Geocyclist

[Geocyclist]

Thanks for starting this thread and for pulling all the different info into one thread.

I like ET’s method.  Josh, I think accomplishes the same the way using putting tape with a marker line on a stone.  I am wondering: with the o-ring method does it matter where you place the knife in clamp for touch ups.  Let’s assume the o-ring method is precise enough.  You can measure the distance of the o-ring to a fixed point for repeat setups.  If you move the the knife around to fit the o-ring again it should be good ?  Right?

 

 

[Geocyclist]

Swiss army knives.  They have some nice ones that are just single blades, no tools and very thin.  For what they cost they are good knives, but I wouldn’t call them super steels by any means.

 

[Geocyclist]

Mark76 wrote:

I also don’t understand exactly what the problem is, but if you experience wider bevels towards the tip, you’re probably looking for the sweet spot. There was recently a topic on this: URL

I think what he is asking is the heel gets a little more acute because 8″ is so long.  I usually clamp mine about in the middle.  The tips of my chef’s knives are pretty straight so while this is not the perfect setup for getting the sweet spot at the tip it comes out pretty good.  Because I clamp in the middle the very heel is a little more acute than the middle of the knife, but not bad.  If I clamped closer to the tip I could perfect the sweet spot i theory, but the the heel would be worse.

I theory you would want 2 setups but I don’t think it work very well in practice – even blending in the middle, over sharpening of the middle, and you would have to clamp twice for every stone since you can’t finish one half then start the other half with a  rough grit.  By “in theory” I mean you could sharpen a very long sword (if the weight was supported) by moving it 6 inches at a time, but in reality it probably wouldn’t work too well.

In the end I accept less than perfection on kitchen knives since they getting dull so quickly anyway.

[Geocyclist]

Try WD-40, it can’t hurt.  Maybe a degreaser or something that would remove adhesive. I don’t have any acid wash blades so I don’t know how they react to different things.  For cleaning: Flitz (it like a fine polish so be careful with coated, acid wash).

you could tape the whole blade and soak in alcohol to get the same treatment.  I would say this is last option.

Sounds like the alcohol broke down the adhesive and/or tape material, but it won’t remove it.

Let us know what works.

 

 

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wickededge

[Geocyclist]

Nice work.

[Geocyclist]

I would go for Elmax.  I ran across this yesterday, good writeup on most common knife steels and charts as well.  Link here:  PocketKnifeToday  I have don’t have anything in Elmax, but I am not overly impressed with S30V.  I pretty much don’t buy it any more – mainly because of edge rolling issues, not so much wear resistance.  I have some M390 I really like and keep hearing how Elmax is comparable to M390.

If you are really into steel I love this web site.  Put Elmax in the link here: http://Zknives-Elmax

The same web site will also let you compare steels.  Going by this graph I can’t really complain about S30V.  http://www.zknives.com/knives/steels/steelgraph.phpnm=elmax%2C%20s30v%2C%20m390&hrn=1&gm=0

I really like the zKnives web site.  Sometimes it can be slow to respond but usually works.

 

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wickededge, CliffCurry

[Geocyclist]

Anonymous wrote:

Funny, you mention OCD… I think I invented OCD. But my OCD is and always has been based on the idea that there is only one way to do something, and that is the right way. Since I am new to the wicked edge, I’m still in the process of learning the ” Right Way “…

Hey Bill, you add a lot to the forum.  One thing I have learned here is that there more than one right way to use the WE.  There are some definite do’s and don’ts but no single right way.  I have seen people get mirror edges from only ceramics, water stones, 1000# diamonds with only strops, and now the new diamond lapping films.  The best thing any member can do here is share their experiences using the WE – success or failures, so that others can learn from it.

When I first started I thought all knives were the same.  What I have learned here about many different techniques has helped me to sharpen many different types of knifes, different setups, different lengths, steel types and different edges.

Even Clay doesn’t claim to know it all.  What I really like about his posts is how he treats the subject like science.  Constantly trying to understand about what going on in the sharpening process, how to test different methods, and how to optimally control it.  Read his posts about stropping.

[Geocyclist]

I have both balsa and leather and go back and forth.  I use leather when I want to get more pressure, to work harder for a mirror finish.  I use less pressure with balsa.  Both work well.  I think you are right to get the 3.5/5 paste. That is a great do all grit and will produce great results.

 

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wickededge, Justin D

[Geocyclist]

I have been meaning to do this myself to get a heavier base for stropping.  If you go to a granite yard (what we call the place the US that custom cuts large slabs) you can find a small, scrap, piece that they would probably give you for free.  Then you would pay to have the edge finished.  All they need is the hole pattern.  You can get any size you like.  Larger for more weight.  I have thought about a triangle shape to have 3 points of contact to eliminate wobbling.

 

[Geocyclist]

Hey Butcher,

Welcome to the forum.  What to you want to sharpen?  Do you want to sharpen a bunch of knives or just your own?
The upgrade arms are better, less play = more precise, and allow precision adjustment to set any angle exactly.

If you are going to do a ton of knives the Gen 3 is faster to set the knife up.  If you want higher precision go with the PP II.

 

[Geocyclist]

Thanks for reposting the video Josh.  The first time I did it was for a full flat ground blade.  To double check that the math made sense I laid the blade on my countertop and measured the angle of the blade from the counter top.  Long story short the angle of the blade checked out with the measurements in the vice which was good to know before I stared grinding away.

 

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Josh

[Geocyclist]

ET, how do you set the angle?  Is the center line mark on the tape perpendicular to the top of of the vice?

 

[Geocyclist]

Dude that is great work.  How did you get the color back to black?  Is that from the stone wash?  Or did you wash it something for the patina?  Did you weigh the blade?  Just curious how much weight you took off.  Thanks for the pics, this interesting to see the progression.

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Josh

[Geocyclist]

That is the big question for me – how large to make it.  I would say as large as possible as long as you can use it and adjust the knife or at least it won’t get in the way.  I may or may not use it the first time I sharpen to set up the knife, but I would use it after finding the sweet spot to record the settings then use it next time to quickly set it up the same way.

You know you got it right if its made from plastic, cheaper to make than the metal ruler we have now and can replace  the metal ruler with new WE’s and work the same or better for any type of knife.

I would ask for 1/4″ tick marks, even if they are very small.  On my metal ruler I put them in myself.

I can setup any knife pretty well without the gage, but where the gage really comes in handy is being able to quickly set up the same knife again for touch ups.  To keep things simple I usually keep something parallel (flat edge or spine) to make repeat setups easy.  I have some knifes I know I need to tilt to get a better sweet spot and haven’t done that yet.  I will definitely use this for recording tilt setups.

 

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Rick, wickededge

[Geocyclist]

Nice works, the bevels look real even too.

 

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