Brass Bevel Gauge

[Fred Hermann]

Hi All,
Not sure if anyone has seen one of these, but they may be a good toy to get you close so you can save a little time with the digital gauge.
http://www.bladehq.com/item–Richard-Kell-Solid-Brass-Bevel–16412?utm_source=Blade+HQ+Newsletter&utm_campaign=c46d1c580a-Blade_HQ_3_27_2013&utm_medium=email
It looks like a neat toy.

[wickededge]

Hi All,
Not sure if anyone has seen one of these, but they may be a good toy to get you close so you can save a little time with the digital gauge.
http://www.bladehq.com/item–Richard-Kell-Solid-Brass-Bevel–16412?utm_source=Blade+HQ+Newsletter&utm_campaign=c46d1c580a-Blade_HQ_3_27_2013&utm_medium=email
It looks like a neat toy.

Thanks for posting this! I ordered some to check them out.

-Clay

[Ken Buzbee]

Maybe it’s just the picture but it looks like the “bevel” will mostly be in the hole. I’ll be interested to hear from you guys about it’s effectiveness.

Ken

[cbwx34]

Spyderco did a limited run of one they made… not sure the story behind it, or why they only made a few…

From what I read, most who were able to get one, liked it.

Attachments:

• SpydercoAngleGuage3.jpg

[wickededge]

I hadn’t seen Spyderco’s version of it. I wonder if they ran afoul of some intellectual property or something. Seems like a nice way to get a quick reading on the angle.

-Clay

[Geocyclist]

Fred,
Thanks for posting.

Clay,
I think WE should make a version. 😉

I don’t claim to be an expert but I can tell just by looking the difference between 15, 20, 25.

What I would like (and the 2 photos are lacking) is a gage that goes 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22.5, 25….
I.e. much more resolution, especially at the low end between 15 to 20. Most of my knives are in this range. To differentiate 1 degree increments it would have to be super precise and heavy duty (no flex). Maybe the rest of the world doesn’t care if it’s 16 or 17, but I think there are a lot of us here that do. :silly:

I think a solid bar with all of the slots across the top would be easier to use – to compare 2 angles, as opposed to having to rotate the gage.

[Ken Buzbee]

Spyderco did a limited run of one they made… not sure the story behind it, or why they only made a few…

From what I read, most who were able to get one, liked it.

Yeah, I almost bought one of those, Curtis. They were just a one time run, as you say. I think Sal offered them at cost, but IIRC they were pretty expensive to manufacture.

Again, could just be the picture but the holes look much smaller in the Spyderco model (a good thing) Seems like a functional model would have to have initial openings of what? .02″ or there abouts? Pretty tight tolerances if it’s to be useful and accurate.

Ken

[Fred Hermann]

Who would have thought I’d find something cool….
I ordered one too, I’m a sucker for shiny things, and it’s brass….
The old Spydeco one looks like a fantasy Tsuba to me. I wonder if that was deliberate?

I think making a version for the WE would be cool, but manufacture may be very expensive. Also, I don’t know how accurate something like this could be, maybe within a degree or two. Maybe if these are ok, the best route is to just by a case and offer them on the WE website.

I’ll post thoughts when I get it in a few days as well.

[Thomas Prince]

I have used these gauges with chisels for woodworking. They work well if the thickness of the blade at the bevel is considerate. They would not likely do too well with a thin Japanese slicer. Love to hear what you guys find out after fiddling with it for a while. Tom

[Fred Hermann]

The gauge is about the size of a silver dollar. For some reason I thought it was larger.
I think for this to be useful on thinner blades, the round hole at the end of the slots needs to be smaller out the slots need to go a little further to allow for thin blades.
So it’s a fun toy, but I have not found much that it works on….or works well on.

[Ken Buzbee]

Thanks for testing this out, Fred. Kinda what I expected.

Worth a shot, eh?

Ken

[Fred Hermann]

Oh definitely.
I think there had to be some sort of mechanical issue with the Spydeco one as well.
I could see this causing confusion on a hollow ground blade if you didn’t look closely enough.
And it’s not *useless* I still have plenty of use for it in my shop, it just doesn’t work on my kitchen knives…

But it makes me wonder why no one has made one correctly for thinner modern blades.

So this might still be a toy for Clay to design and sell if he can produce them at a good price, and make them work on thinner blades. I think my real issue is if the edge bevel is only about 1 or 2 mm, (narrow) this is really hard to use. No idea if there are problems associated with making a wedge cut out in metal like that with little or no hole at the end.

[Wayne Reimer]

I’ve had one of those for many years…mine was made by Stanley tools, probably 75 years or more ago. (it was my Grandfather’s)

They originally were intended for checking bevel on woodworking chisels. Even though every one that I’ve ever seen has been stamped out of brass, they’re accurate. I keep mine in my sharpening box with all my stones from my freehand days

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