Side-to-Side “Wobble” – newbie here

[Adam]

Hey folks, this is my first post here.  I’ve been using my WE120 for about a month and I’m loving it.  It definitely takes some trial and error,  but the edge I can put on my knives now is incredible!  I have a question for you.  With some knives, I have an issue with the blade not clamping properly and allowing “wobble” side to side.  What I mean is, where the spine is thicker than the edge (FFG knives, Spyderco Stretch, for instance), when the spine is clamped securely, the knife still wobbles back and forth a but because there is nothing holding the edge.  Has anyone come up with a fix for this?

Thanks

[wickededge]

Hi Adam,

I’m glad you’re enjoying your sharpener. FFG blades can be challenging in the standard vise, but it is possible with just a little work. Please check out this article on how to do it: https://support.wickededgeusa.com/portal/kb/articles/can-the-wicked-edge-sharpen-fully-flat-ground-blades. My personal preference for shimming the blade is Moleskin. I’ve been able to find it in a 1″ roll and I just cut 1/8″ strips from that to line the inside tops of the jaws.

-Clay

2 users thanked author for this post.

Organic, Adam

[Jeff]

Another option that has worked well for me on distal tapered blades like a lot of Spyderco’s are is using a piece of soft leather chamois material between the blade and vise.  A soft sheepskin chamois can be found on Amazon for about $10 to your door.  Lasts years as you only need a small piece that can be used mutliple times.

2 users thanked author for this post.

Brewbear, wickededge

[Brewbear]

wickededge wrote:

Hi Adam, I’m glad you’re enjoying your sharpener. FFG blades can be challenging in the standard vise, but it is possible with just a little work. Please check out this article on how to do it: https://support.wickededgeusa.com/portal/kb/articles/can-the-wicked-edge-sharpen-fully-flat-ground-blades. My personal preference for shimming the blade is Moleskin. I’ve been able to find it in a 1″ roll and I just cut 1/8″ strips from that to line the inside tops of the jaws.

Hi Clay, are you talking about the stuff with adhesive on one side? Would the felt padding used on furniture work? Thank you.

[wickededge]

Yes, the Moleskin is adhesive on one side and fuzzy on the other. We also get some strips of felt (use them in the GO models do retain the stones in their storage channel) and they are sticky on one side, fuzzy on the other. Either of those work great and I’m guessing that the felt padding for furniture might work as well if it isn’t too thick. As mentioned by @Jeff and others in various threads, wrapping the blade with a small square of thin chamois also works very well.

-Clay

[Author]

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