Bent Vise????

[Kevin]

I see what you mean now. I haven’t sharpened a knife yet that has a blade shape like that one. All my knives are square at the top of the blade so there is a pretty even grip from the vice on the blade all the way to the edge. Nice trick to know if the situation presents itself though. Thanks.

[Ziggy]

Could you please post a picture of a blade properly seated using chamois? I’d like to see how much material you’re using and how you’re clamping it. I don’t’ like the idea of using double sided tape either, seems too messy.

Kevin, take a peak at the picks in this thread:

http://www.wickededgeusa.com/index.php?option=com_kunena&func=view&catid=6&id=1085&Itemid=63

[Kevin]

Perfect. Thank you.

[GREGARY WATKINS]

Thought I’d chime in.

I’ve had the vise bend once already like the one posted on the first page of this thread within one month of ownership. It was replaced under warranty (yay!) but now the SECOND set is just barely beginning to bend just a couple weeks later. I’ve followed all of the clamping instructions to the letter including setting the width on the lower screw first etc. etc. and all of the knives I’ve put in it have parallel faces at the spine for the vise to grab onto perfectly (no flat ground blades). Once the slightest bend begins it’s all downhill from there presumably because the vise can no longer make very precise contact with the flats faces of the blade so it can rotate side-side a bit. I can do a full sharpening job on a knife, unclamp it, then immediately reclamp it, put some black sharpie on the edge and give a couple strokes with the 1000 grit diamonds. One side will rub the sharpie off at the shoulder, the other side right at the very tip. So now I have inconsistent clamping and bevel angles 🙁

I’m fairly certain I’m not over-tightening it either – I’m pretty delicate with it. I’ll snug the top until the knife is supported on its own, then snug the bottom screw a quarter turn at a time just until I can wiggle the handle of the knife and it doesn’t move. No more, no less. That seems more than reasonable to me.

Hard to know what to think about 2 bent vises in a row.

[Leo James Mitchell]

I understand your concern, but I can tell you that the great majority of the vises don’t have this problem. As stated in another post, Clay has discovered some vises with hardening concerns and is replacing them as they are discovered…the trick is to find all the faulty ones in the new batch because only some have the problem. It is dumb chance that you were the recipient of two in a row. Remember that even Mercedes Benz and Cadillac have recalls from time to time. I am sure your patience is much appreciated Gregary.
I am sure Clay will make good for this with you as he provides the best customer service I have encountered in these times. And I say that realizing that, at best, I am a crabby old curmudgeon who is hard to please. 😆 Understand that I am a customer like you who ended up doing this Global Moderator job because I am such a satisfied and loyal customer and was invited to do this by Clay. For me, and I don’t say this lightly, the WEPS is the real thing and Clay is the Man.

Leo

[Scott Babineaux]

Make that three. I emailed this to WE Sunday but have not gotten a reply yet. This pic is after closing the gap as well as I could.

[Leo James Mitchell]

Hi Scott
If it was me, I would phone the office rather than e-mail…Clay is so busy he sometimes doesn’t get his messages right away, but a phone call gets you to Bob or Kay and either one can help you right away.
Hang in there mate!

Leo

[jerry smith]

HOLY CRAP! make mine # 4 !!!!

i jumped on the forums tonight to see if anyone else had my problem of a bent vise tip.

My WE is not even a month old, and after sharpening about 5 knives, i noticed i was having trouble clamping another in the vise and then i noticed the lips of the vise werent touching at maximal screw depth when empty…… DANG!

I hope they replace these bad ones.

[Leo James Mitchell]

As has already been stated above, there has been a problem with a bad batch of vises which have faulty heat treatment. Clay and the gang are trying to winnow these out as quickly as possible and are replacing the faulty units that were sent out without question or cost to the customers.
Nobody likes it when there has to be a recall like this, but as you know this kind of thing occurs from time to time in all manufacturing…it is being handled. Call the WE office and a replacement will be sent out.

Leo

[GREGARY WATKINS]

Just to make sure everything in this thread isn’t negative, I can say that the Wicked Edge gang are really on the ball as far as warranty replacement. I sent an email out to them on a late Tuesday night with pictures of the bent vise, and by Thursday morning I had a priority package in my mailbox containing a new vise set and a paid return slip to send the bent vise back. A day and a half turnaround time is pretty damn snappy to say the least. Not even sure how that’s possible, really.

[Leo James Mitchell]

Hi Greg!
I am glad that you confirm what I always say about the customer service at the WE. As a customer I have found none finer in these times when customer service in most cases is only a faint echo of what it used to be. Aren’t they good?! When I bought my WEPS a year and a half ago, I really wanted to get my rig in time for my birthday which I was going to spend with my son Paul in Vancouver.I wanted to sharpen a new knife I bought him for the elk season coming up
Unfortunately I was ordering late and couldn’t see how it was going to happen. Clay made it happen…he couriered my WEPS to me express and did not charge me the extra cost, which was substantial. How many companies would do such a thing? And in every way since then I have seen the same regard for his customers.

Bet regards
Leo

[David]

Their customer service is pretty awesome. I thankfully havent had any issues so far with my vice bending. But I know if I do they are going to do a fine job taking care of it!

[Kevin]

I got my new vice set about a week after reporting the problem. I’m very nervous about tightening the new vice. I tried taking the bottom screw to about the thickness of the blade and clamping the upper screw snug then going back to the bottom. There was still some movement when i pulled on the handle of the knife to see if it was tight so I’m wondering should I keep tightening the bottom screw. I think that’s how I bent the vice last time. I twisted about a half turn and it was pretty snug but the blade definitely still moved a little. I sharpened one knife last night this way and when I was finished I unlocked the bottom screw and the knife blade basically just slide out the top without having to loosen the top screw at all. Is this normal or am I doing something wrong? I don’t want to mess up another vice by over tightening it.

[David Lacey]

Add me to the list of those with a bent clamp.

I received my WEPS at the beginning of December and after about a month of use, the aluminum threads of the top screw hole stripped out. I received excellent customer support from Bob at Wicked Edge and a new clamp jaw was sent out within a week of reporting the problem. I noticed today, after just a week or two with the new clamp piece that the stationary part of the clamp is dramatically bent.

I have followed all of the tightening instructions to a T and I am very confident that I have not over tightened anything past what is necessary to securely mount the blade and yet, I’ve still had these issues. I realize that certain variables are out of the control of the company and when working properly, this system is very easy to use and produces fantastic edges…however, I didn’t expect to have these problems on a system that has the reputation that the WEPS has along with the cost of the system and it’s accessories.

I look forward to hearing from the folks at Wicked Edge and getting this resolved as quickly as possible so I can get back to putting crazy sharp edges on my blades.

[David Lacey]

An update to my last post…

Kay contacted me today and explained that roughly 10% of the last batch had these hardening problems. They are working on getting a recall together from their manufacturer but that hasn’t been completed yet. She said she would send me out a replacement but that it would be from the same batch and could be part of the defective 10% but it was that or wait until their recall was complete and/or they got a new batch in. I opted for the replacement and I will take my chances.

While its a frustration situation, I couldn’t really ask for things to be handled any differently than they are. They are taking responsibility for this problem and are making it right as best they can and that’s a rarity these days.

It sounds kind of counter-intuitive but if I had it to do over again, I would probably still buy this sharpener BECAUSE of these problems. Stuff like this is bound to happen from time to time and at least I know it will be handled honestly and with great customer service!

[Author]

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