Eric
@eric
active 5 years agoForum Replies Created
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Glad to hear that your first experiences are good ones. I would offer a few bits of advice. First, get an angle-cube if you don’t already have one. The angle readings on the cross-bar are for reference only. The actual angles will be dependent on the height of the edge above the vise. Second, get a loupe so you can inspect your edges visually. Feeling for a burr is an excellent way to tell if you’re at the apex, but it won’t tell you if there are defects in the edge which still need to be removed. Third, I would recommend that you only use the 100/200 diamond stones when you need to remove a lot of steel. You don’t want to touch the final apex with such coarse grits. They will tear out bits of steel, creating defects in the edge which will take a very long time to remove with finer stones. This is especially true during the breaking-in of your new stones. Fourth, I suggest that you not try to sharpen any really good knives (for me, that’s about a $30 value) until your stones are broken-in. How long? Depends on a number of variables, but look for uniform scratch patterns and feel and listen for smooth, consistent cutting. If it feels like you’re driving on a plowed field, it ain’t broken-in.
Thank you for the advise. I am very familiar with abrasives and polishing metals as well as machining them. I am an inspector by trade (among other responsibilities) and actually I misspoke. I forgot that with the Kershaw, I started with the 400 stones. The banged up cheap kitchen knives started with the 100. I have an angle cube but don’t actually intend to use it. The reason is, I would rather rely on the mechanical repeatability of the angle bar, than worry about fine tuning each blade to match what was done previously. With a little work initially to get the angles on the blade matching the preset angles of the angle bar, maintenance will be a breeze and I can guaranty repeating the angle with less set up time. I can appreciate peoples need to get it perfect but the more convenient I make it for myself, the more likely I am to keep up on my knives. I already have a 200x digital microscope as well as a 30x optical. I don’t personally need anything stronger than the 30x. If I get any more anal than that, I’ll be afraid to use the blade. My kitchen knives will never be perfect because they will always be subjected to the abuse of my wife and daughter lol. My EDC Kershaw is used almost daily to cut boxes open, and occasionally pull a staple or two. I have the same knife with the Elmax blade, which is the only knife I am very careful with and even that is used daily when I’m not working. It needs to be extra sharp mainly to cut my cigars. Sharpening has been a mild passion since I was a little kid so probably 40+ years, but I grow tired of it quickly, so I rarely have more than one sharp knife at a time.
The WEPS system is the perfect fit for me because it is very efficient and little energy is wasted.1 user thanked author for this post.
Is it possible that the original grind on each side of the blade is not symmetrical? Try laying the blade flat on the flat area of the spine and measuring the distance from the table to the start of your bevel on both sides of the blade. The end of the original grind should be the same distance from the table on both sides of the blade. You could also try closing the jaws of a dial caliper on the flats of the spine and sighting down the apex to see if it’s centered in the jaws of the calipers. If the apex is not centered on the width of the spine, you could get uneven bevels from one side to the other.
1 user thanked author for this post.
