the Wave. It has a steel chassis instead of titanium, and a 420HC main blade instead of 154CM or S30V. They're great tools.
I find the edge pro is extremely effective at setting your Bevel. After that that freehand threw the rest of your stones for all the added benefits they provide.
When you are measuring the angle from the bottom of flat to the edge of the blade are you holding it down on the table against the flat or are you letting it tilt?
What you did makes sense, but for some reason I keep feeling like the math in finding the angle is wrong, though I can't say why. There is certainly a large margin of error in this, since blade placement has a direct impact on what angle you hit the bevel at, so if you're polishing the bevel this can get out of hand quickly. I'm debating on buying my first Sebenza, and this is one of my biggest concerns (as I also use an EP). On one hand, I don't particularly care if I know exactly what angle I'm sharpening the knife at, as long as I can ball park it and get repeatable results. On the other hand, if the blade isn't going to lay securely on the table, I sure as hell am not going to risk jacking up the bevel on a knife this expensive. I could just stick to sharpening this knife on my Sharpmaker, but there's a reason I have an EP and we all know those reasons.
+EvilSSP I'm not sure what you mean by "a huge margin for error in this." Of course blade placement is crucial, and you must have indexing references for a given setup, so each time you lay the blade on the table, you do it the same way. For instance, with a Sebenza, the thumb stud is your left / right index, and the way the belly of the blade meets the corner of the table is your radial index. You do have to pay attention to this, but it's no different than any other knife on the EP. Also, the math is correct. If you're looking for degrees from center, but you have to measure from a datum that's exactly twice the number of degrees from center, you must divide your reading by two. Trust me, it all works, repeatably and repeatedly, hundreds and hundreds of times.
TheApostleP I just meant that for example if you lay the blade on the flat behind the bevel just slightly in a different place between sharpenings, you'll end up hitting at a different angle. The margin of error is only huge because it doesn't take much at all to cause the stones to hit at a different angle. For 99% of my knives I just but them against the nose of the handle and as long as they aren't so long that the blade hangs way off the side of the table, I get the same repeatable results. However, I also don't have to lay the blade on the flat of the grind most of the time as most of my knives have a flat somewhere around the ricasso that's sufficient enough for the knife to lay stable. Anyway, informative video. If I do decide to buy a Sebenza, I'll keep this method in mind.
This is why I don't use my little Lansky rig and chinese clone apex edge pro I always hated (but with genuine stones) anymore. Bless You Tube. Hint: Freedom, easy, lots of fun-addicting actually, kiai!
I would also love to now. That damn thing looks like it made specifically for the blade with lower tolerances than what Chris Reeves uses to make his knives.
Dang that looks like a white knuckled ride! ;-) You should charge more! I really gotta give props to you EPA guys... you earn it. And did I see "math" involved there? Yikes!!!!!!!
I'd be very interested in a Wicked Edge if they offered a water stone alternative to their diamond media. Just not a fan. And there's that flexibility aspect of the EP that I really like. It seems to give me a bit more satisfaction in knowing that there's a lot of feel and hand skill required with the EP. Of course I realize that many have bought it and just can't seem to get good results consistently.
Again, I've never spent any time with a wicked edge (probably never will) but if I were going to be polishn' edges every day I would definitely come up with a devise to hold the blade. That angle of grip can be very fatiguing. I hope that doesn't come off as snarky, it's not meant to be at all. You do some amazing work with that ramp and stick. They are both very simple machines and very overpriced in my opinion . Now the stones are another story. The edge pro stones are fantastic.
TheApostleP Diamond stones don't bother me--but I'd never used anything but cheap diamond stones or the Spyderco Sharpmaker before switching to the WE. And the WE diamond stones certainly work well enough. :) And I really like the clamp system of the WE... but I can see how the EPA's approach offers more flexibility of use, especially if one is/was already relatively skilled at freehand sharpening--which I never have been... always struggled with that. And as a result, watching you on the EPA makes me realize I would probably be one of those frustrated few who couldn't get those consistent results. As I have always said.. the WE is kind of idiot proof. One may struggle setting angles correctly (can be trying for someone with OCD and a digital angle gauge :) ), but once clamped down... if one keeps at it and gets to the burr and dedicates the time to move up through the diamond stones to the ceramics and onto strops, one will get a screaming edge almost without fail. After watching you on the EPA though I am even more impressed with your edges because I realize how much more of a "hands on" process it is than the WE. And that's what makes you the master sharpener my friend! :)
CuttnStuff This is where the WE and its clamp system shine. But it's not a cheap system. That said, they can usually be found used "relatively" inexpensively if you keep you eye out on BF or the USN. That's how I got mine (ie, used off the USN). Got it for about 1/2 price in the end. Still not "cheap" though....
Hello Rob, your knife and sharpening video's are the best on RU-vid. Extremely valuable content for knife nuts. Would you be able to write this process out as a mathimatical formula? I recently bought a EP and find this video extremely valuable and would love to have a reference point for setup.
Burnt Coffee Great question! I started taping the table because I’d seen other instructional videos in which it was done. But I stopped doing that 5 or 6 years ago.
why would you make knife sharpening difficulty?, just rub the dem knife on a file and start cutting right away than calculating angles as if you are working on a building plan. As long as the knife cuts sharply then why concerned about angles? Are you displaying your knives for viewing or what?
Because a knife with bad angle geometry doesn't cut. Also, he is a PROFESSIONAL knife sharpener. He gets paid to make the edge right. Sharpen a pocket knife with a file and see how long the coarse and badly angled edge lasts.
why the comments on the WE vs EP, it shouldn't be a contest, it should be a preference and/or choice. I personally prefer the WE as it is almost idiot proof, whereas the EP requires more risk and sharpening skills. what say yiu?
You're right, greek. Actually, I was poking a little fun at the "debaters" on this issue. I prefer the EP for its flexibility, given that until a less than 2 years ago I was a strictly freehand sharpener for almost 30 years. They're both great systems.
What about service members who went to war and didn't die. No one cares about those of us who are Veterans and didn't get hurt or die. It is sad that people pay all this money for there entertainment but all Veterans get is a thank you.
