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A vid

I had the same need for a reasonably cheap grinder to fix chips, tips, bolsters, thinning, polishing, etc before going to WEPS for fine tune edging. I wanted flexibility and variable speed. Viel and the like started at $300 & up (way up). That wasn’t for me as a garage once in a while sharpener. If I was trying to make $$, then I understand…[Read more]

The king of mods !!

My current thoughts:

1. A version of the WEPS GO could function as the linear bearing (only needed for one side)
2. Mount it to the same base plate as the WE130, parallel to the knife, with slots to allow for different angles and fine tuning parallelism
3. Use a precision hinge instead of a ball to keep the rod at a fixed location
4. Use ceramic rods…

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I tracked down Tom Veff, Edgeologist from Oregon City, Oregon a while back and he told me he still had some in his personal stock. Unfortunately, I did not pull the trigger, I will retry.

Putting a putting a “linear bearing/bushing on a rod that runs parallel to the blade” was also a thought of mine as it would be much cheaper and simpler than a…[Read more]

Challenges for sure, but all you need is a simple (cheap) adjustable step linear indexer which holds the knife and mounts in the clamp. For the rods — yeah there are many but most are arcs or flat angles and off the shelf ceramics cover maybe 80% of them. Diamond rods are probably out of the question. Diamond film on the other hand can be stuck…[Read more]

Keep in mind that the first time any knife is put in a WEPS you need to document it with the AAG and establish the WEPS apex profile. This usually means changing the factory profile a bit because IMO it is impossible to duplicate the exact original profile. Neglecting this will diminish your ability to reach perfect apex (full burr) and ultimate…[Read more]

I have never been a fan of doing the 1-2 deg change either. To me its using the right amount of pressure and “stroke flow”, very similar to free hand touch ups on my ceramic rods. Doing the thumb nail scrape is all you need for a sharpness test. Why strop at 1-2 deg off when you are trying to reach the apex, you are introducing another variable…[Read more]

Sonoma at Columbus Circle in NYC is amazing. Two floors. They told me that the home store in San Francisco is 3 floors.

I have been collecting my ~30 kitchens knives over ~30 years. It started with a Henckel set and evolved into Shun across the different models. If I were starting over I would most likely have a much more varied collection. I will never buy another knife that I haven’t actually held in my hand. It is the feel to me. I really like the design of the…[Read more]

I added a video of the sticky thumbnail scrape to the link below:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/8CiCNHSBS3GgtHNLA

Get yourself one of these for next time. Variable speed HF 1×30 hack.

Expidia, I agree with everything you said. Over time, you will start to feel when you have full bevel contact. The homemade hacks I have to help are:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/8CiCNHSBS3GgtHNLA

I’ve considered using the 2 you referenced but you still have to hold the knife perfectly vertical by eye. You do get a “better view” though. However, the convenience of having the Messermeister always at the ready strapped to the side of my block is worth it to me. Just like all freehand stuff you get better over time and can start to…[Read more]

Yes. Feel, sound, swarf marks. Just use minimal (3-5) light strokes with sticky thumbnail scrapes or you will start a belly. Messermeister is great at $25.

I am thinking of it this way …..

Diamonds we all know and can verify under USB+ follow a very consistent pattern of full bevel impact to the apex and progressively “shine” the edge thru smaller and smaller scratch patterns all the way to best of the diamond films which finally produce a mirror finish. This can be accomplished with minimal…[Read more]

IMO, diamonds abrade and strops burnish. Burnishing moves/smears metal around in a more random way than diamonds which to me can impact shine.

I try to counter that be spraying alcohol on the leather/emulsion and use extreme care to maximize bevel contact during soft strokes. I do NOT back off the 2 degrees (usually).

Pure polishing is an art in…[Read more]