sharpener Archives - TACTICAL REVIEWS

Gear Review: Work Sharp Blade Grinding Attachment

12 April, 2024

What should I be calling this review? It is actually a review of the optional add-on Blade Grinding Attachment for the Work Sharp Ken Onion Edition Sharpener, which is getting to be quite a mouthful! However although the Blade Grinding Attachment is an add-on accessory for the Ken Onion Edition Sharpener and can’t be used without it, I have titled the review as being a review of the “Work Sharp Blade Grinding Attachment” because for me it is what the attachment brings to the table that is the main feature.

I’ve had my eye on the Work Sharp Ken Onion edition for a long time. For me it wasn’t quite right (though I still think this is excellent as is) until I tried the optional Blade Grinding attachment.

For my needs it is the Blade Grinding Attachment that transforms the Ken Onion Edition Sharpener into a real workhorse sharpening system.

The Blade Grinding Attachment effectively adds a mini bench belt grinder to the Work Sharp, and this was the clincher for me. I’ve been using a 1″ belt grinder with an angle setting guide I made and added to it myself for 99% of my sharpening. Now, thanks to Work Sharp I’ve got a much more compact and specifically knife edge focused tool.

This fantastic sharpener is now being used to create the Tactical Reviews ‘WORK SHARP Sharp’ standard for all my knife testing.

Join me in this detailed look at the optional add-on Blade Grinding Attachment for the Work Sharp Ken Onion Edition Sharpener.

Review Videos

Starting with a short format sixty second review:

Onto a full video review covering many more details:

A little more Background:
Before diving in to the image galleries, in effect there are two reviews combined here. The Work Sharp Ken Onion Edition Sharpener, and the separate Blade Grinding Attachment for this sharpener. This combination is also sold as a kit version called the Work Sharp Elite Knife Sharpening Solution.

A few more details:

What’s in the box? – Ken Onion Edition Sharpener:
This is the foundation sharpener, which is complete in itself.

A good look round the Ken Onion Edition Sharpener – Things to look out for here are:
Using an in-line transformer makes for a very tidy setup, and of course it will have the mains plug suitable for your country. Though it looks like a single machine, the sharpener is a motor/control unit, and a belt sharpening head that fits onto the motor assembly (this is important later when it comes to the blade grinding attachment).
The Ken Onion Edition Sharpener head has a pair of angle guides plus an edge guide to support the blade. To control the speed of the belt, the motor unit has a trigger with rotating maximum speed dial. The trigger also has a locking button so you can set it running and not need to hold the trigger switch, leaving you both hands free.
Sharpening angle is set using a dial adjuster with clearly marked angles from 15 to 30 degrees. The last image in the gallery with the spring showing is the belt tensioning roller.

What’s in the box? – Blade Grinding Attachment:
As well as the main sharpener, the Blade Grinding Attachment also has an unsupported, or ‘slack’ belt, so will create a convex edge. In the box are the attachment and a set of belts for it, as these are a different size/length compared to the main sharpener’s belts.

A good look round the Blade Grinding Attachment – Things to look out for here are:
One of the belt rollers is the motor spindle itself, so on its own it might appear that one belt roller is missing (but isn’t). The Blade Grinding Attachment has three rollers; one tensioning roller, and an angle adjustable set of twin rollers that give you the edge angle you want. A shelf at the front of the Blade Grinding Attachment gives you the zeroing position of the blade angle relative to the adjustable angle section of the belt. The set of twin rollers is moved to the desired angle and the locking screw on the back tightened to maintain this setting. There are two positions for one of the twin rollers that allow you to effectively change how ‘slack’ the belt is. The knob on the tensioner provides tracking adjustments for the different belts. There is even a small support shelf at the rear of the Blade Grinding Attachment for using as a mini belt grinder. Fitting to the motor is via a bayonet style of locking ring.

What it is like to use?
In this gallery, the first thing I am doing is taking off and discarding the sharpening head for the Ken Onion Edition Sharpener to leave just the motor assembly (no offense to the Ken Onion Edition). Then on goes the Blade Grinding Attachment. Now you can see how the motor spindle (which has a left-hand screw belt retainer fitted into it) then completes the belt roller path.
The tensioning roller has a finger tab for you to push on and it rotates and locks into a retracted position. Like this the belt pops on and off easily, and with the new belt in place, a quarter turn on the finger tab and the tensioner unlocks and grabs the belt.

Although the Blade Grinding Attachment has clamping points, I’ve been using the sharpener sitting under its own weight, and it hasn’t moved or needed to be secured.

The process of using the angled section of the belt, is to first lay the blade on the reference surface at zero degrees, then move up and to the belt. This sequence is showing the process on one side, then the other, and then going to a finer belt and repeating. The last photos in the gallery has an orange item on the right, which is an LED light used to help show the burr that has been raised on the edge.
In this gallery the two rollers that set the angle for the belt are shown in their widest spacing, however, since these images were taken I have changed to the narrower spacing as I prefer the slightly firmer belt tension this creates between the rollers.

Powered sharpeners give you such a massive time saving over manual sharpeners, but it is also possible to make mistakes faster too.

Here I have take on an edge bevel re-profile from a 70 degree inclusive angle to 35 degrees inclusive. The primary grind angle on this blade is quite wide, so as the edge bevel angle was halved, the edge bevel width has increased significantly. In fact the entire edge bezel does not fit in the magnified view.
This re-profiled edge was done using a very light pressure onto the 120 grit belt, followed by a strop using a metal polishing compound. The result was nicely hair popping.

Both the Work Sharp Ken Onion standard sharpening head and the Blade Grinding Attachment use a ‘unsupported belt’. There is no platen behind the section of belt used for sharpening. This is also termed a ‘slack belt’. A consequence of this is that the edge created by the Work Sharp is convexed. You can vary how much the edge is convexed in a couple of ways. With the Blade Grinding Attachment, the rollers that set the angle of the belt can be positioned closer (less convexed edge) or wider apart (more convexed edge). As the belt is ‘slack’ you can also increase pressure onto the belt, which will deflect it more and produce an edge with more pronounced convexing.
All of this allows you to play around with settings and pressure to find the edge bevel shape you prefer; always slightly convexed, but you can decide how much.

I am now going to back to that point about time saving with a powered sharpener; you will either save a lot of time making a knife very sharp, or ruin it in double quick time. No sharpening system is fool-proof. Sharpening, as a process, relies on removing metal and forming a fine cutting edge. Just like sharpening a pencil, you can over sharpen and use the pencil up much faster than needed. A powered pencil sharpener can eat up the entire pencil in no time.

Sharpening is a skill you need to learn, whatever system you use. Work Sharp, with the Ken Onion Edition, or this extra enhancement of the Blade Grinding Attachment give you an excellent tool, which you will get more and more out of as you learn to work with it.

With a good powered system, and the Work Sharp is excellent, you can concentrate on the skill and control of positioning the blade, without the repeated effort of grinding the metal away yourself. The powered movement of the abrasive allows you to finesse your technique.

Tactical Reviews new standard in sharpness is now ‘WORK SHARP Sharp’ thanks to the Ken Onion Edition Sharpener with Blade Grinding Attachment.

Review Summary

The views expressed in this summary table are from the point of view of the reviewer’s personal use. I am not a member of the armed forces and cannot comment on its use beyond that covered in the review.

Something that might be a ‘pro’ for one user can be a ‘con’ for another, so the comments are categorised based on my requirements. You should consider all points and if they could be beneficial to you.

_______________________________________________
What doesn’t work so well for me
_______________________________________________
Very easy to misshape the blade tip (requires good technique to avoid).
The vertical belt section is also not supported and flexes.

_______________________________________________
Things I like
_______________________________________________
Complete control of belt speed.
Quick and easy belt changes.
Long duty cycle (rated for 1 hour continuous running).
Allows for varying amount of edge convexing.
Angle of belt set by movable roller assembly.
Very compact for a high quality mini belt grinder.
Super fast sharpening and re-profiling.
Solid build quality.
Very quickly get your edges ‘WORK SHARP Sharp’.

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Gear Review: HORL 2 Knife Sharpener

9 September, 2022

HORL 1993 are creating a revolution in sharpening with their innovative line of rolling knife sharpeners. Many of you will likely have seen their system popping up in various social media feeds, especially if you have any interests involving knives. Though primarily aimed at sharpening kitchen knives, having given the system a quick try out at IWA 2022, I was intrigued to test it in more depth and with other types of knives. Join me in this HORL 2 knife sharpener review for a closer look at this new approach to guided sharpening.

What is on test?:

For this review, on test are the HORL 2 sharpener with add-on Premium Sharpening kit plus the storage block. HORL also sent the tea towel and branded plasters.

A good look round the HORL 2 – Things to look out for here are:
In this first part which includes the HORL 2 sharpener plus the optional storage block, I’m breaking it into three sections. First the HORL 2 box and first look over the knife holder / angle guide, then views all round the storage block, and finally the rolling sharpening stone itself.

Inside the box are a couple of printed guides, and the two main components, the rolling sharpener and the magnetic guide block. The precisely finished wooden guide block has two angled ends, 15 degrees and 20 degrees. The ends are marked with their angle and have a rubber surface to cushion and hold the knife.

An optional extra that goes with the sharpener so well you really should get it, is the storage block. Available in either of the two woods used for the sharpeners themselves you can match the sharpener or go with a wood contrast. The block has two cut-outs, one is an angled pocket to sit the rolling sharpener in, and the other is a slot that has a couple of bolt heads which the magnetic guide block grabs on to. The quality of finish is very high.

Lastly in this detailed look at the components is the rolling sharpener itself. A cylinder with a round sharpening stone at each end.
The wooden centre grip section of the rolling sharpener is in the matching wood to the guide block, and rotates freely. At each end are rubber rings to act as wheels, and the sharpening disks. As it comes this includes a diamond disk and a grooved ceramic coated disk.
Also shown here is how the HORL 2 neatly sits on the storage block.

The Premium Sharpening Kit add-on:
Though you can produce a good edge with the standard HOLR 2, the premium sharpening kit is designed to further refine that edge and take it to another level.
The kit includes two extra sharpening disks of 3000 and 6000 grit. These are found inside matching storage tins, wrapped in a cloth square. As well as these two fine stones, you also have a thick leather strop for cleaning and deburring the edge.
The 3000 grit stone is blue and the finest 6000 grit stone is white. Both are marked on the back of the disk with the grit.

Changing the Stone:
Changing stones on the HORL 2 is simple. Grip the rubber wheel firmly and simply unscrew the stone you want to change; then screw in the replacement. My own preference was the diamond and 3000 grit as a pair.

Video overview and sharpening test.

This video takes detailed look at the HORL 2 being used for the first time on a Santoku kitchen knife and an outdoor / hunting knife. It is quite long but also uncovers a few tips and tricks you might be interested in as well as showing a reprofile of the edge angle. It is worth watching for the insights into how the sharpener interacts with parts of the knife and possible precautions you might want to take.

What it is like to use?

If you have watched the whole video you will have seen what I’m going to describe in this section for real. For this review I’m using the HORL 2 along with two optional extras, the storage block, and the premium sharpening kit with its finer grit stones and leather strop.

As the simplest and most basic look at using the HORL 2, these photos show how you set up the knife on the magnetic angle block with the roller sharpener against the knife edge. You can see how the edge-to-stone angle is maintained and allows sharpening by rolling the sharpener backwards and forwards.
Of note is that your kitchen work surface (or table) is used as part of the sharpening system because you need a large surface to working the rolling sharpener along the blade. Typically a sharpening system will contain the dust and metal filings produced to the sharpener, but the HORL 2 drops the filings that don’t stick to the magnetized blade all over the work surface. It is a bit of a messy eater when it comes to sharpening systems.

Beyond the basic operation of the HORL 2 here are a few general observations:

Operation is incredibly simple for use with most kitchen knives.
If the depth of the blade is more than the diameter of the sharpening disk you have to use ‘riser blocks’ (like a chopping board) to be able to sharpen the edge.
It is very easy to bump the sharpening stone into the knife bolster or handle. I use masking tape to protect these areas from damage.
You will magnetise the blade by using the magnetic angle guide block.
The sharpening dust collects on the magnetised blade and edge during use.
Shorter / narrower blades (paring knives or pocket knives) need very careful positioning on the angle block.
As your worktop is part of the sharpening system, this will be covered in metal filings

When swapping from a kitchen knife to an outdoor / hunting knife, it became apparent of an issue you need to work round regarding the tip of the knife.
With many hunting knives, the blade edge curves upward to meet the spine of the blade at the tip. This introduces challenges of maintaining the edge angle all through the sweep of the edge on any sharpening system. On the HORL 2 it requires the user to no longer rely on the angle block to provide the correct angle, instead the user has to twist the rolling sharpener to the correct angle at the tip.
Illustrated below is the angle the roller needs to be moved to sharpen this knife all the way to the tip. It is actually 20 degrees, the same angle as is used on the magnetic angle block. With the rubber wheels on the roller gripping the work surface, this does need the user to force the roller to twist round and get the hang of following the angle near the tip.
Another feature of a hunting knife verses a kitchen knife it that typically there is a ‘plunge line’ where the blade profile and ricasso meet. Also shown below are photos of how the corners of the HORL 2 stones hit the plunge line and might not quite reach the very end of the cutting edge. You will also likely mark the ricasso with the stone.
Finally with the grooved ceramic stone of the HORL 2 and the tip of a knife with a curve there is a possibility of the edge catching into the groove. This happened a couple of times in the video when turning the sharpener to work the tip of the blade, and prompted me to abandon the ceramic stone for a blade with curved tip like this. For kitchen knives this was not an issue.

Review Summary

I’m starting with what doesn’t work so well, so I can finish on a more positive note

_______________________________________________
What doesn’t work so well for me
_______________________________________________

Needs ‘riser blocks’ for blades wider than the sharpening disk.
Magnetises the blade and this collects metal filings on the blade and angle block.
Covers the kitchen work surface in metal filings.
Still requires the user to control the angle of the stone at the blade tip.
Easy to hit and mark the handle or other parts of the knife with the rolling stone.

_______________________________________________
Things I like
_______________________________________________

For most typical straight-edge kitchen knives it makes sharpening super simple and easy.
Elegant and attractive solution that looks good in any kitchen.
Choice of stone types and grits.
Easy touch ups.
Very quick to set up and use.
Choice of 15 DPS or 20 DPS sharpening angles.

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Gear Review: Wicked Edge Advanced Alignment Guide and Low Angle Adapter

22 January, 2018

This is a supplementary review to the Wicked Edge ‘Field and Sport’ Sharpener Review as it covers two optional extras that extend the functionality of a Wicked Edge Sharpener. The Low angle adapter has been around for some time, but the Advanced alignment guide is a recent addition which further enhances the precision of the sharpener.

The Low Angle Adapter is a clamp extension for a Wicked Edge sharpener which allows for angles as low as 10°. The Advanced Alignment Guide provides measurable reference points for repeatable knife mounting. It allows a Wicked Edge user to be able to tilt a knife in the clamp to find the optimum knife positioning and record the setting so the mounting position can be repeated during the next sharpening session.

Low Angle Adapter – A few more details & What it is like to use?:

For this supplementary review it makes more sense to combine the different sections I normally use, so we will look at each of these optional extras and how to use them at the same time.

Unpacking the low angle adapter.

The main body of this clamp extension is black anodised aluminium.

An area is milled out of the adapter for the sharpener’s standard clamp jaws to slide into and grip.

The other side has a different profile as there is the adapters blade clamp plate.

Taking this blade clamp completely off shows the milled pocket into which it sits. The milled out areas on each side (for the sharpener’s clamp and the adapter’s blade clamp) ensure precise alignment of all parts of the adapter during use.

To clearly illustrate what this low angle adapter does, here is the standard clamp of the Wicked Edge, and at the low angle set for the stone, the stone is hitting the clamp jaw, so won’t reach the knife edge (unless the knife is very deep).

With the guide rod at the same angle, fitting the low angle adapter allows the stone to completely clear the main clamp and work on a knife blade fitted into the adapter.

All standard angles are still available even with the low angle adapter, but remember the scale on the main clamp will now not be exactly correct as the height of the blade has changed. Make sure you note down the fact the that adapter was used along with the angle shown on the scale for the guide rod.

Advanced Alignment Guide – A few more details & What it is like to use?:

With the Wicked Edge system you note down the various settings used for each blade so that in subsequent sharpening sessions you can repeat the angles precisely, reducing the amount of metal removed. The Advanced Alignment Guide gives you a further level of precision for the positioning of the blade in the clamp, and allows you to angle the blade and record the exact position you used.

When it arrives, the guide has a protective film to ensure you get it completely free of marks.

With the protective film removed you can see the grid printed onto the guide and two holes which are used to fit the guide to your sharpener.

Before this alignment guide was made, you had to use the simple ruler scale built into the clamp to position the blade, relying on the blade spine to sit squarely onto the depth key.

To use the new guide, when you fit the two pronged depth key into the clamp, first pass the prongs through the holes in the alignment guide and then into the clamp. Now you have a 2D labelled grid which allows you to precisely position and record where the blade tip is set. This also means you no longer have to put the blade spine down onto both depth key prongs and can rock it one way or the other to better present the knife edge for sharpening. Another level of precision.

Review Summary

The views expressed in this summary table are from the point of view of the reviewer’s personal use. I am not a member of the armed forces and cannot comment on its use beyond a cutting tool or field/hunting knife.

_______________________________________________	_______________________________________________
Things I like	What doesn’t work so well for me
_______________________________________________	_______________________________________________
Finer Edge Angles available.	Relatively expensive.
Smaller blades can be sharpened.
Blade positioning even more repeatable.	Doesn’t sit against a flat surface so can move backwards and forwards.
Much easier than the standard ruler.

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Gear Review: Wicked Edge ‘Field and Sport’ Sharpener

11 September, 2017

Wicked Edge’s sharpening systems have proven themselves over and over to be the ultimate precision guided knife sharpeners on the market, so much so, many high-end knife makers use them for their knives’ first edge, rather than hand sharpening their blades. Wicked Edge sharpeners are solid, reliable and fast. If you want the most precise and repeatable edge possible, combined with the least blade wear, choosing one of these sharpeners is really the best possible choice you could make.

A little more Background:

In the world of knives, Wicked Edge is one of those aspirational products. Almost everyone wants one, but few people feel they can justify paying the relatively high cost of one. Much like any quality ‘professional tool’ that performs to a higher standard, most people simply do not NEED them. Simpler, cheaper options exist, and do a reasonable job.

Perhaps one of the other challenging aspects of making that leap into the realm of the Wicked Edge is that most often we see the famous mirror polished hair splitting Wicked Edge (which I too started this article with), and to achieve this you need the full set of stone grits and strops. But you don’t need to go that far, or spend that much, certainly not straight away.

The Field and Sport is one of those simpler systems on offer which includes four grits, 100, 200, 400 and 600, and is also designed to be portable and easy to set up. In real terms, the 600 grit will give you a better working edge than a finely polished mirror finish anyway.

For this review, Wicked Edge did send a few extras as well to allow me to show the finer finishes, but they are not needed for Wickedly sharp knives.

A few more details:

As the Field and Sport is a portable model, it comes in a carry case. This is useful for storage as well as taking it with you. Also shown here is a box of the optional glass platens for using the diamond polishing films.

Opening up the case everything is nicely laid out in a closed-cell foam liner.

Looking a little closer you can also see that in this case the optional extra fine 800/1000 stones have been included which are not part of the standard Field and Sport kit.

To be clear, this is the full set of part of the 2016 version of the Field and Sport kit. Included are the blade clamp, g-clamp, guide rods, 100/200 and 400/600 stones, Allen keys, blade stop and marker pen.

Adding in the optional 800/1000 stones that also fit into the case makes the kit look like this.

Although not clamped onto a working surface, this is the Wicked Edge fully assembled with the blade clamp, guides and stones ready to work.

With a knife fitted securely into the blade clamp this shows the arrangement of the stones as you work on the knife.

Most guided systems use just that, guides. I make that distinction as less robust guides can be bent and distorted. Not so with Wicked Edge. Take a look here at the guide rod ball-joints which have smooth but play-free movement.

The rods fit through the entire length of the stones providing a stable alignment.

You can go precision crazy with the adjustments on the guide rod mounts. There are two hand-wheels, the lower one does the main angle adjustment.

The upper hand-wheel locks the fine angle adjustment, and once released you can turn the ball joint bolt and move this out by any amount and lock it in place.

That lower hand-wheel locks into a series of precisely positioned angle holes cut into the guide rod arms.

As you can see, the hole’s spacing changes as you get further from the middle to keep the change in angle consistent for each graduation. If this was not done, when you get to wider angles each adjustment would become a smaller and smaller fraction of a degree.

This version is the 2016 version of the blade clamp, but the principles should be similar for the latest version. One part of the clamp is fixed to the base.

To allow you to fit each blade into the clamp in the same position each time (to reduce the amount of metal removed when you re-sharpen it) there is a folding ruler inside the clamp.

The ruler in the extended position.

You might have notice the set of four holes near the top of the blade clamp. These provide two blade heights that are set by a removable dual pin that you rest the spine of the blade on as you tighten the clamp.

Tightening the clamp is a two stage process where initially you tighten the top bolt.

Then move the Allen key down to the lower bolt and tighten this to bring the clamp plate back out to a parallel position (to stop the blade popping out). This is important or you will have blade instability when sharpening.

Once the clamp is properly tightened you need to remove the blade height stop pin.

With the stop pin removed you will have room to work on the blade.

Altogether the Field and Sport has four grits, 100, 200, 400 and 600, and here I also have the 800/1000 stones. The following series of photos is intended to show how those grits compare from most coarse to least.

100

200

400

600

800

1000

What it is like to use?

This review has taken a while as even a ‘normal’ reviewer doesn’t sharpen knives at the same rate as a professional knife maker, or knife sharpener. What you will also find is that the Wicked Edge takes time to wear in and actually improves over time. Wicked Edge even recommend you start using it on a few ‘inexpensive knives’ first.

During the coarse of this review testing I’ve used the Wicked Edge on all sorts of blades, and in this next sequence is actually a titanium diving knife. Titanium is notoriously difficult to get a good edge on, but you would never know it, I didn’t do anything different and it was a super slicer at the end of this re-profile.

This blunt tip diving knife has had the left edge re-profiled and the right has not yet been done. We will step though the process…

I’ve taken to putting masking tape onto the blade before fitting to the clamp to ensure there are no marks left. This can lead to some movement depending on how thick and soft the tape is, so be careful with the tape you choose and see if this works for you or not. For some blades I don’t do this.

There are plenty of videos showing the Wicked Edge sharpening action. It is a two handed process where you push the stones away from the edge and away from you stroking the entire edge, first one side, then the other. The speed you work will depend on how practiced you are, and how precisely you want to work (and how much material needs to be removed). I also worked the stones up and down when I had a lot of material to remove.

An interesting point to note is that unlike just about every other sharpening system, due to the ability to immediately alternate sides, when doing this, you won’t raise a wire edge. The only way to do this is to stop the alternating action and just work on one side at a time until you have achieved the burr/wire-edge, then swap to do the same for the other side before getting going with the alternating action and working through the grits.

The 100 grit leaves a very clear scratch pattern, and you can see I’ve worked it up and down here as the scratches are at two angles. This was a reprofile so needed a lot of work.

Starting to work out the 100grit scratches with the 200 grit, but some scratches are pretty deep. This is one of the ‘features’ of the new stones, they can have some hot spots which create deeper scratches. Only when really worn-in are these avoided.

Just keep refining through the grits. The precision of the guide system just makes a beautiful edge appear before your eyes. For this blade I did not want to polish the edge as I wanted some bite and micro-serrations, so stopped here at the 600 grit.

Now changing blades and onto a large CRKT folder which needed a re-profile. Here you can see how I’ve used the marker pen to blacken the original edge so I can see when I’ve completely removed it and achieved the angle I want.

In this case the intention was to get to a polished edge…. just because, OK. So here we have the glass platens onto which you stick the diamond films.

The platens have Fine and Coarse marked on them, but this is for your reference and to tell you which side to fit the different diamond grits, not because like this there is any difference.

The Diamond films are simply peeled off the sheets and stuck onto the platens ready to be used as the final stage. These films cut fast and will get dirty pretty quickly. Kyle of Wicked Edge showed me a nice trick for cleaning these up with a bit of alcohol hand rub on some tissue which brought them back to life and gave them a new lease of life, so don’t give up on them too quickly.
NOTE, unlike the diamond stones which can be used onto or off the edge, you MUST use the diamond films OFF the edge otherwise the edge can bite into the film and ruin it – just like any other strop.

What becomes really obvious at this point are two aspects. The first is that the brand new stones make it much more difficult to properly work through the grits and remove the scratches from the coarser grits, and the second is that this will really show you up if you haven’t worked through the grits well enough!! Lessons get learnt.

Ultimately we get there though, and the Wicked Edge precision mirror edge is mine – ALL MINE!