Ralph Honeycutt

[Ralph Honeycutt]

I have tried several different things and have found it is easier to by the replacement leather and balsa strips from WEPS. I do this for the very reason you cited …”consistency”

The old leather pulls off fairly easily if you heat a hair dryer before removal. It is a little messy to clean up. You can use Goo Gone to clean up the residual glue.

I tried using a hot glue gun, but I do not seem to be able to move fast enough before it begins to harden. I found a Leathercraft Cement (from Hobby Lobby) that is much easier to work with. This glue is easier to clean up.

Regards,

Ralph

[Ralph Honeycutt]

Clay, For some reason I was expecting the opposite. With the roo strops at 30 deg, would it not roll the edge over? … and with the 0.6um at 25 deg, I would have expected it to cut somewhere on the shoulder and not the edge. I think I am missing something.

Thanks,

Ralph

[Ralph Honeycutt]

Clay, What angle did you use to clean up the edge with the ‘roo and then what angle did you use with the 0.6um micro-fine ceramics?

Thanks,

Ralph

[Ralph Honeycutt]

Clay, Thanks for the quick reply. I just spoke with Kay and she is taking care of this. I will probably want to get the next upgrade with angle cube feature when available.

Thanks again,

Ralph

[Ralph Honeycutt]

Received the new arms this evening. The left side arm does not fit. The arm stops before 26 degrees. I tried using some emory cloth on the left side of the bar which did nothing. I thought about using my 60/80 grit diamond paddles on the bar, but decided to post this message instead. Will call Kyle, Kay or Clay tomorrow.

Thanks,

Ralph

[Ralph Honeycutt]

Steven, After the 1000 grit diamond stone, I use the super-fine ceramics and then the micro-fine. I have not yet tried going directly to the micro-fine ceramics from the 1000 grit. I will give it a try this weekend.

Ralph

[Ralph Honeycutt]

Clay, This is very helpful. I did not really notice the aggressiveness of the mirco-fine ceramics. I will try it with the higher grit diamond stones. I am very satisfied with the micro-fine ceramics. For my purposes they produce excellent results. If the micro-fine ceramics had been available 6 months ago, I may not have been so determined to buy the Choseras and Shaptons, but I like them all for different reasons. The micro-fine ceramics are the best value (IMO).

Ralph

[Ralph Honeycutt]

Dan, I cannot say this is true for just any other oil/lubricant, but the key perhaps with Ballistol (IMO) is that it emulisfies with water and it seems to resist to allowing accumulation of grit/shavings (low gunk factor) from sharpening. Someone on this forum could probably give us a Chemistry lesson on this, but I am not qualified since I had 2 years of freshman chemistry. LOL

Ralph

[Ralph Honeycutt]

Dan, I did the same (using Ballistol) about a week ago and am happy with the results so far. I was initially concerned that there might be a tendency for the diamond stones to get gunked up, but this did not happen. I will probably continue to use it in this manner until I notice any potential problems. I plan to use it only on the diamond stones.

Ralph

[Ralph Honeycutt]

Clay, Many thanks. I just wanted to know what I will be getting into. I placed my phone order with Kay a couple of weeks ago.

Ralph

[Ralph Honeycutt]

Does the new arm modification require the riser to be installed? If we do not need the riser to achieve more acute angles afforded by the riser, can we continue to use the original vise (as is) without the riser? Now that I have sharpened several knives, I would like to be sure that I can touch up the edge of previously sharpened and achieve the same WE results without having to reprofile with the new riser.

Thanks,

Ralph

[Ralph Honeycutt]

What do you think about using a product such as Balistol which emulsifies with water and has multiple sportsman applications? I have not yet tried it. I was looking for a chemistry lesson on this before I try it. I use it on firearms as a solvent/lubricant. The Ballistol odor may result in the user being exiled from the house to the garage as it smells like dirty socks.

Ralph

[Ralph Honeycutt]

I really like the results of the micro-fine ceramics. I was getting ready to put a convexed edge on a Large and Small Sebenza, but had a question… the question may apply not only to the micro-fine ceramics, but also to the Choseras or Shaptons. If I were to follow the process described on Clay’s video on putting a convexed edge on a small Sebenza and if I have available the micro fine ceramics,the Shaptons (down to 30k) and the Choseras (down to 10k), how far do you suggest progressing with fine grits in creating the facets before beginning to finish and blend the facets with the finer grit strops? Or would it be preferred to stop at the 1600 super fine ceramic and proceed with the stropping?

I woulld appreciate your input.

Thanks,

Ralph

[Ralph Honeycutt]

I had indicated in an earlier post that I was having problems with dusting when using the Superfine ceramics. The problem apparently went away after 6-8 sharpening sessions. Also, it is possible that I could have using the 1200/1600 ceramics in a too heavy handed fashion. I started using filtered water with a bit of dish soap as previously suggested by Mark76 and Clay(I think). The results are excellent.

Also, I received the Coorstek Ceramics yesterday. These ultrafine ceramics work great right out of the box. I followed the Superfine Ceramics with the New Ultrafine (Coorstek) Ceramics. The amount of time spent stropping down to 0.5u is very fast to achieve the desired edge.

I think the difference in the Superfine and Coorstek Ceramics is significant. While the Superfine Ceramics appear to be more porous than the Coorstek Ceramics, the difference in results are amazing. I have consciously tried to lighten up on the pressure with the both sets of ceramics. My results have improved significantly. In my next post, I will try to include a few photos. So many knives, so little time!

Ralph

[Ralph Honeycutt]

I purchased two sets of the 1200/1600 ceramics. I experienced a lot of dusting (with both 1200 & 1600) on the 1st set. Both sets are very porous (no magnification required to see this). The 1st set was noticably softer than the 2nd set. I have only sharpened 4-5 knives (total) with the two sets.

I have not tried, but I believe both sets could be easily scored with a butter knife. There is no comparison of these 1200/1600 ceramics with the Spyderco Sharpmaker ceramics. The Sharpmaker ceramics are much harder. I am anxious to hear Clay’s comments regarding the quality of these. I am not in a hurry to send them back because of waiting so long for these.

I thought I understood from another thread on this forum that the Coorstek Ceramics should be available by now.

In the meantime the Shaptons and Choseras do an excellent job. At this point, I prefer the Shaptons (much quicker, IMO)

Ralph

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