Ok, what am I doing wrong?
- This topic has 5 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 10/23/2017 at 9:32 am by
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If the knife is not very tall, sometimes the vice jaws will interfere with the sharpening process. I find that this is the case for many traditional slip joint folding pocket knifes. You can overcome this limitation by either clamping the knife higher in the clamp (ignoring the depth key holes), using the low angle adapter, or by clamping the knife with the Tormek small knife adapter. I would venture a guess that everyone on this board has some battle scars on their clamp jaws. It is a bummer to put those first blemishes on your new tool.
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A picture would definitely help (one pic with the knife in the jaws, one pic of the damaged jaws). But for now I’d settle my money on Organic’s explanation.
Molecule Polishing: my blog about sharpening with the Wicked Edge
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Organic is absolutely right. It happens to everybody. Eventually it becomes part of your set-up strategy. Clamp the blade, set the angle, check for clearance between the stone and the vise. Not to worry. If it drives you buggy to see the shiny corner on the vise, paint it with your Sharpie like everybody else.
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I can attest to the battle scars on the vise, if a stone is BARELY touching the jaws you may not even realize it until your done. Low profile blades at 18 degrees angle should be able to be overcome with the low angle adapter in most cases. I find pocket knives with multiple blades, and very low profile small blades especially, need the Tormek small knife adapter but at 18 or 20 degrees most can be done with the LAA.
When you set up your knife in the vise look at the clearance and you can adjust accordingly and keep in mind that you need enough clearance between jaws and the stone to allow you to move the arms in as much as 2 degrees so you can strop after you use the stones. It will become part of your set up routine in time. I wounded my jaws very early on…just gives it character is the way I look at it, you personalized it!
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I use TCMeyer’s suggestion and paint over the shiny place with a sharpie. Two reasons: so it looks good and black, like the rest of it and also to be able to tell when it’s happening again. Personally I don’t mind doing it because it thins the corners to allow for better low angle clamping when I re-sharpen the knives I did it with in the first place. I check my vice and touch up the black before each knife when I’m marking the bevel to determine the original bevel angle and find the sweet spot. Good time to do it, then sharpie is in my hand!
Marc
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