tcmeyer

Here’s another approach, if you have access to a chop/miter saw (not the type using a backsaw on a fixed fixture).

Find the primary grind angle.  This is the angle from the centerline (ridge?) of the blade to the edge.  Probably on the order of 8 or 9 degrees.

Find a piece of hardwood (maple or oak or other very hard wood) about 1.5 inches t…[Read more]

I’ve done only two long blades but learned a few bits to share.  This last weekend I did an ulu which required two separate mounting positioned, so I needed to do the blending there, too.

Sharpening long blades in a single vise system by shifting the blade position longitudinally is not all that difficult.  For the best results in matching b…[Read more]

I learned somewhere along the line that drying off your razor with a hair dryer after each use would increase its (sharpness) life by some large factor.  I’ve been using a titanium Schick Quattro which probably wouldn’t make a difference, but after each use, I rinse it with full hot water and then place it blade-down on a towel to draw any…[Read more]

Basically, if you mount an FFG knife correctly in the Gen 1 vise, it will be leaning toward the fixed jaw side.  The amount of lean is one-half of the angle between the two sides of the knife.  Spyderco knives are all about 4 degrees between the two faces.  This means that the blade is leaning two degrees toward the fixed jaw – usually on the le…[Read more]

Sorry, I meant to include a link, but decided to have a brain fart instead.  https://www.grizzly.com/products/Bullets-com-Z-Knife/BL11195

For years I’ve been buying batches of Grizzly’s Z-Knife, which is a small lock back folder with a skeletonized blade.  When I first bought them, maybe ten or twelve years ago, they were only about $7 each, and I kept one at every place around house I worked or sat.  When they became dull, I’d gather up the whole lot and take them to my WEPS for t…[Read more]

I think there’s too many variables to say categorically that a knife is sharp.  Sharp is what the user perceives when cutting a particular object with a particular knife under a particular set of circumstances.

I will concur that a convex grind will cut more easily than a standard V grind at the same apex angle.  A polished edge will cut more e…[Read more]

Regardless of where the center of the blade is, if it’s mounted vertically (the edge pointed straight up), you set the microadjusts independently and the bevel angles should be correct.

Modernflame:  what is the connection between blade thickness and the microadjusts wandering?  I’m confused.

Abut twenty years ago I harvested a Wyoming pronghorn and proudly handed my D2  hunting knife to the fellow gutting him, knowing I had worked it to a really nice edge after the previous hunting season.  After a few seconds, he handed it back, asking if I had a sharp one.  The D2 edge had oxidized in the rough tanned leather sheath I had made fo…[Read more]

Hmmm…  I only have one password.

As with my comments above, I find the microscope more useful.  If I see a change in the scratch pattern, I may check with my anglecube to make a correction, but if the scratch pattern is uniform and reaches from apex to shoulder, there’s no reason to use the anglecube.

To be clear, there is no 0.1 degree that necessarily happens in the progression.  I simply use it as an example of how much an error in thickness can affect the angle.  The differences between stones are quite small, but they can accumulate.  A series of tests I ran some years ago showed that a change of 0.15 degrees could be seen in the sc…[Read more]

I choose to check between grits with my USB microscope.  If there’s an angle difference, I’ll see it in the scratch pattern.

At one point, I realized that one of my 1000-grit stones was consistently about 0.016 degrees different from the others, so when I’d get to that stone, I could check with the angle cube, or even just make the appropriate…[Read more]

It’s an interesting point to note, that with each increase in grit, the distance between the rod center and the face of the stone is slightly reduced.  At least after being fully broken in.  With each step, the average diameter of the diamond particles is smaller, hence the distance is less.  The result is that the angle is reduced accordingly, as…[Read more]

Using your method (finding the angles relative to the side flats) requires that you use the internal included angles, including the one at the shoulder of the bevel.  A bevel angle of 15 degrees would have an included shoulder angle of 75 degrees, assuming that the side faces are dead-flat and parallel to one another.  Ninety plus fifteen plus 7…[Read more]

I’ve had that same knife at one time or another.  Note that you can clamp it higher in the vise than what your photo shows.  Anything above the flat part of the blade isn’t being held by the vise anyway.  This ought to get you a lower angle.  If it doesn’t hold properly, the top edge of the vise is probably bent.

My grit chart puts 3 micron at about 8000 grit, with 1 micron at about 15,000.  I would try using the 3 micron right after the 1000 grit stones to see if that’s a workable sequence.  If it seem to take too long to erase the 1000 grit scratches, try putting the 1600 ceramic in between.

Another possibility that’s worked for others is to switch f…[Read more]

A few years back, I had a new 800 grit stones which was taking big chunks out of the edge of my ZDP189 Delica.  On close inspection, I found a couple of clusters of diamonds which were elongated and oriented parallel to the long axis of the stone.  The particular orientation was such that it resisted all normal efforts to break the cluster f…[Read more]

Welcome aboard, Robert!  As you become familiar with your WEPS, remember that there’s a wealth of knowledge here on the forum and in the “Knowledge Base” section you’ll find at the far upper right corner of the website pages.

As you become comfortable with your rig, consider being a contributing member of this forum.  There’s a regular turnover i…[Read more]