Review and photos by Graham Sands
Made in Sheffield, England by highly regarded chisel manufacturer Robert Sorby, the Pro-Edge is a portable version of their factory sharpening machine. The basic system comes with 60 and 120 grit belts but no jigs. As I only need to sharpen chisels and plane blades I added the Woodworkers Square Guide with 240, 600, 1200 and 3000 grits belts. Honing wheels, jigs and other accessories are available for sharpening turning and carving tools and knives.
The ProEdge is beautifully and solidly made, a pleasure to behold. An 8mm thick steel plate frame supports the tension roller, tool platform and reference plate to the motor/drive pulley, and the 10mm thick angle setter has a wonderful knurled angle selection pin and captive spanner on a hexagonal locking bolt. It can be precisely locked to common angles or set anywhere in between.
The reference surface is a stable 5mm thick steel angle. The chisel/plane blade jig can be set to exactly 90° using a small square and the hex key provided, while the tool platform angle is set to 90°.
The ProEdge appealed to me as being a singular system for the whole process, so simple to use and no maintenance required. Just slide the jig from side to side whilst presenting the tool to the belt and against the guide. I can take deep nicks out of chisels, sharpen them right up to almost mirror finish, micro bevel and lap them in no time at all just by progressing through the belt grits and setting the angle — done, just like new! Belts are very easy and quick to change with the cam lever on the upper roller. For convenience the operating angle can also be adjusted.
I have a set of Japanese chisels which of course should only be flat ground due to the brittle laminated edge, for which this machine is suitable. Because the V-shaped chisel back does not sit properly on the tool platform I held the chisel face to the underside instead. To make this possible I unscrewed the Fingernail Boss Bar, which I don’t need and was in the way of the chisel handle. The 90°jig cannot be used in this instance, but these chisels don’t have parallel sides anyway.
The sharpening process does not significantly heat the tool and sparks are only caused by the 60 and 120 grit belts. With its low centre of gravity, the Pro-Edge can be used without bolting down and then put away, however there is an opening in the bottom plate for swarf to be extracted if the unit is mounted.
The reference (backing) plate has sufficient area to allow lapping chisels and plane irons.
Key to the performance of the Pro-Edge are Trizac belts made in the USA by 3M. The 600 grit surface is arranged in a brickwork pattern to give quick sharpening from 240 grit. Up close the 1200 and 3000 grit belt surfaces have three-dimensional structures resembling pyramids. They are for fine finishing and designed to shed grit evenly, constantly exposing fresh layers of sharp particles as wear occurs. They have a low-friction coating to minimise heat build-up.
Available from www.carbatec.com.au