My first week with the WEPS

[Daniel maloon]

Maybe like an edge pro? Ive got an idea ive been play around with

[wickededge]

yeah, i see the trade off. What do you mean “singe” handle? got any pics for reference? why would it work in a singe handle and not a regular paddle?

thanks for the input clay!

If we had to include the bushings for multiple handle sets it would get expensive. If we went to a system that just had on handle per side with a holder that allowed for swapping out the stones easily, it could be more affordable. We could use a regular paddle with two stone holders… One advantage to going with a single stone paddle design would be that we could make a more ergonomic handle and build out the tray to be a little more protective. At the same time we’d build out the stone holder portion so that there wouldn’t be any trouble getting in to the heel of Spyderco knives.

-Clay

[tcmeyer]

Oh Lordy, please don’t go off changing your product line because some idiot from Wisconsin says “Hey, looky here!” I think what you’ve got is just fine and maybe could benefit from a little tweaking.

I don’t want you to think that my post was meant to be a complaint. For exactly the reason Josh puts forth: “It’s not a big deal since we all get some beautiful and perfect edges with the existing arms and paddles”.

I was just trying to point out why improper technique and in particular hand position can/will cause you problems.

That said… I think it’s great that we can talk on a forum like this and have the guy in charge respond so positively. Clay, have you considered boring the centers out and pressing in a sleeve with a closer tolerance? Or having the handles molded solid or with a smaller bore and then gun drilling ’em?

OK.. So now I went down to the dungeon and checked my “bushing stones” for slop. The same procedure as shown in my photos yielded 0.20 degrees, at least half of which comes from slop in the ball joint. I had measured the ball joints a few months back and found them to have about 0.005-0.006″ of horizontal slop. Checked on my granite plate (not my WE base) I show 0.002 – 0.005″ of vertical shaft movement in my bushing stones when laid flat.

Now I’m going to start checking all my stones for parallelism between each face and the bore.

And just to emphasize a point, I’ve never been happier with my WEPS, now that I started using the Variable Stone Thickness Adapter (SWAT). Even with the slop in the stones, consistent technique is the answer. It’s an absolute pleasure to use my handheld scope and see clearly that the stones are cutting exactly where I want them to.

[wickededge]

I’m just thinking ahead to the next generation sharpener which is in the design phase now, so I’ve been toying with the idea of changing the paddles around a little. The main reason is that, at the restaurant show where we were showing off the Professional Series, a lot of the customers were concerned about safety. So we’re looking into a larger shield that could take the place of the existing tray. Having the larger shield would make it impossible to have stones on both sides, therefore the removable stones etc…. But for now it’s just a thought.

-Clay

[JS]

I’ll say I really like the double sided stones. I guess if we had our way, we’d prefer them to be a little taller to get in those choils, but I don’t have a lot of Spydercos anyway. This is a great system, and the more I use it the more I like it. Only thing I’d add is a rear support and I’d say the system is about perfect. Really enjoying it.

[Josh]

I’m just thinking ahead to the next generation sharpener which is in the design phase now, so I’ve been toying with the idea of changing the paddles around a little. The main reason is that, at the restaurant show where we were showing off the Professional Series, a lot of the customers were concerned about safety. So we’re looking into a larger shield that could take the place of the existing tray. Having the larger shield would make it impossible to have stones on both sides, therefore the removable stones etc…. But for now it’s just a thought.

man Clay that’s great that you are always thinking ahead! You may want to start a new thread for brain storming and see what ideas we can come up with – you can keep what you actually do hush hush (due to patent reasons) but it may help get some ideas of what people would like to see? Thanks for making a great system and always trying to improve it!

[Gib Curry]

I’m just thinking ahead to the next generation sharpener which is in the design phase now, ……… But for now it’s just a thought.

The solar powered, self-loading, laser guided, auto-sharp with Google Glass 200x zoom microscope Pro-Pack Two!!??!!

How about offering lifetime subscriptions? So much per month and we get the latest upgrades?

:blink: :woohoo: :blink:

~~~~
For Now,

Gib

Φ

"Everyday edge for the bevel headed"

"Things work out best for those who make the best out of the way things work out."

[JS]

Just got the 50/80 stones, and I really like them. These will definitely save my 100’s. I’ve pretty much got my technique and comfort level down with my thumbs in the second groove with pinkies on the stones, and I’m getting some laser edges at 1k grit.

A couple of questions regarding angles.

I was doing a knife that had a lot of chips in the edge with the 50/80s and a good bit of material needed to be removed. My initial angle set on one side was about 16.5 degrees due to it being FFG and math to get a true 18 degrees. When I finished at 1k grit, I checked the angle again and it was 17.1 on that side. I guess it makes sense since the edge is diminishing in height the more you sharpen while it’s fixed this creating a more obtuse angle. Do you check angles at every grit to compensate for this? A standard resharpening on a good edge with not much metal removal wouldn’t be this extreme regarding angle change.

Second question is I have a Benchmade Volli in the vise. It has flats to clamp to, but they’re not flat. They’re angled back towards the spine so definitely not 90 degrees. I clamp it in and measure the vertical angle of the blade in the vise. I’m measuring on the main grind of the knife. The knife is a high flat grind. Let’s call towards the right the positive direction and towards the left the negative. Angle on left side of the blade yields +1.7 degrees. Right side is -4.7 degrees. So math says the apex is vertically 3 degrees to the left. 1.7 – 4.7= -3
Since it’s not clamped on the main grind like a FFG, I’m thinking if I want a 20 degree even bevel, put the left side at 17 and the right at 23.

Like I used to do with the EP. I measured the angle of the main grind while laying on a flat base. The main grind of the knife is 8.3 degrees, 4.15 degrees per side, but not sure if it’s relevant in this case?

[Josh]

Thanks for the Email Jordan! I will put the reply here in case any other guys have the same questions 🙂

Just got the 50/80 stones, and I really like them. These will definitely save my 100’s. I’ve pretty much got my technique and comfort level down with my thumbs in the second groove with pinkies on the stones, and I’m getting some laser edges at 1k grit.

A couple of questions regarding angles.

I was doing a knife that had a lot of chips in the edge with the 50/80s and a good bit of material needed to be removed.

One quick side note… you don’t need to apex your edge with the 50 or 80’s… it would be good if you could delay the apexing until the 200-400 grit range. if you do apex this low you will have some chips that will need to be removed. To do this, take your 400 grit stone and put it perpendicular to the edge and grind the edge flat. this will remove the ‘peaks’ in your edge and then you can apex it with your 200’s or 400’s for a nice, smooth, chip free edge.

My initial angle set on one side was about 16.5 degrees due to it being FFG and math to get a true 18 degrees.

Not sure I understand… did you set your angles to be 16.5 or 18 dps?

When I finished at 1k grit, I checked the angle again and it was 17.1 on that side. I guess it makes sense since the edge is diminishing in height the more you sharpen while it’s fixed this creating a more obtuse angle. Do you check angles at every grit to compensate for this? A standard resharpening on a good edge with not much metal removal wouldn’t be this extreme regarding angle change.

Unless you removed a TON of metal with your lower grit stones then this shouldn’t be the case… What I suspect is that your FFG knife shifted in your vise and was not a true ‘original angle’ anymore. You need to make sure that it is stable before working on it…

Second question is I have a Benchmade Volli in the vise. It has flats to clamp to, but they’re not flat. They’re angled back towards the spine so definitely not 90 degrees. I clamp it in and measure the vertical angle of the blade in the vise. I’m measuring on the main grind of the knife. The knife is a high flat grind. Let’s call towards the right the positive direction and towards the left the negative. Angle on left side of the blade yields +1.7 degrees. Right side is -4.7 degrees. So math says the apex is vertically 3 degrees to the left. 1.7 – 4.7= -3
Since it’s not clamped on the main grind like a FFG, I’m thinking if I want a 20 degree even bevel, put the left side at 17 and the right at 23.

you are one the right track, but just a little bit off… The method you are writing about is the proper method for getting a true asymmetrical angle on your edge. So if your knife is tilted 3 degrees to the left, then you need to take your target angle for your edge (say 20 dps) then you will need to put 18.5 degrees on the left side (20 – 1.5 [half of 3] = 18.5) and 21.5 degrees on the right side (20 + 1.5 [half of 3] = 21.5) for a total of a 3 degree spread. This will give you a proper 20 dps. You had a 6 degree spread, which is not correct. The way you are doing it you will have a greater/wider bevel on the left side (the 17 ds) than on the right. hope this helps?![/quote]

Like I used to do with the EP. I measured the angle of the main grind while laying on a flat base. The main grind of the knife is 8.3 degrees, 4.15 degrees per side, but not sure if it’s relevant in this case?

If I understand correctly you would zero your angle cube out on the EP table and then lay your knife on the flat part of the primary grind (i.e. not the flat near the spine). When you took that reading it would be a total of 8.3 degrees. Let me know if this was your method and we can discuss…

[Josh]

you may want to check this thread out for mounting your Volli… this is probably how I would do it.

[JS]

The knife was very thin so while it read about zero degrees on the left side, it read about 3 degrees on the right side of the blade. I split this in half to subtract 1.5 degree from the left and add 1.5 to the right making it a true 18 degree bevel. I guess the knife could’ve shifted though I thought it was solid. The bevels turned out even and it was laser sharp at 1k grit.

For the Volli I did the same thing as you suggested and don’t know why I was throwing myself off in my head. I matched the factory angle which was 20 degrees per side for a thin, even bevel. The stones are getting more broken in and it’s reflected in the polish. I also tried stropping at 2 degrees lower for the first time, and it yielded a ridiculously sharp edge. I think this will be my go to technique for stropping from now on. This is all the way to .5 CBN on roo.

My hand positioning with the thumbs in the second indents from the top with my pinkies locked on has become second nature now. As the diamonds break in more I’m getting crazy sharp edges. I like this system so much more than the EP it’s not even funny. Sharpening is enjoyable to me again when before it felt more a chore. I could literally sit and sharpen all day with the WEPS or as long as my back doesn’t stiffen too much ;). It’s true when they say don’t judge the system by your first or even fifth knife, even if you’re already “good” at sharpening via other methods.

[Josh]

nice man! that turned out beautiful!!!

[Geocyclist]

Thanks for the photos. Glad you are getting good results. WhenI first started I was skeptical about the whole diamonds breaking in thing, but it was true and it just got so much better.

[JS]

Thanks for the kind words :). I’ll be sure to post more pics as I do some more knives to this level of finish.

[David Preis]

I just bought my Wicked Edge sharpening system off of E-Bay…it has all the bells and whistles…the first two knives I sharpened were both from Boker and I was truly disappointed with the results…the knives were much sharper before I worked them…now you could run them over your throat and put pressure on them and not even scratch yourself. I have followed all the instructions…and watched all the U-Tube videos of how to use the system…copied the techniques and still no decent results..
I was hoping that someone in the forum could give me some pointers on what the heck I might be doing wrong…I have a Sharpmaker from Spyderco and I can use it for good results..so I have an idea on how to sharpen a knife…so I am puzzled as to what I could be doing that might be wrong on a system that on the surface looks so easy to use….help!

[Author]

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