Aaron

[Aaron]

I put a mirror edge on a ZT 0300 without much difficulty.  When I sharpen recurves I just try to be conscious of where I am applying pressure with the stone to ensure I am following the curve of the blade.

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Woody

[Aaron]

Any update on the cases? I will have to start travelling with mine soon. If this isn’t ready pretty quick I’ll need to make a Pelican case work or something. Thanks in advance!

[Aaron]

Josh that CRK looks incredible, nice work! Did you put a convex edge on it? I have an Umnumzaan that I haven’t touched yet. Haven’t decided if I want to bother with the convex edge yet.

The Tuff looks amazing as well!

[Aaron]

ZT 0300 I worked on this weekend. 20 degrees per side, I can’t help but smile every time I pull this one out.

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[Aaron]

I have and use both, and am planning to buy the 14/10 as well.

[Aaron]

In regards to the original topic, I recently sharpened my ZT 0560 on the Gen III WE. This has an Elmax blade. It originally had a 45 degree inclusive angle, but I wanted to decrease this slightly, so I went to 40 degrees. Started with the 100’s, and worked my way up through the grit progression to 1600 ceramics, then stropped from 5 micron down to .5 micron. The hardest part of the whole process was changing that angle from 45 to 40 and making sure the edge was apexed. It took a little time and a lot of patience, but I got it. I call it a high-polish, as its not quite a mirror finish, but the results are awesome and it cuts very well now. I may add the coarser strops to my collection, as I think that might help take out some of the larger scratches that the finer strops can’t.

[Aaron]

That looks great! I like the efficient use of the space. I had been shopping around for a larger Pelican to make my own to carry all my goodies, but may have to pick up one of these!

[Aaron]

Isn’t this just inherent with lower angles, especially with thick blades? Any time you reduce the sharpening angle you will end up with a larger bevel. I have done this with several of my knives and have been pleased with the results. The most extreme case was probably a Kershaw Shallot. It’s got a large bevel but sure does slice nicely!

[Aaron]

Can anyone provide me with the dimensions/specs/model of the existing case? The photo on the WE website was a bit small and hard to read. I may wait for the updated one to be released, or may source my own to accommodate the extras that I want to fit and take with me. Thanks in advance!

[Aaron]

Mine had the thumbscrews, but I don’t think I found any nylon balls in my package. Is this something I should have?? The ball joints on mine were already installed from the factory.

[Aaron]

I sharpened my Kershaw Shallot, which has a similar recurve, with no trouble at all (I was a bit skeptical at first as well). I try to do more strokes that follow the curvature of the blade, rather than up/down, to prevent any odd cuts or high/low spots.

I am looking forward to trying it on my 0300BW 🙂

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[Aaron]

Excellent! I would be interested in one of these as well. The feedback I am getting from knives sharpened on my Gen 3 Pro has been outstanding!

[Aaron]

Quick question for Clay – do you recommend any sort of lubrication for the cam that engages the spring(s) when activating the clamping mechanism? I noticed that as I was sharpening, the metal shavings/dust would fall down and make the mechanism feel a bit gritty. I plan to blow all the dust off with either my vacuum or air compressor after each use to try and keep it clean and working smoothly.

This is a really good question. For now, don’t lubricate it. We’re still doing some testing to see what works best. I’m worried that lubricants will attract and hold grit and worse, diamond bits. Once we’ve finished with our study, I’ll post the best practices.[/quote]

Thanks Clay, really appreciate the response. I figured “dry” cleaning would be best since the particles are free and not gumming anything up. I’ve been wiping everything down with microfiber cloths and it seems to be working well so far.

Slightly off topic, I will be needing to order some extra leather strops as I’ve had a couple “oops” moments where I sliced into one of them 😳

Also, here’s a pic of a Benchmade 950 Rift that I sharpened over the weekend. I’ve got a ZT 0801BW and some Wustof kitchen knives in the queue as well 🙂

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[Aaron]

looks pretty good! what was your stone progression?

Started with 100, went up step by step including 1200/1600, then 1.4 and .6 micron ceramics, then stropped with 5 and 3.5 micron leathers. Not perfect but a good start Id say! My Kershaw Leek turned out even nicer!

I just finished up a Benchmade 950 Rift that turned out really nice. My GF saw the edge and now wants a mirrored edge on her Kershaw Needs Work.

The physical size of the system is 12″ wide X 6″ deep and about 12″ tall. This doesn’t include the rods or stones.

[Aaron]

Pics of the edge. Thinking I’ll add a microbevel to this.

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[Author]

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