Over the weekend I spent several hours sharpening several kitchen knives with the Wicked Edge. The knives are pretty much crap so I wasn't going to lose sleep if I screwed up. Over the years I have used a Chef's Choice 110 which did a decent job, but the edge's didn't last too long and it was very uneven for any type of curved blade.
I noticed after the third or fourth knife the diamond stones were starting to cut better, so I guess there really is a short breakin-in period. After a little learning curve I got the hang of the basics and the WE did a pretty good job on those knives. I put a new angle on all of them to undo the inconsistancy of the Chef's Choice over years and only progressed from 100 to 600. I have not yet tried the 800/1000 yet nor the strops. For these knives I didn't see much need since at 600 they were still a vast improvement over the Chef's choice. I put a 20 degree angle on most of them and all of them cut much better than they have in 20 years. Not bad for a first shot with this contraption. We'll see if they hold an edge better than in the past.
BTW, I'm pretty much a newby to sharpening and am horrible at using a stone. I've tried but I just don't keep a consistant angle. Not in my blood
I've got 3 Spyderco knives but they are practically brand new so no need to even touch up yet. But I am digging this contraption so far. I haven't even put a real wicked edge on a knife yet, but already my crap knives are sharper than they've ever been.
The higher grits and strops are the whole point. You have done the hard work of reprofiling with heavier grits. The higher grits make it sharp. If they are sharp to you now... You are in for a surprise. Hit em with 5 of 6 passes of each higher grit then a few on the strops. You will see a noticeable difference
