New Wicked Edge Owner
- This topic has 16 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 07/18/2016 at 9:33 am by
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Hi Everybody,
I’m new to this site, this is my first post. Hello from Dallas Texas. I bought a WE Propack 1 and used it for the first time this evening. I’m not very skilled with it yet, but I have to hand it to Clay for making a great tool.
Until I got this tool my sharpening skills have been …..well…..sorry. I have hope from the first two knives I sharpened. I did one and got it by far the sharpest I’ve ever had. I have a lot to learn, and I look forward to learning from all you skilled people.
Thank you,
John
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Welcome to the forum, John! Glad you enjoy your WEPS. I got my WEPS for the same reason as you: my free-hand sharpening skills were not that great. A few years later I’ve learned many other uses for the WEPS. One great thing is repeatability. If you record the position of your knives in the WEPS, you can touch up your knives in a few minutes, even if they’ve dulled quite a bit.
Molecule Polishing: my blog about sharpening with the Wicked Edge
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Welcome to the club John. There is a ton of hard won experience here that should get you to that mirror edge in no time!
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I have another question. I am usually only able to get both arms within about .2 degrees of each other. I have an angle cube and I can get the angle right but when I tighten the screw it slides into the little divot in the angle adjustment rod and changes the angle by up to .5 degrees. I have to go back and forth a few times to get the angle of the arms as close together as possible. What am I doing wrong? Does .2 or .25 degrees make a big difference in sharpness?
No… that little difference (even .5 degree) won’t make a difference in sharpness.
Sort of an advance technique… as you become comfortable with the system, you can, since you have a digital angle cube, turn the arms around (or turn the angle bar around)… the end result being the screws screw into the side without the divots. This will allow you to set the angle more accurately. But, you have to make sure the screw is tight, otherwise it can slip during sharpening. Doing this isn’t necessary, just an option. But, the slight difference you’re seeing now won’t matter… no need to worry.
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You’re welcome
. But Curtis (cbwx34) is right. I’m usually happy if I manage to reach a difference of .5 degrees.Molecule Polishing: my blog about sharpening with the Wicked Edge
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I have another question. I read somewhere that there are shorter screws for the jaws that allow small thin blades to be sharpened without the end of the screw scratching the stone. Are those available? I’m having a hard time with little knives. I sent a message to technical support, is that what I should do?
I buy my stainless screws from McMaster.com, but then you end up buying a box of 25 or 50 when you only need a few, not to mention shipping costs. For what it’s worth, you really don’t need stainless if the screws are of good quality. Buy a box of 1-1/2″ 1/4″-20 flat-head machine screws and cut them to the desired length. Some of the old hardware stores have a stash of hundreds of machine screws. Look for the oldest employee – he probably knows where everything’s hidden
Also please note that WE sells a “Low Angle Adapter” which works especially well with small blades but also handles all but the largest blades. Tormek makes a small knife adapter which works perfectly in your Wicked Edge vise and many of us on this forum use it regularly. Both rigs raise the edge well above the vise to avoid interference between your stones and any parts of the vise with which they might collide.
I’ll toss my vote in with the 0.5 degrees guys. I just did a WE job on a brand-new-in-the-box Buck 7-1/2″ hunting knife. One side was factory-sharpened at 19 degrees while the other was set at 15 degrees. I couldn’t see the difference and I doubt you’d be able to detect the difference in use.
Edit: Buy a box of 1-1/2″ 1/4″-20 flat-head socket-head machine screws…
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Here’s a tidbit on zeroing in on a particular target angle.
I use the Wicked Edge Variable Stone Thickness Adapters with every grit change. On initial set-up, I use an angle-cube and the micro-adjustments to zero in on the target angle. I then hold the VSTA tight against the stone face as I tight the VSTA’s screw. If I then re-zero the micro-adjusts for the very same stone, the resultant angle is always slightly different. I’ve noticed that the difference is mostly due to the slight shifting of the VSTA as I tighten its screw. A big improvement (mental for me, probably) was had by grinding the ends of the screw as close to square as I can get it. A non-square tip will skew the VSTA every time. Tap a 10-32 hole in a piece of steel, then with just the tip extending through, grind it off flush on a belt sander, or against the side of the wheel in your bench grinder. If you have a drill press, use it to do the drilling and tapping.
I haven’t actually done a test to measure my success, but I’d say I’m able to hit within 0.10 to 0.15 degrees of target. Now that I’ve got a new angle-cube that reads out to 0.02 degrees and appears to be very accurate, I’ll have to pay a little more attention.
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