tcmeyer

Hi Michael:  Can you please explain which model you have and which screws are coming loose on you?  Marc addressed those screws which are known to come loose, but you say “all the threads and screws getting loose.”  Perhaps there’s something else happening here.

That’s a really good question, and I’ll be eager to hear a response from WE.  I use a “mesh”/”micron” chart, which is somewhat different from grit ratings.  Mesh refers to the opening size of a screen through which the particles would be sifted and sorted.  It is very nearly the inverse of the micron size.  Theoretically, a 1 micron particle wou…[Read more]

It sounds like you still have a burr on the one side.  Depending on how solidly held it is, and if you are using edge-trailing strokes (as with film and strops), the burr may flop from one side to the other.  This happens when it is about to fall off, like when you are bending a piece of metal back and forth, stressing the point of flex until i…[Read more]

Brewbear:  Downward strokes are edge-leading.  Edge-leading or edge-trailing are terms describing the blade relative to the stone.  Because the WE system moves the stone, relative to the blade, we tend to get it backwards.

I have the mod that Marc is describing for the Gen 3 Pro and I can get as much as five degrees difference from side to side.  Basically, it replaces the existing micro-adjustments with extra-long screws.

I’ve done a couple just like that.  The rust is manageable with any of the rust removers.  I use Evapo-Rust, which is non-toxic and biodegradeable.  The only real problem could be deep rust pits along the edge.  I just had an old plane blade that has pits that reach all the way through the blade just behind the edge.  I’ve never seen that in a kn…[Read more]

Scrubbing is OK with higher grits, but in my opinion, you should take care to not hit the apex with very low grits and “up” strokes.  They can create rather deep chips which can be very difficult to remove with higher grits.  If you are scrubbing with 80 grit, for instance, switch to a higher grit (maybe 200?) and edge-leading strokes when you s…[Read more]

Here’s an analogy that sort of explains the difference between diamond film and diamond paste on strops.  Film on a hard substrate is like the drum sander I use on my pedestal polishing rig.  When I press a piece of steel against it, the grit particles rip scratches in the surface of the steel.  Strops are like the wire brush wheel I use on the sa…[Read more]

Hi Mark:  It’s great to hear that things are going well with you!  For about fifty years, I considered myself a fair-to-good knife sharpener, using flat oil (Arkansas) stones.  It seemed that every now and then, I’d run into a knife that just drove me nuts.  It took hours to get a arm-hair shaving edge, and when I finished, I wasn’t at all sur…[Read more]

Brewbear:  Thanks for the tip on Vetbond.  I’ll give it a try.  I’ve been trying to use a Loctite gel super glue with mixed results.  On high-octane blood thinners, it’s hard to stop the blood from washing the glue away before you can close the wound.

Josh of Razor Edge Knives, a long-time member of this forum talked about this a while back.  I understood that you can cut sharpening stones on a tile saw.  You just need to come up with a way to hold the stones securely.   Not sure, but I think you can rent a saw from one of the home stores, like Home Depot or a flooring/tile store.

About two years ago, I sharpened a half-dozen filet knives for some friends that do a lot of fishing.  Not having a clue as to what angle would work best, I went with 17 dps main bevel with a 20 dps micro bevel at 1000 grit.  They reported that the knives worked beautifully.  I later watched a TV show which took a tour of the Martinii fa…[Read more]

Lay:  try using the aluminum foil tape that is made for sealing heating and air conditioning vent ducting.  It seems to stick to everything, allows the vise to “bite” into it for solid positioning and still comes off without living almost any adhesive behind.

Lay:  Now that you have the ultimate in micro-adjustments, you need to add the final piece.  I have rotation scales on my rigs, so I know how much I am moving the adjustments.  See the photo here:

This is pretty easy to make, either by hand or with a computer.  The scale is cut from from a piece of printer paper, 50.8 mm long by about 9 mm wid…[Read more]

The co-axial arrangement of the locking screw shown in the photo depends on the friction between the threads to hold position.  Tightening the two screws against each other forces their threads apart, hopefully locking the surfaces of the screws’ external threads against the internal threads of the tapped holes.  Unfortunately, how well they “…[Read more]

I confess to never having tried the three-finger test.  I have some knives with very low bevel angles (foil-edge) that make that just too scary for me.  I do something just a little bit different.  If I have a bit of a callous on one of my finger pads, I’ll try to slice off the top layer.  If the knife isn’t sharp, it ain’t gonna happen.  This…[Read more]

I believe the “three-finger” method should be attributed to Murray Carter.  Check the youtube video here.

Gee, I hadn’t thought of using the Superaser on rust.  In addition to cleaning my ceramic sharpeners, I use it to remove pencil layout marks from woodworking projects.  Saves a bunch of sanding.

I’ve been drinking the light brandy, which is only 30% alcohol, so I hope that’s OK.  Beer makes me bloat.  I will have to ‘fess up that every time I’ve cut myself good, there’s been alcohol involved.  Even with my recent disagreement with a cook’s mandolin.

Learn from other peoples’ mistakes, whenever you can.  Words of wisdom from a geezer.

I have 14″ rods and I use them exclusively.  It never occurs to me that a shorter rod would be better for any sharpening situation.