new style vice
- This topic has 9 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 03/05/2016 at 1:32 am by
.
-
I’ve found that it’s easier to re-mount a knife in a position you’ve recorded with the Gen 2 vise. You can clamp the blade with the upper screw and then adjust the blade position before cranking on the lower screw to lock the position. With the Gen 3 vise, there’s only two positions, unclamped and clamped. If you don’t rely on a position you’ve recorded, the Gen 3 is faster and much less fussy about blade shapes.
I did a swap with one of the guys here on the forum to get a second paper-stone base. I made a replacement vise base and now have both set-ups at hand for those odd-ball situations where one is better than the other. I made a new 5/16″ square degree bar, but you probably have the Gen 1 bar, which ought to work, still laying around. I just have to move the arm assemblies from one to the other when I want to change – less than a minute. Maybe not so convenient for your portable rig to drag along the extra base, but the best of both worlds. As a professional user, Clay may be willing to provide you with the needed hardware.
Oh, and Tuffy? Welcome back. We’ve missed you.
1 user thanked author for this post.
For your commercial work, I’d say definitely move to the Gen3. Best thing I did. But not just the vise conversion, pick up the actual Gen3 so that you get the dual angle adjust too. I do high volume commercial and couldn’t imagine going back to the Gen2 full time for the high volume. My Gen2 still does the thick blades, tricky clamp issues, and odd jobs, but the Gen3 handles most everything, and I spend far less time setting up and far more time sharpening. I’ve even had both Gens clamping one blade. 95% of my jobs are on the Gen3 for about the last eight months. Sweet spots and repeat knife jobs are no problem, since doing the sharpie/1000 grit swipe is extremely fast to find the sweet spot. Unclamp, move the blade a bit, reclamp, swipe, move again if necessary… angle off?… slide the arm adjuster a click this way or that. .. Just seconds to get a blade dialed in. That is where the Gen3 really, really shines. Extremely fast setup comparatively.
Put it this way, I have the earliest version Gen3 with a ton of miles on it, and need to send it in for an overhaul and a couple parts for upgrade, but business is good and I hate to be without it for a couple weeks. The Gen2 is great, but the Gen3 is my baby.
Hope this helps you Tuffy, I enjoy your videos.
3 users thanked author for this post.
Put it this way, I have the earliest version Gen3 with a ton of miles on it, and need to send it in for an overhaul and a couple parts for upgrade, but business is good and I hate to be without it for a couple weeks. The Gen2 is great, but the Gen3 is my baby. Hope this helps you Tuffy, I enjoy your videos.
Hey Montana, I have a Gen 3 Pro, and also love the fast setup, especially in finding the sweet spot. Once you use the micro-adjusts and an angle cube to align both sides, you really only have to look at or measure one side, and then move the dual angle adjust knob from then on to make adjustments for both sides. Fast.
Just curious, what parts of your Gen 3 Pro need an overhaul, after all the knives you’ve sharpened, and what parts to upgrade?
Great that business is good for you!
Actually, I had my very first customer just last week. Six kitchen knives. Mostly fairly large chef and slicer knives. I didn’t charge much, only $3 a knife. Took my time and did what I thought was a great job! I figure a great price and word of mouth is good for me right now. She was really happy, even gave me a tip!
Cheers!
Alan
2 users thanked author for this post.
Hey Alan, you brought back memories with the tip comment… My minds eye hadn’t planned for that eventuality, and when I got my first tip on my first day, I was pretty amazed, and I’ve had many many more since then, still makes me just as happy as the first time. The knock off is I’m a much better tipper now myself. I get it now.
That said, I was told by Kyle long ago that there is a tweak to the design that tightens the arm assembly up. Remember I have one of the very first ones. He was willing to mail me the shims but I’ve procrastinated as I’ve got it in my head that I’d like Kyle and Clay to see how it is holding up, make any recommendations, and do the mods that the later iterations came stock with. So overhaul probably isn’t the best word. I’ll ship it in for the shim issue, and for an “evaluation” of a high volume application.
Let me suggest that you check both sides, regardless of the fact that you’ve calibrated the arms. I always do the heavy thinking on the left side, then just double check the plan by swiping the right. Many a time have I decided to reset in order to find the right balance because of poor imbalanced factory or amateur sharpening. Takes just a sec to slip a 1k on the right side and confirm the plan looks correct. That’s for your average knife. On the higher end jobs, we owe it to the knife to check both sides more carefully. For the three bucks you charge (for now) you can only spend so much time fussing with the sweet spot. There’s plenty of knives I get in that I’d do for no charge if I didn’t have bills to pay. Enjoy.
1 user thanked author for this post.
Let me suggest that you check both sides, regardless of the fact that you’ve calibrated the arms. I always do the heavy thinking on the left side, then just double check the plan by swiping the right. Many a time have I decided to reset in order to find the right balance because of poor imbalanced factory or amateur sharpening. Takes just a sec to slip a 1k on the right side and confirm the plan looks correct. That’s for your average knife. On the higher end jobs, we owe it to the knife to check both sides more carefully.
Good advice, Montana, thanks, and I’ll take it! You know, if someone offered me a higher end knife to sharpen, I probably wouldn’t accept it right now. Things have gone a bit slowly for me on learning all this. Course I also work 50 hours a week and have all the other things in life that get in the way. I definitely have the right equipment, just not the experience like some of you for sharpening someone’s higher end knives at this time. …but, I’m working on it.
I feel fortunate to have so much good information on this forum to learn from. Peace be with you.Alan
1 user thanked author for this post.
Your caution is smart and healthy – it protects the reputation you desire to establish (which is everything).
1 user thanked author for this post.
Agreed…with experience come confidence. When you’re ready hopefully you’ll just know it.
1 user thanked author for this post.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.