Mounting FFG blades in a WE120 (Standard Vise)
- This topic has 3 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 07/19/2020 at 4:20 am by
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I’ve put together a video explaining what I believe is the correct method of mounting an FFG blade in a WE Gen 1 vise.
Yes, there are a number of work-arounds devised by various users, but each has some degree of error built in and I think that if you do it this way, the complexity of it disappears. The math required is limited to “divide by two,” which everyone ought to manage, especially since in every case, the problem is limited to single digits, with one or two decimal points. In every case I’ve worked through, the simple answer is two. Two degrees subtracted from the left side and two degrees added to the right side. With this in hand, there’s almost no need to measure, except when setting the micro-adjusts.
For those who think this is too cumbersome, consider that virtually every other fixed angle sharpener has a more serious limitation, since they can’t clamp securely on the spine of FFG knives. Those sharpeners which are designed to “flip” the knife and clamp 180 degrees, have the disadvantage of needing to adjust the arm angle to an edge which has suddenly gone from one clamp position, to another. It’s the equivalent of rotating the vise 180 degrees, after it’s been set to lean to the opposite side.
So, as stated above, I’ve made a video trying to explain why my method is more correct than other. I hope you get something out of it, as I included some added bits of info on general use of the Gen 1 vise.
If you have any questions please feel free to respond. If you come up with a reason why I am wrong, we’ll kick it around and if it’s appropriate, I’ll delete the video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBRsrJrB-gw
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This topic was modified 3 years, 9 months ago by .
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This topic was modified 3 years, 9 months ago by .
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Tom, thank you for producing and posting this video. This method is quick, simple and efficient.
For the new W.E. users, Tom did zero his angle cube to start with, to the outer right slanted side of his Standard Vise. This is in order to measure the angle of the knife’s primary grind. That is the angle between the flat faces of the knife he has finger pinched in the vise jaws. This angle measurement is needed to determine the correction factor used to offset the blade lean inherent to knives clamped in a W.E. Standard Vise setup.
Don’t forget to zero your cube again, to the horizontal surface of your W.E. base, after you have finished determining the angle between your FFG knife sides which is used to determine your angle correction factor. This must be done before using the angle cube again, to make any of your guide rod angle settings to profile your bevels to sharpen your knife.
This blade lean is inherent to FFG (full flat grind) knives sharpened with the W.E. Standard Vise Models; WE100, WE120, & WE GO. A knife simply clamped and sharpened, as is, without making this correction for the blade lean, when sharpened well, with good, proper sharpening technique, will be just as sharp as a knife that has been clamped with adjustments made for it’s blade lean, then sharpened with the same good, proper sharpening technique. Afterall the angle correction factor for the clamping angle lean is only usually between 1°-2°. This difference may be barely seen when applying a 20° per side bevel angle.
This lean correction procedure is used to assure the bevels are applied and the knife is sharpened so the apex is centered to the knife’s thickness and so the bevel heights appear equal from side to side. The lean correction process is mainly for appearance or aesthetics and may be so slight that it’s almost indiscernible. So for the basic W.E. utility sharpener or a beginner W.E. user, this lean correction may not be a priority.
It may be possible though, that a knife sharpened as clamped without correcting for the blade lean may cut with a slight bias or blade steer due to an off-centered apex and bevels. This may be more noticeable in larger, longer, chef’s knives and those used for slicing.
Marc
(MarcH's Rack-Its)7 users thanked author for this post.
Great video Tom. I love the visualization with the big wooden clamps. I’ve been trying to teach what you show in the video for years, but haven’t been very effective at it. You nailed it. Can you elaborate more about the compensation of angle from 1 side to the next to make it even more clear how that’s decided on and accomplished?
Basically, if you mount an FFG knife correctly in the Gen 1 vise, it will be leaning toward the fixed jaw side. The amount of lean is one-half of the angle between the two sides of the knife. Spyderco knives are all about 4 degrees between the two faces. This means that the blade is leaning two degrees toward the fixed jaw – usually on the left. To sharpen at a symmetrical angle relative to the centerline of the blade, deduct the lean angle from the left rod (microadjust) angle and add it to the right rod angle. If you are intending to sharpen at a 20 dps setting and your blade measures at four degrees between faces, set the left at 18 degrees and the right side at 22 degrees.
If you’ve turned your vise around, you would of course reverse the settings.
In any case, make sure your blade is mounted with its flat side against the stationary (fixed) jaw of the vise.
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