I was getting ready to film a guide on using the Wicked Edge Chosera stones and ended up taking microscope pictures of the entire set of solid WEPS paddles. These include the 100, 200, 400, 600, 800, 1K diamond plates, and the 1200 and 1600 ceramic paddles.
I’m sharing these images as there’s been growing interest in comparing the higher diamond grits, WEPS ceramics, and the Chosera and Shapton WEPS stones. I’ll soon post the Shapton and Chosera WEPS progressions.
The knife in focus is a Maestro Wu bombshell steel folding knife with angles set to 20 degrees per side. All the images are captured using a Veho 400x USB microscope, each picture measuring 1mm wide by 0.75mm high.
Starting with the 100 WEPS diamonds, I usually use circular strokes for initial sharpening. These aggressive motions create deep, random scratches that aid quick stock removal. However, they necessitate additional work to avoid micro chipping in later stages.
The following step involves scrubbing strokes to align these scratches and establish a flat bevel angle. Though it cleans up the scratches, it also leaves the edge slightly uneven due to localized abrading.
Sweeping motions, involving alternating strokes on each side, clean up any waviness and minimize burr formation, as seen in the 100 Diamond – Sweeping image.
Each subsequent stage follows a scrubbing/sweeping pattern at every grit. The routine includes changing grits, verifying angles with an angle cube, performing scrubbing strokes to raise a burr, adjusting angles, and then switching to sweeping strokes.
The 200, 400, and 600 WEPS diamond plates progressively refine the edge, revealing different levels of scratches and micro chipping, eventually leading to a decent working edge.
Decisions arise at the 600 stock—whether to stop or continue with the WEPS 800/1K, the WEPS 1200/1600 Ceramics, WEPS diamond compound on leather, or the Chosera or Shapton WEPS stones. For this post, I’ll continue with the WEPS diamonds and ceramic plates.
The 800 and 1K WEPS diamond plates, relatively new, display shallower scratches and a smoother edge compared to the 600. The 1K plate particularly shows significant smoothing, forming a sharper, yet versatile, working edge.
Transitioning to the WEPS ceramic stones reveals hidden scratches from the diamond setup due to their shallower abrasions. The 1200 ceramic exposes residual scratches, requiring further work to eliminate them, as depicted in the images.
Lastly, the 1600 WEPS ceramic paddles display residual scratches in the scrubbing image but showcase a refined edge in the sweeping picture, indicating a blade ready for precise cutting.
Stay tuned for the microscope Chosera and Shapton Progressions in the upcoming posts!
