2016 WE300 Pro using Blue painters tape to keep cam clean
- This topic has 16 replies, 2 voices, and was last updated 03/20/2018 at 5:14 pm by
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tip: im doing a small paring knife 3.5 inch kitchen knife as im typing this. Im using the 2016 WE300 Pro (was $899). The 2017 WE pro is the newest jaw model which is enclosed and yet still is the same $899. Yet the 2016 is the poor open cam design, so to upgrade to the newer enclosed design its $239 or $1,138 in total to correct a design! Clearly, WE should give “previous” owners a break and charge like $99 to upgrade IMO.
Im using today on this small knife the optional low angle adapter. So when I’m doing a small or low profile blade this LAA covers the top of jaw opening, nothing falls down onto the inside blade locking cam from the jaws. If Im not using the LAA, I use a small piece of painters tape over the open hole just below the spring in the jaws.
If you get a roll of 2 inch wide blue painters tape a 5 inch long piece covers the lower vice opening very nicely. do the same for the other side.
also use a small piece of 2 inch blue painters tape just above the cam lock level facing you and the same for the other side. now the unit is sealed off from diamond and metal dust. you might want to take a can of compressed air the first time from debris that has already fallen and accumulated in there. do it outside or by an open window to blow out that cam area out before you put the painters tape over the cam openings.
Last edited: 1 minute ago1 user thanked author for this post.
tip: im doing a small paring knife 3.5 inch kitchen knife as im typing this. Im using the 2016 WE300 Pro (was $899). The 2017 WE pro is the newest jaw model which is enclosed and yet still is the same $899. Yet the 2016 is the poor open cam design, so to upgrade to the newer enclosed design its $239 or $1,138 in total to correct a design! Clearly, WE should give “previous” owners a break and charge like $99 to upgrade IMO.
What makes the Wicked Edge product or company any different or more liable and monetarily responsible to you for innovation and model improvements. I didn’t get a discount or rebate when I purchased my new car, or new kitchen appliances? What about your apple/Mac/iOS’s do they give you a new one every time they upgrade models? Tech stuff is obsolete almost the minute you get it home. You and I bought what we bought for what it was when we bought it! The end. If a product changes, innovates and improves if you like it and want the features you have to buy it. But I have to allow you to be entitled to your opinion.
I had strips of aluminum foil tape applied to the sides of both of my vices all the way up to the depth key holes. That to worked well and lasted a long time. I gladly purchased these new open vice designs to replace the original model screw wedge vices and I was thrilled to get the new up graded product. When they introduced the newest enclosed vice with the adjustable tension split jaws, I purchased two of those, gladly, to get the new improved innovations. That was less than a year later. This is my hobby and these are my hobby tools and I enjoy playing with them. I look forward to when you start to enjoy it too, expidia.
We do appreciate you sharing your tricks and workarounds to overcome the products short comings. They are helpful and these do work well. Many of us before you employed and still employ these same methods and others.
Marc
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Well, I already have $1200 invested into this hobby. And it’s true it is “my opinion” and some opinions of others regarding the expensive upgrade only a year later that I’ve read in some of the other forums. But I bought the WE300 with the expectation that the unit would last a long time. I was not knowledgeable enough at the time or didn’t do my research well enough to realize that WE had already improved on the jaw design by the 2017. Models are selling for the same $899 price and the new design now keeps the debris off the cam mechanism. When cars have design flaws they do recalls. When Apple has flaws they do free recalls. Even though the open vice is not a danger to the user it certainly will shorten the life of the cam, if we don’t shield this open design from debris. Having to blow that debris out with compressed air is best done outside due to putting metal and diamond dust into the air. That surely is not healthy to breath in.
All I’m saying for those that shelled out $899 for the Gen 3 Pro models if they wish to upgrade having to fork over another $239 to correct a poor design is pushing the average investment for the system (with a few added accessories) pushes an investment in this hobby to over $1,500. Yes, no one held a gun to my head to start this hobby and I think its an amazing system. And the stones, ceramics, DLF’s all need to be replaced as they wear out down the road. I don’t mind replacing stones etc. as to me they are like with your auto having to replace tires, brakes etc.
Thats all Im pointing out and once again “in my opinion” an investment of this size and for some seeing the design change a year later the company could draw a line and say we will give you a discount to upgrade your unit if you bought a Gen III jaw design within the past say two years or whenever they produced the first Gen III. I dont even think there would be all that many takers, but it would surely spread good will for their products.
If I were to sell my 2016 open design cam unit for $120 on ebay does anyone know which older models it would fit? I’d like to list the models that it would work with in my ad. I’d split the difference. I’d sell mine for $115 and then buy the WE upgrade for $230. This could be a win/win for me and the user that has an older model that they would like to move up to the convenience of a 2016 Gen III, but does not do enough sharpening to worry about the open cam design which I’m sure it will last many many years.
Hey, it’s getting cheaper for me now everyday . . . $1,200 investment, I’ve done 3 knives so far, so I’ve already got it down to $400 per knife. If I had to pay to have a professional do my knives say at $20 per knife thats 60 knives and then the system starts paying me 👍🏻 Only 57 more to go. My stones ought to be broken in nicely by then too 😜
expedia there’s no winning a point here. I won’t try. There are many WE users that are using the same model version as you are. Some even have applied a couple pieces of tape to be prudent. It’s not a requisite. It’s by choice. There are probably even more WE Users still using the original model with the “Standard” Vice. WE edge continues to sell that original version everyday. There’s still plenty of demand for that model. They even just came out with the WE Go based on the same design.
I’m trying to figure out why you have so much issue with your system only having sharpened three knives. That’s not enough metal dust for me, to warrant cleaning it. Sksharp has used his same version and model year as you have, for several hundred knifes without issue. He says it isn’t worth the expense to replace it with the newer model. It works like he needs it to without any problems.
You don’t have to use compressed air to blow the steel dust loose to create an airborne health hazard, as you suggest. That’s you’re choice to utilize that method. You can just as easily vacuum the steel dust. Like jabas2000 did in his video posted earlier today. Inside the house. I just wipe my dust up with a dry paper towel. If need be I may follow it up with a moist towel.
I think you hit it on the head. Your really upset with yourself because you failed to do adequate research. That’s part of what we try to do here at this Forum is answer potential buyers questions and guide them to the right unit for their needs. I’m sorry you failed to take advantage of our help. None of us hold back here. We tell you how it is. When we don’t like something with a WE edge system you’ll hear it.
I guess it’s relative, as you say”an investment of this size.” Some folks spend more than that for a dinner that gets flushed away tomorrow, morning. You have something, as is, that will work perfectly well for years on end to come. It’s just not the model you wished you would have bought. It works as designed. It is not flawed. The new model is a total design change, not a replacement for a flawed unit. Of course this is only “my opinion” based on experience from sharpening many more than three knives with my 2016 Gen 3 Pro and Pro Pac 2, both with the open sided vices.
To answer your question the 2016 Gen 3 Vice can replace any older “Standard” Vice. Due to the cam-lock vice being taller, the original 30º length square angle bar needs to be upgraded to a longer 35º square bar and the rod arms also replaced with longer arms, to take advantage of the taller vice. The base is drilled on the cam-lock vice to allow the swap out with the standard vice. The upgrade takes less than 10 minutes and loosening and re-tightening maybe 5 screws.
Marc
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Make sure you verify what you’re purchasing with Kyle at Wicked Edge. I’ve just been told there are more than one configuration to the base and attachment screw arrangement. I was not aware of this. So you may have a different version Vice on your Model then I thought, it was. There is an upgrade vice you can purchase for both versions. My fear is I may have mislead you on the older model, as to which model system it is compatible with when you offer it for sale.
Someone may have said the old vices were in demand. I don’t believe it was me. I still have 2 older floating cam vices and the old screw wedge vice too. I have not attempted to sell these because I didn’t think they were worth much, or in demand. My thought has been anyone buying this system would, exercise their “due diligence” wanting to by the newest models with newest features. Exactly the reason I upgraded.
I can share with you there is no replacement for hands-on experience which can only be derived through repetition. Keep at, keep trying little differences in your technique, and keep visually monitoring it. With enough knives you’ll start to figure it out. You won’t ever get near there till you get the stones broken in, first. That takes a good ten knives in my experience.
Marc
(MarcH's Rack-Its)Make sure you verify what you’re purchasing with Josh at Wicked Edge. I’ve just been told there are more than one configuration to the base and attachment screw arrangement. I was not aware of this. So you may have a different version Vice on your Model then I thought, it was. There is an upgrade vice you can purchase for both versions. My fear is I may have mislead you on the older model, as to which model system it is compatible with when you offer it for sale. Someone may have said the old vices were in demand. I don’t believe it was me. I still have 2 older floating cam vices and the old screw wedge vice too. I have not attempted to sell these because I didn’t think they were worth much, or in demand. My thought has been anyone buying this system would, exercise their “due diligence” wanting to by the newest models with newest features. Exactly the reason I upgraded. I can share with you there is no replacement for hands-on experience which can only be derived through repetition. Keep at, keep trying little differences in your technique, and keep visually monitoring it. With enough knives you’ll start to figure it out. You won’t ever get near there till you get the stones broken in, first. That takes a good ten knives in my experience.
Thanks Marc, I don’t see the new vice I ordered last night as an issue as they only make one upgrade for the 2016 vice. But you might be right about if I sell my 2016 WE300 vice which models will it work with? And from what I see on the needed accessories that you said the buyer might also have to buy . . . it could be another $60-$90 investment. I probably have my unit sold to a guy in my office with a WE from probably 2016 for $115. I know its mounted on a paper stone base, so I was waiting to call Kyle at WE once they are open to see if my vice will work with his system and what other parts may need to be upgraded. Thanks for your post staying on top of that for me. Ill report back to my findings.
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No problem on the Josh thing. We spoke to Kyle this AM and my buyer for the vice is taking a pic of his system and emailing it to me. He bought it lightly used off ebay and it might be a Propack II. If it is I just measured my guide rods that im using and they are only 8 inches, but have had I no issues so far. Kyle says it needs that square base that gets attached under the vice and then to his paper stone base.which he has in stock. If its a Propack III that model under WE sharpeners pictured looks like he already has the wider 35 degree angle bar. The Propack II does show a shorter angle bar. Either way Kyle will guide us to what he needs to get his system upgraded with my 2016 Gen III vice. Lets see what the pic shows because Kyle says there are no model numbers on the various WE systems. I know he ordered upgraded rods from WE last year, don’t know the length of them yet.
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Yes, on one vice the is base flat with straight smooth sides. This one mounts flat on the surface. The other vice is notched in the sides right above the base, narrowing the base to allow it to inset into its mount. They’re screw hole patterns and thread sizes are the same. You probably can use the notched vice anywhere you would use the un-notched vice, but the un-notched vice wouldn’t fit in the notched mount for models like a WE 100, 120 or 130.
Marc
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I believe that needs the notched base vice. I believe that’s the WE130 vice. I believe the WE300 vice is flat not notched to fit down in the grooved mount.
Marc
(MarcH's Rack-Its)1 user thanked author for this post.
Good luck. I thought you might be “counting your chickens before they hatch” !
BTW what I was saying/meant is I believe your friends setup will need the WE130 vice for it’s upgrade replacement. I need to try to write, for you, more clearly to avoid misinterpretation and misquotes.
Marc
(MarcH's Rack-Its)
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