Newbie saying hello!

[wickededge]

Everything just arrived!!! 🙂

Call me stupid… but how do I use the metal/rubber washers to mount the WEPS to the base? I assume rubber side to the WEPS blue base?

The washer goes between the head of the screw and the Granite/QuartzStone/Paperstone base. The rubber side goes against the base and the metal side against the screw head.

-Clay

[Richard Miller]

Ahh! Well, I should switch that around then… I ended up doing rubber side against the screw. Thanks!

[Richard Miller]

Wow. This really works! My only issue is getting the area of the blade near the shoulder / finger guard. It seems like the stones miss a little less than half an inch of the blade. More than likely it’s me… but I like it a lot so far!

[Phil Pasteur]

I have seen that, especially with Spyderco knives. The Ricasso, the unsharpened part near the pivot, hits on the plastic of the platen. Not usually a half an inch… for me anyway on the knives where it is an issue (most are not), more like a quarter inch.
Some have ground away the plastic to give clearance, some put something between the stone and the platen..
Or, get some thicker stones. (He whispers…Chosera :))

[Phil Pasteur]

That’s a big part of the fun of the WEPS. But in cases you don’t want to experiment and just build on other people’s experiences, try microfine coarse -> 1200 -> 1600 -> microfine fine -> stropping. This will get you a mirror edge that is truly wickedly sharp.

You will get a nice sharp edge this way, no doubt. Yes, a Wicked Edge! However, do not be disappointed if you do not get a “mirror” edge with that progression. It is pretty much impossible at those grit levels. (though you might get close by spending hours stropping.. I mean HOURS) Lots of folks have asked on the forums indicating they were not getting the mirror that they were looking for at that level. Usually they think that they are doing something wrong. This is not the case! If you want a mirror, some finer stones with more polishing ability is what you will need.

Don’t get me wrong, with what you have you can put some really super edges on steel..
I am just trying to help set expectations, so that you don’t think that you are doing something wrong, or that the WEPS is not doing its job when you don’t see a mirror on your edge and do see plenty of visible scratches..

Oh,
And welcome to the forms!

[Richard Miller]

I completely understand 🙂

I wasn’t expecting much of a mirror finish with the stones/strops that I have – and that is okay. I prefer a real working edge, not a show edge. I was stropping it and my finger slipped and with absolutely no pressure I sliced off the tip of my ring finger and didn’t even feel it. So I know it’s sharp – but that is what happens when we play with sharp things.

It was a Spyderco Paramilitary 2 and the shoulder was bumping the shoulder of the stones and maybe my description wasn’t entirely accurate. It’s not a half inch – a little less, but I’m at work and can’t whip my knife out to measure it. I was thinking of giving it another go but this time reversing the knife direction and mount it handle facing away from me – but I don’t think that will get me any closer to clearing up that little spot.

Thanks for the tips/advice though! I need more knives to sharpen… lol

[Richard Miller]

Oh and for the record – I can’t afford a set of the Chosera stones. I just spent plenty for right now! LOL

[Phil Pasteur]

Oh and for the record – I can’t afford a set of the Chosera stones. I just spent plenty for right now! LOL

I got that. I wrestled with myself for months before buying the WEPS. It just seemed beyond my budget. One day I couldn’t take it anymore and just ordered the darn thing 🙂
Back then they didn’t have many stone choices available. I think that it was well over a year before I could get the 1K diamonds. The 1200/1600 ceramics were nowhere to be found for quite awhile. You are starting with much more than I had initially!

When they got the Chosera stones in for the WEPS… Well the bug had firmly bitten me… but it was over a year from buying the first two grits before I completed the purchase of the full progression.

I predict that you will feel the giant sucking of the rabbit hole eventually…
👿

[Richard Miller]

Noooooo no rabbit hole!

Alright I will admit I’m already staring at the onyx base, newer arms, and the finer strops… but I can’t afford it all and I hate progressive upgrades; I either need it all at once or not at all. That’s why I ordered what I did because I knew I’d get satisfying edges with it lol

[Richard Miller]

I think my brain just went on shutdown. I was looking at what else is available for strops since I have the 5/3.5 micron w/ leather…

Balsa, Nano-Cloth? Sprays? Uhhhhh too much! I assume smaller micron = finer abrasive? And would the sprays be used with a strop or with water stones?

[Phil Pasteur]

If you do a bit of searching, all of those have been discussed many times here. It all would be far too much for me to try to type.

Synopsis: Balsa wood, stiffer than leather. Less potential for convexing at the edge. Leather, good stropping material. Razor guys have used it for years. It has some abrasive of its own perhaps making it less suitable for very fine abrasives. Has some “give” so incorrect technique can convex the edge. Kangaroo, very thin and fine grained. Little give and little abrasive of its own. Good for any stropping, but probably makes itself worth the cost with lower grit sizes, around 1 micron and less. Nano cloth, even less give and absolutely no abrasive of its own. Suitable for any abrasive, but really shines with fractional micron abrasives.

The smaller the particle, the lower the grit…yes! Typically the sprays are used in the finer grits. Either Diamond or Cubic Boron Nitride …Though I have some 30 and 45 micron sprays.

Check out the WIKI:
http://wickededgeusa.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page&Itemid=102

Here are a couple of interesting links from there. Check out the second one… it is a long thread with lots of photos. I talks about different media and abrasives and show the results obtained in some darn good photomicrographs.

What grit/micron should I have mirror polish?

http://wickededgeusa.com/index.php?option=com_kunena&func=view&catid=6&id=892&Itemid=63

Here is an excellent thread on how the stops and compounds work with lots of micrographs for illustration.

A theory of how the WE diamond pastes work

http://www.wickededgeusa.com/index.php?option=com_kunena&func=view&catid=5&id=2399&Itemid=63

BTW, I see those toes disappearing down the hole..
👿

[William Shields]

Not sure what happened but this is my thread. Why does it show Richard Miller now? lol… I also just had to re-register…

[cbwx34]

Not sure what happened but this is my thread. Why does it show Richard Miller now? lol… I also just had to re-register…

No idea… especially since this thread is three weeks old, and the user list shows Richard registered yesterday… :unsure:

[Mark76]

Curtis, do I understand it correctly that you already informed Clay and the technical guy about user accounts strangely disappearing?

Molecule Polishing: my blog about sharpening with the Wicked Edge

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