Test: can a Wicked Edge sharpen all knives?
According to Wicked Edge you can sharpen any type of knife on a Wicked Edge sharpening system. Time to test this statement to see if it is true. We tested five knives and came to a satisfying conclusion.
When selecting our knives we paid attention to diversity. Because we cannot test all knives we selected a couple of different types. We immediately believe that you can easily sharpen most kitchen and pocket knives on the Wicked Edge. However, what happens when you select less common knives? From very small to large, from wide to narrow. We tested a number of knives.
Set-up
We tested five different knives. To compare them properly we established a couple frameworks, to keep it fair!
The tested knives
- The Eden Classic Damast carving knife
- An Opinel pocket knife
- The knife on a Victorinox Swiss pocket knife
- The knife on the Leatherman Wave multi-tool
- The Eden Classic Damast bread knife
The aspects put to the test
- Does the knife fit inside the Wicked Edge?
- Can you properly determine the angle?
- Can the knives be sharpened with the sharpening rods? Can you reach the entire blade?
- Can the knives be finished off/polished with the Leather Strops?
Eden Classic Damast carving knife
| Does the knife fit inside the Wicked Edge? | The knife easily fits inside the clamp. The guiding system takes care of great balance. |
|---|---|
| Can you properly determine the angle? | Yes. You sharpen the Classic Damast between a 15 and 17 degree angle. You can easily set this up. |
| Sharpening with the sharpening rods | Sharpening with the rods is easy. You can reach the entire blade and create the right sharpness. |
| Finish with the Leather Strops | This is also great. You should always be careful when using the strops. However, the strops have enough room to touch and polish the blade. |
Opinel pocket knife
| Does the knife fit inside the Wicked Edge? | The knife easily fits inside the clamp. The depth key helps you place the knife. |
|---|---|
| Can you properly determine the angle? | Yes, this is effortless. The Opinel knife can be set-up over the entire reach, without the rods running into something. |
| Sharpening with the sharpening rods | This is good. However, because of the closing mechanism you cannot sharpen the last 1.5 mm of the blade as the rod will hit the lock. |
| Finish with the Leather Strops | Here you can also not reach the last 1.5 mm of the blade. Fortunately the strops have enough room to reach the blade and polish it entirely. |
Victorinox Swiss pocket knife
| Does the knife fit inside the Wicked Edge? | Yes it fits. However, the pocket knife is not completely stable. By properly securing the base you can sharpen a Victorinox pocket knife. |
|---|---|
| Can you properly determine the sharpening angle? | The sharpening angle should, with normal placement of the knife, be set-up pretty broadly. Because of the small and narrow blade you will quickly hit the clamp. By placing the knife a little higher you can use a narrower sharpening angle. |
| Sharpening with the sharpening rods | By ising a broader sharpening angle, or placing the knife higher you can easily sharpen this knife with the rods. The entire blade can be reached. Because the Victorinox knife doesn't completely start from the handle, you won't be bothered by it during the sharpening process. |
| Finish with the Leather Strops | You should always be careful when you use a strop, but here the strops also have enough room to hit the blade and polish it. |
Leatherman Wave Multi-tool
| Does the knife fit inside the Wicked Edge? | Yes the knife fits inside the clamp. Because the spine of the blade is curved, however, it is more difficult to determine the balance. After placing it you need to properly secure it. After all, the weight cannot be evenly distributed. |
|---|---|
| Can you properly determine the sharpening angle? | The sharpening angle can effortlessly be determined. The knife on the Wave is high enough to not be bothered by the clamp while determining the angle. |
| Sharpening with the sharpening rods | Sharpening with the rods is easy, as expected. However, because the blade immediately begins you cannot sharpen the last 1.5 mm. After all, the rod will come into contact with the Leatherman. Despite this small detail you can reach the entire blade. |
| Finish with the Leather Strops | The strops have enough room to touch the blade. Here, however, the same applies: the last 1.5 mm cannot be polished because the strop will hit the Leatherman. |
Eden Classic Damast bread knife
| Does the knife fit inside the Wicked Edge? | Yes, the knife effortlessly fits inside the Wicked Edge clamp. |
|---|---|
| Can you properly determine the sharpening angle? | Yes, the blade has enough height. As such you can easily determine the right sharpening angle. The entire reach (15 to 30 degrees) can easily be set. |
| Sharpening with the sharpening rods | This is not possible, as expected. You only hit the tips, the serrations are not included. Then why test a bread knife? Wicked Edge is working on developing a rod that will also enable you to sharpen serrated knives. However, it is not clear when this rod will be available. |
| Finish with the Leather Strops | Here the same applies as for the rods. At this moment it is not possible to sharpen or finish a bread knife in the Wicked Edge. |
Conclusion: can all knives be sharpened on the Wicked Edge?
Yes, you can in fact sharpen all knives on a Wicked Edge. Long, narrow, or very wide blade, it is almost effortless with the Wicked Edge. Of course you cannot sharpen serrated knives with the system (yet), however, the developments in that area are very promising.
You sometimes have to toy with the settings a bit, especially when you want sharpen a very small knife. This, however, is inevitable, because there are, simply put, many different sizes available on the market today. By slightly adjusting the settings you can also sharpen very small knives. Take, for instance, the knife on a Victorinox pocket knife.
We are looking forward to the new accessories, that will make the Wicked Edge truly suitable for any type of knife. Without a doubt this system is a true all-rounder when it comes to sharpening.
Wicked Edge Generation 3: large innovations
In 2015 the Wicked Edge Generation 3 was introduced. A major improvement when compared to the Pro Pack 2. After all, it was enhanced with a clamp jaw that can easily be tensioned with a lever. The system with the Allen key is therefore no longer necessary.
In addition, the way the angle is adjusted also improved. By simply moving the lever the sharpening angle on both arms will be adjusted. As a result asymmetrical sharpening will become a thing of the past and finding the previous settings a piece of cake.
But that is not all! The Generation 3 looks better, takes up less room on your work bench, and the sharpening stones can be stored in the system itself. It is incredibly practically organized. The Wicked Edge generation 3 is a mature sharpening system that makes razor-sharp results even easier to come by.
