Richard Green

[Richard Green]

Thanks for the comments! Very helpful.

Since posting I sharpened most of my everyday kitchen knives and I’m very pleased with the results — all of them are wicked sharp. We’ll see about longevity.

I sharpened one, a 6″ Wusthof Classic Cooks knife, before I did the original post. I re-profiled it to 20 degrees on each side with the 100 grit diamond stones and went through my entire progression (200, 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1200 ceramic, 1600 ceramic, 5u strop and 3.5u stop.) Soon after sharpening, the knife went through some pretty rough handling by relatives cooking in our kitchen over the holidays. Predictably, it lost its razor edge. It wasn’t completely dull, but it would no longer shave paper.

My first attempt at touch up began with the 800 grit stone and continued through the rest of the progression. It was a total failure. The knife wasn’t appreciably sharper than when I started. It was only after reading a post from Phil elsewhere on this Forum that I realized I needed to raise a burr with the first stone in the touch up progression. Phil calls it a “micro burr”. This makes a lot of sense to me — a knife that’s no longer wicked sharp probably has areas where the edge has rolled over, has been flattened, has broken off, etc. Just swiping with fine stones might restore a mirror finish along the bevel, but it won’t necessarily fix a damaged edge. For that, you need to restore the bevel to the point of raising a burr.

I began again with the 800 grit stone, this time scrubbing in order to raise a burr. But even after 20 or so scrubbing strokes I barely got a burr at the heel of the knife and it was clear that it would take a lot more scrubbing to get a good burr. So I dropped down to the 600 grit stone. This time I got a burr along the entire length of the blade with just a few scrubbing strokes. The burr was quite small, which is probably why Phil calls it a micro burr. It was easily detectable with a Q-tip and I could just snag a fingernail on it. After some experimentation, I found that The Edge Tester from The Razors Edge is a great tool for determining burr status along the length of the blade, especially when the burr is small. The flat area at the end of the tool gets stopped by the burr when you push up along the bevel.

Once a burr was raised on each side, I ran through the rest of the progression using half the strokes I used when originally sharpening the blade. I still got a nice mirror finish and a wicked sharp edge. Shaving paper was no problem.

I suspect that if I protect the kitchen knives from abuse by the family, and touch them up frequently, I’ll be able to start at the 800 grit stone.

On steeling, I think I’ve raised this point before, but it seems counterintuitive to me that you straighten a rolled edge by running the blade edge-first along the steel. I think if the edge is rolled more than just a little, this would just bend the rolled edge over even more, perhaps flatening and/or breaking it. I would think that the rolled edge would have to be nearly vertical in order to straighten it by running the leading edge against a smooth steel. Seems to me that running the knife along the steel spine first would be more effective for unrolling the edge. Does this make sense?

I tested this theory on a recently sharpened knife after cutting some vegetables. I ran the knife spine first back along the steel on both sides of the edge a couple of times, then stroked forward a couple of times. This appeared to restore the egde, but I need to do more rigorous testing on a variety of knives to be sure. Also, I need to try The Edge Tester on a rolled edge to see if it can detect it.

1 user thanked author for this post.

SalisburySam

[Richard Green]

After assembling the new arms for the first time, I saw the beginning of thread deformation on the micro-adjustment screws.

I had some 6-32 nylon screws on hand, so I snipped off 1/8″ or so from the ends of two of them. I didn’t bother with slotting them because the “slugs” just slid into the holes. They seem to be doing the job nicely — no more thread deformation and when the thumbscrews are tightened down the micro adjustment screws don’t turn. It’s possible that I’ll have to replace the nylon slugs every now and then as they wear/deform/split from the pressure applied. But it’s cheap and easy protection for the far more expensive ball joints.

Seems to me the simplest solution would be to use a longer micro adjustment screw and a lock nut. The longer screw should protrude through the tapped access hole (on the side opposite the ball joints) enough so that a pair of lock nuts can be put in place when the micro adjustment screw is extended towards the vice as much as would be reasonable (equivalent to one mark on the beam scale?) I think this might work with one wrench to secure/loosen the lock nuts (as opposed to two, as suggested in another thread.) A nylock (aircraft nut) might work, too.

Another, less practical solution would be to enlarge the block so that the micro adjustment screw is always at least 1/4″ shy of the top of the access hole. That way, a thumbscrew could be inserted in the access hole and turned to hold the micro adjustment screw in place. It would have to be flat in order not to damage the hex head on the end of the micro adjustment screw.

[Richard Green]

Are you using Internet Explorer? Apparently there’s a bug of some sort that prevents you from seeing the “Insert” button. You can either switch browsers, or use the “Compatibility Mode” in IE, and it should work.

Actually, I’m using Chrome. When composing the message, I hit Add File, select the file, and then I see the Insert button. But when I click it, the file isn’t uploaded — just the fakepath URL is inserted in the text. When I then Submit, the photo is uploaded and appears at the bottom of the page with a paper clip icon. When I then go into Edit mode, I can use the Insert button that appears next to the attached photos to get the correct URL in the text (or, I can just edit the fakepath URL so that it specifies only the file name — presumably, that’s because the file was uploaded when I hit Submit.

I’ll try it with IE sometime. I’ve been finding more and more Chrome incompatibilities lately.

[Richard Green]

Thanks. You were right — the file sizes were bigger than my last post (new camera.) I resized them down to less than 1MB each and it worked. BTW, I found that if you hit the question mark above, it takes you to the website of the Forum software provider. I found some info there suggesting that 3MB is the limit.

I’m not sure I’m doing the posting correctly, though. I used the Add File buttons to access the photos on my system, but they were not automatically uploaded when I hit Insert. Just a “FAKEPATH” URL was created. I had to Submit the post, then go back and edit it. Then I was able to place the cursor where a given photo should go and then hit Insert next to the photo attachment at the bottom. This placed a URL with just the file name in the correct spot, and everything looks right when I re-Submitted.

Is there a way to insert photos in the text before Submitting?

[Richard Green]

Those pelican cases look awesome, but what if you have the pro pack 2/ upgraded arms and riser? How much deeper would the case have to be to fit the riser block? I like the idea of such a tough case to protect my WEPS and only want to buy a case one time since I am pretty sure the riser/new arms will be in my future.

Excellent question. I had to deal with this when I upgraded. Since my case was a done deal, my solution was to remove the riser prior to packing my WEPS in the case. In order to be able to do this quickly, without removing the vice from the base, I drilled an access hole in the base:

I marked the position of the hole with the vice base in place, removed the vice base, and drilled the hole with a drill press. I recommend drilling a pilot hole and/or going slowly when the final size bit is about to break through the bottom of the case. Otherwise, the laminate may chip off around the hole. No big deal if it does, however.

I store the WEPS in the case with the riser removed and the jaws secured with the old (short) allen head screw. That way, I can close the lid and I can use the WEPS for a quick touch-up without removing it from the case. Note that I have to use an angle cube to set the angle because the markings on the new cross beam assume the riser is in place.

When I want to do a more extensive sharpening session, I remove the WEPS from the case, remove the short screw, install the riser, and secure the jaws with the new long allen head screw. I’ve added a larger allen head wrench to my kit for this, which is also handy for getting leverage on the new thumbscrews.

BTW, I’ve made a few mods to my case to accommodate the upgrade and additional stones. I expanded the side channel on the left to fit the larger WEPS II arms and added a hole on the right for an angle cube. I took some of the accessories out of the stone cases to make room for a pair of ceramic stones, and put them in smaller utility boxes that fit under the front stone case. Here’s what it looks like now:

The stone boxes go on top of the smaller boxes and other stuff, behind and in front of the vice, as shown in my previous post. One stone box is full and the other has long accessories, the riser, the standard allen wrench, the long riser screw and a lab sample dropper I use to wet the ceramic stones. Here’s what they look like now:

Hope this helps others who are building their own cases.

Attachments:

• accessholeinbase.JPG
• addedboxes.JPG
• addedstones.JPG

[Richard Green]

test – please ignore
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[Richard Green]

I agree that preferences for angle and sharpening sequence are going to vary. I think the problem with the database is that these items come from the person who submitted the entry, and this in effect gives that person the last word on the subject. Perhaps there should be an optional link to a forum discussion about the particular knife model. The creator can start it with his/her preferred angle and sharpening sequence, and others can freely comment. With a single link in the database, the entries would be nice and neat.

To me, the most useful part of the database are the manufacturer’s specifications and the WEPS vice depth and positioning information.

Speaking of specs I think there should be two columns for sharpening angle: one for the manufacturer’s published angle (if any) and one for the angle recommended by the person who created the entry.

[Richard Green]

Hi Clay,

I hope you don’t mind my saying so, but I would make this move a very high priority. Maybe your highest.

The website is painfully slow — you can wait 5, 10 or even 20 seconds for a page to load. I have no doubt this is costing you sales. Many Internet users have become accustomed to instant response and will give up in frustration when pages take a long time to come up.

The WEPS is a rich system with many accessories and choices to make, and it’s really a major time commitment to browse through everything. In fact, a lot of prospective buyers will browse the Forum looking for answers about how the system performs and accessories they may want to get with their first purchase. It takes way too long to do that with the server speed the way it is now.

Further, the Forum is an incredible resource for engendering customer loyalty and stimulating repeat sales (in part due to your personal participation.) I know I’m contemplating buying various stropping accessories I probably wouldn’t have considered had I not read about them in the Forum. Nowadays, I hestitate to login because I know it’s going to take forever just to read the most recent messages.

The website is far too valuable to WEPS to let it continue in this state.

[Richard Green]

Wow, those look great. Put me down for a set, too!

Clay, any idea on upgrade price range and when they’ll be available?

[Richard Green]

And no, not a clue where Peppersass comes from. (And I did google it.)

I guess no one figured it out!

Peppersass is the name of one of the engines that hauls the Cog Railway train up the slopes of Mount Washington in New Hampshire, which is the highest mountain in the Northeastern United States (6,288 ft.)

It’s a very steep and rugged mountain, so the Cog Railway is something of a marvel to behold as it labors its way up the track, using a special sprocket (cog) mechanism to keep the train from sliding backwards.

My avatar is a picture of the original Peppersass, the very first engine on the Cog Railway. I believe there have been several successors with the same name. Today’s Peppersass may very well run on diesel fuel with pollution controls. For many years, the engines were fired with coal and spewed thick, black smoke all over one of the worlds most beautiful mountain vistas.

I must say that I’ve never ridden the Cog Railway, nor have I driven up the Mount Washington Auto Road on the other side of the mountain. But I have climbed the darned thing about a dozen times over the past 40 years. It’s a major 4-hour workout and you really feel it the next day!

[Richard Green]

Thanks for the info on the Victorinox steel. I looked at that one on Amazon and almost bought it because I liked the black handle better than the F. Dick orange handle, but in the end went for the F. Dick instead. I figured this was a proven instrument, whereas there had been no information posted on the Victorinox. Very glad I bought the F. Dick!

I haven’t given the F. Dick steel a real test yet, and haven’t looked at it under magnification. I tried a few swipes of a blade that had been honed with a ceramic honing rod, which wasn’t a good test. But it alerted me to the fact that this steel is a little more difficult to work with than the ceramic honing rods I’ve been using. There’s no resistance at all, so it’s more difficult to keep the blade properly position and to keep the steep vertical. Then narrow point of the steel can slip on the counter, too, so you need to use a wooden cutting board or a piece of rubber underneath.

Although I haven’t confirmed it yet, I agree that a very light touch is the way to go with the F. Dick steel. If the edge has been properly prepared, I don’t think it’ll take much force to straighten out any rolls.

[Richard Green]

Great! If it happens, I promise I won’t make you sharpen any of my knives 😛 .

[Richard Green]

VT? I like hearing that you have a manufacturing partner in our neck of the woods! We can sure use the jobs here in the North Country. I’m just across the border in NH. In fact, if I look out the window above my computer monitor I see the green hills of Vermont just across the Connecticut river. If you happen to be near the intersection of I-89 and I-91, let me know and I’ll buy you the beverage of your choice!

[Richard Green]

How about:

Microfine Ceramic Stones

-or-

Microgrit Ceramic Stones

And if you come out with an even finer line of stones, you could call them Nanofine or Nanogrit.

[Richard Green]

Clay,

I’m the person who ordered ceramic paddles on April 28 and received them on May 5.

I hesitated to post my delivery date because I had a feeling something like this would happen…

Folks, I completely understand how you feel, but before assuming that WE has done you wrong, let’s wait for Clay’s response.

I have reason to believe that a computer error may have been responsible for my getting ceramic paddles ahead of the rest of you. There were some significant problems with billing and backorder notification when I ordered my Pro-Pack I back in February. I contacted WE about it, and they graciously corrected the problems and, to make up for it, moved up the priority of my Pro-Pack I order. I still had to wait after the second (third?) batch started shipping, but somewhat less time that I would have waited otherwise.

I suspect that my computer record is (or was) still marked with some sort of priority flag that resulted in my getting the ceramic paddles ahead of the rest of you. If I’m right, it was a one-time mistake, not something deliberate on WE’s part, and it doesn’t mean that lots of people who shouldn’t be ahead of you have gotten their ceramic paddles. It may have been just me.

[Author]

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