Dennis Hibar
@dennishibar
active 6 days, 4 hours agoForum Replies Created
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Well, can’t believe it has been 8 years since I started this thread and almost 5 since I updated it. Figured now would be a good time since I added a new sharpener … another Wicked Edge, of course.
I made a decision to give my Gen 3 Pro to my daughter and her partner so they could sharpen their knives rather than bringing them to me to sharpen. That provided the impetus for me to order a new Gen 4. It arrived earlier this week and I have to say … I like it and, in many respects, more than the Gen 3. While all of the WE are capable of outstanding results, the new Gen 4 have some features I really like. The clamping system is just mind boggling. Takes so little effort to clamp a knife you have to be amazed at how tightly the thing holds the knife in place! The feel of the new guide rod set-up is great as well. At first, I found them odd, as the feel was so much different than the ball-joint arms. I am in my 70s with pretty bad arthritis, especially in my left hand. Range motion and feeling in my hands has decreased. With the Gen 3 and my original 100, find myself having to really grip the handles pretty firmly to avoid having them slip from my hands and fall onto the blade. Often, this resulted in using more pressure than I would like when sharpening. The movement of the new guide rods is more deliberate, for lack of a better term. Not overly stiff, but not super quick, like with the ball joints. I did have to enlarge the bore on a couple of my older handles, as they were binding a little on the new rods. Fortunately, only two.
So, even though the new Gen 4 came in at almost double the price of the Gen 3 (back in 2016), I find it worth every penny. Not sure I would have bought it had I decided to keep the Gen 3 … but think the upgrades in WE’s top-of-the-line model make it a first rate sharpener.
It’s been a while since I’ve stopped by, but let me add a little something. For removing small (barely visible) burrs, I like to use a felt deburring block as soon as I transition from stones to films. It does such a good job, that I often don’t even bother with strops (I rarely go with a perfectly mirrored finish anymore). I tend to only use strops (and I just rely on a stropping paddle, rather than mounting the knife in the WE) to touch up an edge. Additionally, make sure what you are experiencing is actually a small bur in sections of the knife rather than a micro chip (which will also snag on very thin paper). You really need (in most cases, especially if your vision isn’t what it used to be) a digital microscope to determine what’s going on.
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This was active quite some time ago (probably much longer ago than I can remember, since I am not sure the link can easily be located here):
No one on the map in the Rochester area ….. but, like I said, doubt if anyone even remembers that the map is available to use. Maybe a sticky thread could get this thing going again.
The vetbond is there for those times when Murphy pokes his head and grins at me (by the way I believe he was an optimist). It is a dermal glue used in place of superficial stitches .
I hear you! My daughter tells me that super glue is the only thing holding my body together!!!
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Well, it has been a little over 3 years since I posted about my WE Journey and almost 8 years since I’ve been using the WE system. While I don’t post much anymore, I do try to stop by the forum several times a week to see what’s new in the WE world. Anyway, figured it was about time to add some experiences to my journey.
As you’ve read in my journey post above, you know that when I purchased my Gen 3 system, I decided to keep my original, 2012 WE sharpener. My reasoning still remains valid today and it is a decision I will never regret. But more on that in a bit.
Since my initial post, I have upgraded my Gen 3 with the newest version cam-lock vise, as well as a set of jaws for thicker blades.
While I was skeptical at first … with regards to its improvement in clamping over the original Gen 3 vise, I quickly found it was well worth the upgrade price. Specifically, the tension adjustment lever totally eliminated any potential blade slippage in the vise jaws, regardless of blade thickness or geometry. The other thing I did was to remove the storage bin under the sharpener. This brought the unit a little lower and made sharpening more comfortable for me. Those who have done this know what I mean.
I added the 2200 / 3000 grit stones into my sharpening progression (depending on the knife I am going to sharpen). So far, they are working very well and are pretty much broken in. I have also eliminated the super fine (1200/1600) ceramics from my sharpening progression. I still use the micro fine ceramics …. but not so much for polishing. I find that they still do a very good job of cleaning up / refining the apex with just a few edge leading strokes per side.
Now, back to that original 2012 WE system. As I originally said, as much as I love the Gen3, there are just some times I find it unsuitable for a particular knife. Here is a case in point … my Spyderco Centofante Memory. (And forgive me, updating this post was not on my mind when I was sharpening it, so had to take some pictures today, after the fact.)
The Centofante Memory was, as far as I am concerned an underrated knife. Even after it was discontinued … huge numbers were still available. Now, I bought mine after they were first released in mid-2012. Unfortunately, it came with a horrendously sharpened blade. It was very sharp … but with an uneven/wonky edge and overall blade geometry. I put off resharpening it until it really was necessary, because, even though it had a sharpening notch …. it had very little exposed ricasso. The sharpening notch and sharpened edge pretty much joins up with the titanium handle. So, I knew I would have to take the knife apart and sharpen the blade removed from the frame. I first tried to sharpen it in the Gen3. No dice. Blade geometry was so wonky that micro adjustments would not come close to letting me get to an even edge bevel on each side without serious trial and error shimming of the left side. Felt it would be much easier to just mount it in my original WE. Here is a picture of it mounted with one shim on the left side:
One shim was needed in order to obtain a 19 dps angle without contacting the vise on the left side with stones and strops. Notice the big difference in arm positions left and right. That is the beauty (and, at times drawback) with this version …. the ability to adjust each arm separately. As I said, could not have accomplished this without trial and error shimming in the Gen3 …. and still might not have been able to achieve the same results. Anyway, the original WE produced a consistent 19 degree edge. VG10 is pretty easy to sharpen and easily passed HHT 3 for sharpness.
So, for me, will never regret keeping this original WE system. I have over 200 knives in my collection and every once in a while, run into a situation where I prefer to use the original over the Gen3. That said, there is no better sharpener on the market than the WE … regardless of which WE system you chose.
Happy Sharpening!
Amazon has a jig by tormek. Think it solves this issue
Be advised that while the Tormek does offer some advantages for smaller knives with narrow blades, it may prove frustrating to use with the Gen 3 … UNLESS you are able to clamp your knife in the Tormek so that the blade is perfectly aligned (perpendicular to the base). Unlike the the WE models with the individually adjustable arms, you may not be able to adjust the Gen3 to achieve a symmetrical edge. This is exactly why I kept my original WE (rather than upgrading) when I purchased my Gen 3. I have a lot of small knives with narrow blades. I do have the LAA, which I occasionally use with the Gen 3. However, I do find that it is often hit or miss with particular small blades.
Submitted.
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Let me add another thing on the subject. After experiencing bent vise jaw tips many years ago on my original WE, I try to never over-tighten the vise. I only snug the top screw and then tighten the bottom one to a point where the gap between each half of the vise jaws is close to being even, top to bottom. As long as the knife does change positions while in the vise … good to go. In my mind, with the vise jaws being made of aluminum, it is quite possible to bend the tips by grossly over-tightening that bottom screw, as all the pressure is directed to the tips.
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Marc … Brian’s problem (from what I see in his picture) is a bent vise jaw tips, as stated in the title. This has happened to a handful (that I know of) of vises (including one of my own).
Brian … email or call WE and show them the pic. They should be able to help you out.
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Two strikes. First, as mentioned above by Mikedoh, CRK frames are titanium, not stainless steel. This is why you probably made it worse using the abrasives you used. Second, even if you sent it to CRK, they would not do a refurbishment (spa treatment) on it as it is an inlaid model. They only do spa treatments on models without inlays. They would clean it up as best as they could and redo the edge and polish the blade … but not much they would do about the scratches. To remove the scratches properly, the inlays would need to be removed.
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Unfortunately, this link is now broken. I hope you can fix it – I would love to learn how to do it.
If it is the instructions I think you are talking about, I remember seeing them. I converted them into a pdf file for future reference. I’ll try attaching it to this reply.
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The next try was a set of six Henckles chef’s knives we bought in the BX when I was stationed in Izmir, Turkey back in 1972-74.
Neat. I was gnat’s hair from being assigned to Karamursel around the same time. A few weeks before, however, I was diverted and ended up in Berlin. In retrospect, I think it was for the best … as I absolutely loved the 4 years I spent in Berlin. Happy sharpening!
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I have both WE systems (old and new vise styles) and the new wider LAA. Can attest to the fact that the new wider LAA fits both.
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