Gen 3 clamp……persuade me :)

[Martin Hainsworth]

So Knives and Tools (best place in the UK to get WE stuff) have the Gen3 clamp back in stock and I’m seriously considering the upgrade to my pro pack 2

Is it really a worthwhile investment? honest opinions please.

 

I do find it a nuisance to mess around with non slip matting to clamp full flat blades steady in the gen 2 clamp.

I think I’ve pretty much made up my mind but would like opinions from users and any drawbacks that have been found?

 

[Mark76]

I cannot comment on the Gen 3, Martin, but a piece of chamois works very well for me to clamp a full flat blade.

Molecule Polishing: my blog about sharpening with the Wicked Edge

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[Martin Hainsworth]

Thanks Mark

I hadn’t thought of that. I use some non slip matting that a friend gave me years ago but it tends to get chewed up after every use. Taping each blade is a pain if I’m doing a lot of knives (like all my kitchen knives in one go).

I’ve seen a video of the prototype vice which still seems to get sideways movement of the knife in the clamp if there is a heavy taper from the back of the knife to the tip.

I like the idea of the speed of the cam system but if I still have to ‘pad’ the blade out in the clamp I may as well stick with the gen 2 clamp.

[tcmeyer]

I have both vises, each on its own base, so I use them interchangeably.  The only knife I’ve had problems with on the Gen 3 is a SOG folder with a thick, short, tapered blade.  The short, length-wise taper is too steep and the dagger-like shape too odd for the vise to adapt to, clamping only on one corner.  Here is a case, where a vise is not just difficult to use – it just plain, don’t work.

I have a solid method of dealing with FFG blades on the old vise, so that’s really not a problem for me.  I’ve found that my Gen 3 vise clamps FFG’s very well, but with a consistent 1.3 degree lean to one side, so I’m inclined to offset the left and right angles anyway.

The Gen 3 vise uses a new clamping configuration which I really like.  Rather than having two flat faces to hold the blade, which may or may not have a secure hold of the blade, it has two small contact pads, each maybe 4 (?) mm square.  They are located at the upper corners of the vise and help the vise to adapt to small variations in the blade shape.  From a mechanical engineering standpoint, two small contact pads will hold just as tightly as a large contact area, if the pressure is the same.  It sure seems to.

I seem to get a little less marking of the blade with the Gen 3, but if you’re concerned about this, you probably need to protect the blade anyway.  I use masking tape and don’t find it all that inconvenient.

That said, I guess I like the old one a little better.  I find the wide gap of the Gen 3 is clumsy to work with when using the upper key position.  It’s just not as solid as the old vise, where you set the vise opening at blade thickness before you clamp.  If you don’t see a feature you really think you need…

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Martin Hainsworth

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