grinding the vise

[QuisUtDeus]

Got my new field and sport pro with he gen 3 vise.  Tried to sharpen a few beater knives to break in the stones per the directions, then tried to put an decent edge on my Benchmade 940-1.  I used the settings in the knife database and was using the marker to confirm placement, but noticed two challenges with this blade: 1 – it’s hard to get a good bite on it with the vise due to it’s shape. 2- I noticed that, despite setting the correct angle, my stones were grinding the finish off of the far side of the vice, therefore, not sharpening the blade, so I had to increase the angle in order for the stone to remain in contact with the blade throughout the entire stroke.  I still need more practice, but got a decent edge, albeit at greater than the desired angle.  I’m wondering if anyone else has had this problem and if purchasing the low angle adapter is the only way to fix this.

Thanks,

Mike

[tcmeyer]

I’m not familiar with the Benchmade 940-1 but have the following comments:

The database is a listing of sharpening data submitted by various individuals, but is not a hard specification.  Use your own best judgement based on your cutting needs.

Mount the knife using the upper key position to raise the  edge high enough so as to avoid contacting the vise with your stones.

I suggest applying a layer of masking tape on the flats near the spine.  This will give the vise some “bite.”

Try to get 15 to 20 “clunker knives” under your belt to fully break in the new stones and develop your skills before you tackle expensive blades.

Once broken-in, save your coarse grit stones for major re-profiling jobs.  Understand that “broken-in” means that all free-standing grit particles have been knocked off, leaving a level field of diamonds.

 

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Alan, wickededge, M1rrorEdge

[Mark76]

That’s good advice by Tom. The tape will not only give a better grip, but also protect your knife. And I don’t know the 940-1 either, but if the blade is uneven from top to bottom (it looks like that on the pics I saw) you may want to try a piece of chamois.

Molecule Polishing: my blog about sharpening with the Wicked Edge

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wickededge

[wickededge]

QuisUtDeus – I’ve sharpened a lot of Benchmade 940s. What I’ve found to work well is to mount the knife with the thumb stud all the way up against the vise. That position allows you to get to the tip without grinding the vise. From there, I just adjust inward until I can achieve as low an angle as possible without rubbing up against the vise. Most of the 940 knives that come in here for sharpening are beveled at 20° to start.

-Clay

[Frans]

QuisUtDeus wrote:

I’m wondering if anyone else has had this problem and if purchasing the low angle adapter is the only way to fix this.

Yes, I also have this problem and it is just about the only thing that I don’t like about the WE.

In my opinion, the angle of the vise itself  is too wide (is that the correct word?). I think knives the size of the Benchmade 940-1 are very common and the vise should have such an angle that you are able to sharpen them at an angle of 15 degrees or less without the need for a low angle adapter.

I made my own low angle adapter from an old Lansky clamp it works very well but I still hope that a new style original WE low angle adapter with notches for small knives as well as holes for the depth key is still in the works.

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wickededge

[378pete]

Frans wrote:

QuisUtDeus wrote:

I’m wondering if anyone else has had this problem and if purchasing the low angle adapter is the only way to fix this.

Yes, I also have this problem and it is just about the only thing that I don’t like about the WE. In my opinion, the angle of the vise itself is too wide (is that the correct word?). I think knives the size of the Benchmade 940-1 are very common and the vise should have such an angle that you are able to sharpen them at an angle of 15 degrees or less without the need for a low angle adapter. I made my own low angle adapter from an old Lansky clamp it works very well but I still hope that a new style original WE low angle adapter with notches for small knives as well as holes for the depth key is still in the works.

pictures would be helpfull.

[Frans]

378pete wrote:

pictures would be helpfull.

They are in this post: https://knife.wickededgeusa.com/forums/topic/small-knife-low-angle-adapter/

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378pete

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