Montana Edge
@montanaedge
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The jaw pins just push out. I use the allen wrench tool from my gen2. Anything smaller diameter than the pins will do it. The pins don’t need to be removed all the way out, rather push them far enough that the jaws release. The gen2 allen key is the perfect length to push the pins out the right distance. The spring is a non issue. It will usually stay attached to one or the other jaw. I change jaw sets all the time (commercial application). It now takes me 10 seconds max to change a set.
We’ve got the Wusthof Classic Icons. Their top of line model. Steel is X50crMoV15. Yes, they claim 14 with some down to 11. This is silly and is good old fashioned marketing pressure and oneupsmanship. I’ve experimented and if you don’t mind steeling your knives constantly then do 14. The average consumer will not do this. If you want to steel once or twice per week… 18 degrees has been great. Push up to 20 and you can’t go wrong. Mine are all at 18 and I steel as often as twice per week. I use an F.Dick “Dickoron” with sapphire cut (the best and we sell them along with whole line). I only actually sharpen on WEPS…just a touch… every 6 months or so. They’ll last forever at this rate.
I should add that your mileage may vary… we have many knives in the kitchen. Wusthofs, vintage Gerber, a Global, and many different series of F.Dick, other keeper knives etc. so the use of each knife can vary substantially. My comments on Wusthof are based on when we used them almost exclusively in the past. We adventure with others now. Also, you’ll find the factory edge to be all over the place. Why not take them for a ride at 14? Just too easy to go more obtuse after that if you don’t like. I also felt the steel ‘harden’ up a bit after sharpening off the factory edge. Very interesting to experience this.
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just for reference, my pins measured consistently at .1870″
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I’ve got a Gen.3 from the earliest first or second batch as I recall. My pins slide right out also.
Thanks for developing the new jaws Clay. That was a pleasant surprise last night. I just ordered a set of each.
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That’s pretty sexy file work…. Very nice
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Your caution is smart and healthy – it protects the reputation you desire to establish (which is everything).
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Hey Alan, you brought back memories with the tip comment… My minds eye hadn’t planned for that eventuality, and when I got my first tip on my first day, I was pretty amazed, and I’ve had many many more since then, still makes me just as happy as the first time. The knock off is I’m a much better tipper now myself. I get it now.
That said, I was told by Kyle long ago that there is a tweak to the design that tightens the arm assembly up. Remember I have one of the very first ones. He was willing to mail me the shims but I’ve procrastinated as I’ve got it in my head that I’d like Kyle and Clay to see how it is holding up, make any recommendations, and do the mods that the later iterations came stock with. So overhaul probably isn’t the best word. I’ll ship it in for the shim issue, and for an “evaluation” of a high volume application.
Let me suggest that you check both sides, regardless of the fact that you’ve calibrated the arms. I always do the heavy thinking on the left side, then just double check the plan by swiping the right. Many a time have I decided to reset in order to find the right balance because of poor imbalanced factory or amateur sharpening. Takes just a sec to slip a 1k on the right side and confirm the plan looks correct. That’s for your average knife. On the higher end jobs, we owe it to the knife to check both sides more carefully. For the three bucks you charge (for now) you can only spend so much time fussing with the sweet spot. There’s plenty of knives I get in that I’d do for no charge if I didn’t have bills to pay. Enjoy.
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For your commercial work, I’d say definitely move to the Gen3. Best thing I did. But not just the vise conversion, pick up the actual Gen3 so that you get the dual angle adjust too. I do high volume commercial and couldn’t imagine going back to the Gen2 full time for the high volume. My Gen2 still does the thick blades, tricky clamp issues, and odd jobs, but the Gen3 handles most everything, and I spend far less time setting up and far more time sharpening. I’ve even had both Gens clamping one blade. 95% of my jobs are on the Gen3 for about the last eight months. Sweet spots and repeat knife jobs are no problem, since doing the sharpie/1000 grit swipe is extremely fast to find the sweet spot. Unclamp, move the blade a bit, reclamp, swipe, move again if necessary… angle off?… slide the arm adjuster a click this way or that. .. Just seconds to get a blade dialed in. That is where the Gen3 really, really shines. Extremely fast setup comparatively.
Put it this way, I have the earliest version Gen3 with a ton of miles on it, and need to send it in for an overhaul and a couple parts for upgrade, but business is good and I hate to be without it for a couple weeks. The Gen2 is great, but the Gen3 is my baby.
Hope this helps you Tuffy, I enjoy your videos.
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Yep. Well put. I would add that the sound of slicing paper tells me loads too.
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