Rod diameter: 2017 model of the Gen 3 Pro
- This topic has 7 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 06/03/2017 at 12:48 am by
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I have a Beta unit of the new Gen 3 Pro and completely whiffed on one of the new features. Since my stones all have 1/4″ bronze bushings, I changed out the rods as the ones that came with it were larger in diameter and wouldn’t fit my custom stones. This was unfortunate, as this could be a big deal to other users and I haven’t seen it mentioned anywhere.
Larger diameter rods have the effect of tightening up the tolerances between the rod and the standard WE handle bore. The result is not a perfect fit, but it’s significantly better than the original rods. If you were considering the purchase of a longer pair of rods, I’d suggest that you ask for them to be the larger diameter. Bigger is (almost always) better.
Do they come standard with the larger diameter rod? If yes that would be great news. Also, are the 12″ rods for low angle adapter slightly larger as well?
My 12′ rods that I ordered from WE are the larger diameter rods. I didn’t order a larger diameter so I’m thinking that they are all a larger diameter but check with WE to make sure if your going to order them. I’m going to contact them to see if I can get the 10″ rods in the larger diameter.
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Hello TC, Yesterday I used my 12″ rods for the first time and they are a noticeably larger diameter than the 10 inch rods that came with my PP 3. So much so that I have 1 strop and my 1500 stone that I can’t use with them because they stick very badly and those are just the ones that I’ve found do far. I hesitate to ream them because it will make them sloppy on the 10 inch rods. On the stones that don’t hang up I love the fact that there is very little slop with them so I may fit the ones that hang to the 12″ rods and not use the 10’s any longer. Thanks for bringing this up I was thinking it was a problem with the rods.
All of the WE handles are made with the same plastic (ABS, I think Clay said) injection molded parts, so the rods should fit in your strop and 1500 handles. I used to clean the bores in my handles with a gun cleaning rod, using .243 caliber brass brushes, which are actually larger in diameter. I’d scrub them out with the brush using a mild solvent like alcohol or mineral spirits, then wipe them clean with cotton cleaning patches. It’s also possible that your problem handles have some sort of deformation inside. If cleaning them doesn’t solve the problem, you might try running a 1/4″ drill bit from each end, feeling for an obstruction. In either case, unless you go nuts with the drill bit, you can’t do enough damage to make them loose on the older rods.
It sounds like WE might have quit selling the older, smaller diameter rods in favor of the larger ones. Sounds good to me, but maybe they should post it somewhere, with instructions on what to do when you run across a problem like this.
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Thanks for catching this TC. All new rods coming from Wicked Edge are the larger diameter. We did this to try to lessen the play between rod and handle. All current handles are injection molded polypropylene. We are in the process of switching production to a new handle design that will be made from ABS. ABS is sturdier and shrinks much less than polypropylene and will allow for much closer tolerances. The new design will make for a very close fit to the rods.
Folks having issues with new rods being tight on their handles should contact us. sksharp – I think the best course would be to ream out your stones to fit the larger diameter rods and then contact us to replace the 10″ rods you have with a larger diameter version.
-Clay
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