tcmeyer

I think there are two types of serrations, but they don’t necessarily have to do with the configuration of the serrations. It’s more a matter of how they’ll be used.  In one type, the tips of the serration are used to aggressively bite into the objective material – for instance, when cutting heavy rope or seat belts.  The other uses the tips of t…[Read more]

Hi Kenneth:

I’m a little unsure of what I see in the photo. At the apex, it looks like the scratch pattern isn’t quite reaching the apex.  There’s a very narrow line along the apex that stands separate from the main bevels.  At first I would assume that this is a burr, but I’m also incline to believe you that this is a sharp edge, and that y…[Read more]

As Kyle said, his business is addressing a market that will accept any edge that cuts.  That said, I’ve got a few items to comment on, hopefully to prompt some more discussion.

I noticed that Kyle uses almost dead-horizontal strokes and seems to be applying a lot of pressure.  Hmmm…

Kyle accepts whatever angle the existing bevel seems to b…[Read more]

Those variable speed switches work only on AC motors with wound rotors and brushes.  Not sure, but I think variable frequency drives usually require some form of feedback device (tachometer or position sensor) to work.  I’m sure there are some cheap Chinese versions out there, but I haven’t pulled the trigger on one yet.  I’d like to put one on my…[Read more]

I had some bad experiences with the lower grits, so I never bought a pair of the 50/80s.  If I’m in a situation where the 100/200s don’t seem to be doing the job (I’m old, so I don’t have a lot of time left to spend on really boring stuff), I will take the knife to my 1X30 belt sander, using the angle guide attachment, or to my WorkSharp.  It s…[Read more]

I just realized I didn’t answer about the magnification.  I use the face of the clear plastic shroud as the fixed reference, which I place against the edge as I slide the camera longitudinally to inspect the edge.  At that focal plane, the lens will focus at two different magnifications.  On my 21″ wide screen monitor, the lower setting is ab…[Read more]

I have several cameras, but I always come back to the Celestron 5MP.  I posted a video on how I use it on Youtube,  It’s a bit out of date but you might want to check it out.  Once you learn to use it quickly and effectively and make it a part of your process, it becomes automatic and you’ll rely on it heavily.  I never, never sharpen knives without it.

I don’t use the burr method. I concentrate on forming the apex using the handheld microscope.  Burrs look like a dull edge, but you can identify them by seeing if they move when you switch sides.  Mainly, I’m looking for an apex that doesn’t reflect light.  If I see reflected light, I swing the camera to the side to look for  a crisp, straight lin…[Read more]

I have a bottle of Flitz’s “Rifle, Gun & Knife Wax,”  but I haven’t really used it enough to evaluate its performance.

While on the topic of protecting knife surfaces…  I recently bought a Zhen Damascus Nakiri knife blade from WoodCraft and it had a VERY unusual feel to the surface of the steel.  It is slick and looks highly polished and fe…[Read more]

I’m guessing that you’re measuring the angle as the stone moves along the edge of the knife.  You can’t do that without rotating the angle cube to keep it perpendicular to the edge.

In any case, the angle does change as the belly of the blade sweeps downward.  The objective is to keep the angle constant, which is the subject of “finding the s…[Read more]

I checked on it at Amazon, where they show it in stock on Jan 17.

Marc’s list doesn’t show the Scandi grind, which is a geometry where the face grinds continue all the way to the apex, with no bevels ground at all.  This makes for a very sharp edge, as the included angle is probably less than 10 degrees, but as such is quite fragile and extremely time consuming to resharpen manually, as you must remove steel…[Read more]

I’m all for simplifying your process.  Because the angle decreases (for a given setting) as the width of the knife goes up, you might consider setting your widest knife at the 14 (or 16?) degree position, and then look to see how the angle actually changes as you mount narrower blades.  If your narrowest blade ends up at about 20 degrees, it m…[Read more]

Every knife I do is different. If it’s a knife I’ve done before, the bevels are already established, and if it’s pretty dull, I’ll start with my 400’s. But it all depends on the degree of damage that needs to be erased.  I scan the entire length of the edge with my USB scope, first looking straight down on the edge to see how wide the edge is,…[Read more]

Rods that measure .253 ought to be snug enough in the handles to work well.  Some years ago, the rods were measured at about .246 and I thought that was too loose, so I modified my handles by installing bronze bushings a each end.  Eventually, I even made my own handles out of various materials, including G10, maple hardwood and ABS, but I w…[Read more]

Did you check to make sure that you have the right jaws installed?

Further proof that one shouldn’t be blathering in forums about things they’re not absolutely sure of.  And yes, I’m talking about myself. I disassembled my Gen 3 Pro last night for the first good cleaning in a couple of years. I was gobsmacked to see that my vise with the slits does indeed have the same design pads as the OP.  My apologies to C…[Read more]

I did this one with the regular flat stones, using the same methods as with any other knife:

If you want to keep the tip sharp, you’ll need to “follow through” as you sweep through the entire length of the edge.  Do not let the stone rotate as you leave the edge, as that will round-over the tip.

Unless the concave radius of the edge nearly…[Read more]

To add a correction to my earlier post, I erred in saying that both of my Gen 3 vises had the vertical slit – in fact, one does and the other, being an earlier design, does not.  Both hold my collection of knives securely, except that the vise without the slit does not do well with the smallest, most steeply angled knife as shown in this…[Read more]

From the photos by the OP, I can’t see any evidence that says the clamping pads are actually there – as though somebody might have screwed up in manufacturing.  This would produce results exactly like precept is describing.

The pads are rather small sections of the vise which are the parts that are supposed to actually touch the faces of the…[Read more]