Make that three. I emailed this to WE Sunday but have not gotten a reply yet. This pic is after closing the gap as well as I could.
Hi Scott
If it was me, I would phone the office rather than e-mail…Clay is so busy he sometimes doesn’t get his messages right away, but a phone call gets you to Bob or Kay and either one can help you right away.
Hang in there mate!
Leo
HOLY CRAP! make mine # 4 !!!
i jumped on the forums tonight to see if anyone else had my problem of a bent vise tip.
My WE is not even a month old, and after sharpening about 5 knives, i noticed i was having trouble clamping another in the vise and then i noticed the lips of the vise werent touching at maximal screw depth when empty… DANG!
I hope they replace these bad ones.
As has already been stated above, there has been a problem with a bad batch of vises which have faulty heat treatment. Clay and the gang are trying to winnow these out as quickly as possible and are replacing the faulty units that were sent out without question or cost to the customers.
Nobody likes it when there has to be a recall like this, but as you know this kind of thing occurs from time to time in all manufacturing…it is being handled. Call the WE office and a replacement will be sent out.
Leo
Just to make sure everything in this thread isn’t negative, I can say that the Wicked Edge gang are really on the ball as far as warranty replacement. I sent an email out to them on a late Tuesday night with pictures of the bent vise, and by Thursday morning I had a priority package in my mailbox containing a new vise set and a paid return slip to send the bent vise back. A day and a half turnaround time is pretty damn snappy to say the least. Not even sure how that’s possible, really.
Hi Greg!
I am glad that you confirm what I always say about the customer service at the WE. As a customer I have found none finer in these times when customer service in most cases is only a faint echo of what it used to be. Aren’t they good?! When I bought my WEPS a year and a half ago, I really wanted to get my rig in time for my birthday which I was going to spend with my son Paul in Vancouver.I wanted to sharpen a new knife I bought him for the elk season coming up
Unfortunately I was ordering late and couldn’t see how it was going to happen. Clay made it happen…he couriered my WEPS to me express and did not charge me the extra cost, which was substantial. How many companies would do such a thing? And in every way since then I have seen the same regard for his customers.
Bet regards
Leo
Their customer service is pretty awesome. I thankfully havent had any issues so far with my vice bending. But I know if I do they are going to do a fine job taking care of it!
I got my new vice set about a week after reporting the problem. I’m very nervous about tightening the new vice. I tried taking the bottom screw to about the thickness of the blade and clamping the upper screw snug then going back to the bottom. There was still some movement when i pulled on the handle of the knife to see if it was tight so I’m wondering should I keep tightening the bottom screw. I think that’s how I bent the vice last time. I twisted about a half turn and it was pretty snug but the blade definitely still moved a little. I sharpened one knife last night this way and when I was finished I unlocked the bottom screw and the knife blade basically just slide out the top without having to loosen the top screw at all. Is this normal or am I doing something wrong? I don’t want to mess up another vice by over tightening it.
Add me to the list of those with a bent clamp.
I received my WEPS at the beginning of December and after about a month of use, the aluminum threads of the top screw hole stripped out. I received excellent customer support from Bob at Wicked Edge and a new clamp jaw was sent out within a week of reporting the problem. I noticed today, after just a week or two with the new clamp piece that the stationary part of the clamp is dramatically bent.
I have followed all of the tightening instructions to a T and I am very confident that I have not over tightened anything past what is necessary to securely mount the blade and yet, I’ve still had these issues. I realize that certain variables are out of the control of the company and when working properly, this system is very easy to use and produces fantastic edges…however, I didn’t expect to have these problems on a system that has the reputation that the WEPS has along with the cost of the system and it’s accessories.
I look forward to hearing from the folks at Wicked Edge and getting this resolved as quickly as possible so I can get back to putting crazy sharp edges on my blades.
An update to my last post…
Kay contacted me today and explained that roughly 10% of the last batch had these hardening problems. They are working on getting a recall together from their manufacturer but that hasn’t been completed yet. She said she would send me out a replacement but that it would be from the same batch and could be part of the defective 10% but it was that or wait until their recall was complete and/or they got a new batch in. I opted for the replacement and I will take my chances.
While its a frustration situation, I couldn’t really ask for things to be handled any differently than they are. They are taking responsibility for this problem and are making it right as best they can and that’s a rarity these days.
It sounds kind of counter-intuitive but if I had it to do over again, I would probably still buy this sharpener BECAUSE of these problems. Stuff like this is bound to happen from time to time and at least I know it will be handled honestly and with great customer service!
Well for the time being, I appear to be in the good luck group, since I received mine in early Dec, too. I never looked closely when it was new, but now that I’ve clamped a few different blades, I can’t see any jaw-end deviation. I do always use chamois, though, so I don’t have to get too torque crazy, though I will say I also don’t baby it that much either. I don’t have a blade movement problem when I do get it tight, and as I said the jaws seem to be okay for now.
Good to know that thigs will be taken care of if something pops up.
My replacement vise is in the mail. After “straightening” my original vise twice now I find that I can not match the angles on knives I have profiled. I end up with multiple facets on the profile if I try; even on knives with good square spines to clamp to.
I got my replacement vise jaws in yesterday and sharpened two knives and was very careful not to over tighten the lower screw. However there is already a measurable gap at the top of the vise jaws. I don’t know what the solution is. Is there anyone one on the forum with CNC experience or access? What would be the best metal to replace this “aircraft aluminum” with because it obviously is not the answer.
I have had my WEPS for nearly 18 months now and have had no such problem. I have been communicating with many others who have also not had this or any problem…most other owners have not, so I think the aircraft aluminum is not the problem or we would all have the same complaint.
I believe that Clay is doing his best to get to the bottom of the problem. I certainly understand your concern,but my private opinion is that your complaints should be forwarded to Clay privately at the WE rather than here. If you were not receiving support then it would be a different story, but you are and it has been explained that this is a flawed batch and they are trying mightily to discover which of the many new vises are the culprits, no easy task as there are no arrows pointing to the faulty units.You may rest assured that Clay is seeking the advice of experts to help solve the problem and that he will report here when he has answers for us all. Until then patience is key.
Having said all that you have the freedom to speak out here on Clay’s Forum. I again hasten to add this is only my private 2 cents worth.
Regards
Leo
Well said Leo; however to date Clay has been totally silent on the matter. And to my knowledge any and all communications on this issue has initiated by the users with the bad vises. Maybe they should at least acknowledge this issue and notify the possible affected customers.
And why in the world would you sent out a warranty replacement part without making sure it did not have the same defect?
[quote quote=“babo”
And why in the world would you sent out a warranty replacement part without making sure it did not have the same defect?[/quote]
I think the problem is that the defective ones are mixed in with the good ones and there is no way to tell one from the other. There is no sign or mark that separates out the clinkers. As to Clay’s silence, one has only to hear the story he has told about finding manufacturers who will make the small, high quality quantities he requires at a good price with suitable quality controls. It sounds like there should be hoards of companies that can/will do it for small batches of vises, but that is not the case. He is trying to get as much of his stuff made in the USA as possible, but the vagaries of business keep on pushing him elsewhere.
I just noticed that my DeWalt Reciprocating saw was made in Mexico as is this Mac Pro computer I am typing on. My Japanese Pentax Camera is manufactured in the Philippines while most of my lenses are made in Viet Nam. Businesses must get their items made where they can get a decent price point and the best quality they can find. In his own small way, Clay faces similar problems,so he will speak out when he finds a solution rather than make excuses.He also is constantly facing complaints that the WEPS should be totally made in the USA, yet sources and prices here are either not suitable or the price point for such an item skyrockets.
No easy solutions here mate. I am simply saying give the guy a chance to do what he needs to do.
best to you babo
Leo
I think it is very reasonable for people to come to a public forum to discuss problems like this. They are bound to happen and I don’t think anyone is upset with the quality of customer service when it comes to the way this issue has been addressed. I can’t blame people for being frustrated with the problem but I personally don’t think the wicked edge folks have done anything wrong in the way this has been handled or in the way they do business.
They will get it worked out and things will be fine in the long run…I’m sure!
I believe that this forum and forums like it should be used to discuss concerns and best product practices. They are a tool for consumers to help each other and help manufacturers gain, retain or lose customers based on how they react to issues.
I for one do not agree with how the bent vice situation is being handled. This has been my first experience with WE. I think the customer support regarding the hardening issue has been excellent, however if it were my decision to make I would definitely not be sending out any vice jaws with potential problems once they were discovered. It is horrible to think that someone paying top dollar, $350 or more for a knife sharpener, would receive two bad vice jaw sets in a row. That is absolutely inexcusable to me and I don’t think frustrated would correctly describe me demeanor if that happened to me.
Why hasn’t the issue even been acknowledged publicly by WE? Why hasn’t there been a recall? Why isn’t’ whoever did the hardening being held responsible? If a third party didn’t harden the vice jaws correctly they should be paying for a full recall and taking the blame for all problem vices. If hey followed WE engineering instructions than WE should man up and take responsibility and recall all the potential problems.
These vices took months to ship. I’m sorry but with that kind of lead time you better get it right or do something about the problem if you don’t. Answering the phone and sending out a potentially defective replacement quickly doesn’t cut it for me at all.
Could I really place an order right now and receive an improperly hardened vice? That’s absolutely ridiculous to think that could occur and if I were deciding weather to spend $350 on this system and I happened to see this thread I would have second thoughts for sure. I’d be glad to know about the potential problem before deciding to place my order.
Hi Kevin
My opinions again!
The ‘bent vise situation’ as you call it, out of the many hundreds of units sold, consists of less than a dozen units delivered so far and Clay is doing everything he can to ameliorate the situation for these few people affected. We have not heard from the hundreds of happy customers who have flocked to this sharpener and that is the way it usually is especially on forums like this. Those hundreds have units that deliver what is advertised and do it in spades. They are happy and content with the WEPS. I am one of those happy customers and my unit continues to deliver knife after knife with edges I could never produce before. I suspect there are others by the score who feel the same way.
Clay will respond when the extent of the faulty units has been discovered. If it is a wide spread problem then I am sure there will be a recall and rest assured the company responsible will deal with it at their cost.But that seems not to be the case!
Meanwhile we are asking for your kind patience. If that is not possible for you or others then I guess you will have to decide what to do. But to speculate that Clay is not dealing with the issue with grave concern, means you don’t know the man. He has kindly put up this Forum at his cost for the use of all of us interested in the WEPS and his customers. I believe it behooves us all to trust that he is doing all he can and more. It is easy to criticize, more difficult to wait patiently.
Once again my own two cents worth.
Regards
Leo
I am a new customer. I don’t’ know Clay and he could be a saint for all I know. I do know that out of the few responses to my thread at least one customer has had 2 bent vices. That is a major problem in my opinion. Why are they still being sold and shipped?
I posted a simple question a while ago on here about using my new vice correctly and it went unanswered. Fine. I’m using the new one just like the old one. If I bend it, oh well I guess I’ll be getting another new one again. Instead of instruction I read a post more or less asking not post problems with the sharpener.
The more I read this thread the more aggravated I get. I didn’t know my vice was bending and it damaged my very expensive Shun kitchen knives. Should I be complaining more about the scratches my bent vice put in them. No. Or the fact that I have to resharpen every knife that was touched by the bent vice because that angles are wrong. No. I haven’t heard from Clay. If there ware 12 bad vices maybe he should make it a point to have conversations with the people effected so we don’t get on his forum and speculate.