Timm
@gunhippie
active 6 months, 3 weeks agoForum Replies Created
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The owner mentioned that the tip had been broken off, so you’re on the money.
At least it’s now sharp all the way to the re-shaped tip:
I could reshape it to match the original profile if the owner wants.
I recently purchased the Pluggable ‘scope after reading the reviews on the WE forum. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00XNYXQHE/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Here’s a sample of what you can expect from it:
Scratch pattern of a 2,200 grit WE stone.
What’s the magnification?
This is 5mm:
These pics are down-sized for posting. When using the camera with my laptop, the image completely fills the 13″ screen. The photos are taken hand-held with the bezel of the ‘scope in contact with the subject.
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Morning, Tom.
I’d agree that the original bevel was convex. The 12 dps setting hit the center of the bevel, so it was what I went with. You can see I didn’t have a lot to work with at the beginning. You can also see that my bevel is a little wider than the original.
I added a 15 dps micro bevel using about 10 strokes each side with the 1,500 stone just to try to prevent edge break-out. We’ll see how it holds up, as this will be in daily use in the pub kitchen.
Now to educate the owner in how to care for a high-carbon blade! As you can see from the “before” pics, much of the edge damage was pitting from being poorly cleaned and dried. I gave the blade a good wipe-down with some food-safe mineral oil, and will encourage the owner to do the same after every use. Hand-wash and dry immediately, of course.
Before and after:
OK, Marc, so maybe rewarding, but far from easy.
Here’re a couple two or three pics from sharpening this knife:
After starting with 200 grit.
Later with 400 grit:
Still peeling edge off.
600 grit, still peeling the edge.
800 grit, starting to get a real edge:
1,000 grit, still some edge breakout, but better:
After 15 minutes or so of 1,000 grit:
1,500 grit. Now we’re actually getting sharp!
2,200 grit is starting to look really good, and as far as I can currently go:
I think the pictures tell the story. Everything up to about 800 was shaping and repair. 1K and above were actually sharpening the edge.
What I learned?
Be gentle! Laying the stone on the edge of the blade should be like a mosquito landing on the back of your neck. The pressure on the stone? None. Like a whisp of hair blowing across a woman’s face. Could kinda get a little sensual….
All were edge-leading strokes, alternating tip-first to heel-first, finishing with heel-first on every pair of stones.
Total time spent: 3 hours, 2 beers.
Some idea of what I’m up against here, pictures from heel to tip (heel to the left, tip to the right in all pictures):
I started with 200 grit and have made about 15 strokes each side, edge-leading 12 dps measured. I seem to have already hit the apex, except, of course, for the chips and gouges.
I hope he takes better care of this after I sharpen it!
Reviving this thread two years later….
Seems the price point may have to come up a little with inflation since ’17. Maybe under $30 or so?
My favorites are the little Swiss army pocketknives–no bells nor whistles nor corkscrews: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0001P14ZE?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details Easy on the pocket and pocketbook.
I just finish touching up the factory edge on one of these that I bought a friend to replace the POS I threw away for him. Victorinox is pretty good steel for the price.
The Opinel #8 is also a great choice still–either carbon or SS (Inox). I carry the filet knife version at all times and like to give away the traditional “peasant’s knife” version to friends who like a little more blade.
Mine:
I have no use for a “multi-tool” type knife. I’ve had several, including Victorinox and Leatherman. I have a Leatherman Wave a boss on a construction job gave me years ago. I don’t recall if I ever used it enough to have to touch up a blade. It’s around here somewhere. Not only are these knives too heavy and bulky to carry, but I almost always carry a 6″ Crescent wrench (real Crescent) and 6-way screwdriver on me. Sometimes a 6″ pair of Vise Grips, too. I fix things for a living so need real tools handy.
I’ve never been a fan of the Wegner brand Swiss Army knives. I don’t even recall why. I just tend to think of them as the “second-rate” SAKs.
I took the shelf unit off the Pro G3. I used some little rubber feet on the bottom and it seems to be very stable on the 3/8″ chunk of steel on my shop bench.
I’m much more comfortable keeping my hands down below my shoulders, but still standing. I spend about half of most of my days sitting in front of a computer screen, so try to stand when practical. I now need to get used to looking down on the the blade, rather than down the length of it.
BTW, that’s a Smithfield breaking knife I’m working on, a challenging blade to sharpen with the WEPS.
I’m sacrificing that shoulder of the vise as I can’t get the blade any higher and keep the angles consistent. The knife is too long and flexible for the Tormek Small Knife adapter.
Nice Knife and great idea on the scissor jack! You will find the bottom stone stop very helpful when setting the angle. You can place it so the stone is centered on the the blade for a more stable measurement, assuming you are using the digital angle cube.
I can’t wait to get them! I’m currently using a “bulldog” paperclip to hold the stone centered on the blade when measuring for angles.
Here’s the so-far finished knife:
In its hand-tooled sheath:
Marc–that looks like part of a tripod. It would need something to anchor it to the benchtop. Maybe something as simple as a plumbing wall-flange would do the trick? I’m tempted to get one just to experiment with. Might be real handy for the USB ‘scope, too.
