Uneven bevel

[wiredtothemax]

Just got my WE100 and practiced on 3 kitchen knives. They all came out well for my first time. When I attempted to sharpen my new ZT 0562 I ended up with an uneven bevel, I used a Sharpie and found that 21 degrees removed the marker line. The right side is wider and it’s most noticeable at the tip. Is there a recommended way to correct (i.e. reduce) the wider side?

• This topic was modified 5 years, 11 months ago by wiredtothemax.

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[tcmeyer]

Actually, I think they look pretty good, compared to some I’ve done, but I’m sure that when handled in person it probably looks different.  When I find one bevel narrower than the other, I go back to the coarsest grit I’ve used (usually 400 grit) and work at it until the two bevels appear to be the same.  From there, I’ll go thru the normal progression on both sides – 600, 800, 1000 and 1500.  If I think I need a polished edge, I will use 6 and 3 micron diamond film.  Doing the progression on both sides helps to keep the bevels widths equal.

Here’s an off-the-wall comment:  The wider the bevel, the more the knife will benefit from a convex edge.  It knocks down the shoulder and reduces the resistance to cutting due to blade thickness.  I’m finding it quite easy to do on my Gen 3 Pro.  The difference is apparent when slicing phone book paper.  It also seems to reduce the perception of bevel width as there’s no hard shoulder line to emphasize the bevel.

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wiredtothemax

[wiredtothemax]

Thanks for the feedback. I was actually hoping to reduce the bevel so it would match the narrower side to look more like the factory edge. I’ve read on a few forums that using a coarse grit on the narrow side will remove material at the edge and reduce the height on the wider side. I just don’t want to experiment on a knife this expensive. Feedback from anyone reading this would be greatly appreciated.

[Marc H]

Welcome to the Wicked Edge Forum and Community “wiredtothema”.  Sounds like you’re experiencing a common situation characteristic of the WE100 vice design.  There have been many posts and threads written throughout the years and all over this Forum helping WE users to understand and deal with this issue.  Your uneven bevel heights I believe is due to blade lean in the vice.  This can be measured and corrected for in your rod arm angle settings.  The WE100 is the most basic model with-out a “fine adjustment” capability.

Please read this linked thread, and the other blue links with-in this thread.  It should help you to understand what I believe your dealing with.

Marc
(MarcH's Rack-Its)

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Organic, wiredtothemax, sksharp

[sksharp]

While you may not be happy with your result, the difference will not hurt the function of the knife. Get a couple cheapo knives and play with different things in your setup. I think you find what you need to do to even things up a bit quicker than you might think. A cheap thick blade can be a big help with learning how to setup and adjust your placement.

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wiredtothemax

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