Use Of Tang For Angle…

[NorCalQ]

I used to use the base of the WE to establish zero angle.  I was never really sure about that zero angle, as the blade is not necessarily 90* to the base.  Since I disassemble all my folders for sharpening, it suddenly dawned on me to use the tang or pivot area of the knife, since it’s really the plane around which the bevel is formed.

Am I thinking right or is there something wrong with my logic and things that I’m not considering?

 

[tcmeyer]

That works just fine, as long as you keep the tape out from under the cube’s face.  It would be most valuable when mounting FFG blades in a Gen 1 vise.

I do something similar without removing the handle.  I have a machine-ground piece of steel which I can use on edge to reach in between the bolster and the vice.  It’s a little awkward to press the Zero button without changing the angle, so I normally use the base.

NorCalQ:  Have you been noticing any significant differences between the tang zero and the base zero?

[NorCalQ]

Yes.  That’s why I started using the tang for zero.  Of course, the difference varies a bit depending on how and where the blade is clamped.  The one I’m working on now only shows a difference of .2 degrees, however I have seen up to 1 degree so far.  Not much, but using the tang does give me a level of confidence in a more accurate angle setting comparator.  All that said, I just started doing this, so I may find larger discrepancies in the future, depending on the main bevel of the blade.  I was just worried that I was doing something that made sense to me, but was not actually good practice.

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