Generation 3 clamp

Legacy Forum Archive sharpener-and-accessory-maintenance
41

Hey Josh,

The only thing I’ve noticed is on very thin blades and we’re studying that. I haven’t heard anything about the cam shafts having play, so I’d love to know more though we do have one unit in-house that has something strange about the cam - it seems like it is slightly misshapen and has an odd click to it. Can you send me a link to the reports your seeing? I’d love to go over them. For the issue with the thin blades, I think we’re going to modify the design of the inside faces of the clamp just a little bit. The faces are cut away so that there are four ‘pads’ that make contact with the blade. I think the pads need to be slightly longer i.e. extend further down into the clamp to be optimal. I’ll test that some today by building up the area under the pads to see if that makes the difference.[/quote]

The only thing I have noticed with mine is that the left side arm is 1°off the right side. Give or take based on blade height. So if the right is 16° the left will be 15°. I have been moving the fine adjustm3nt, but it is almost all the way out.

42

If your pm is relating to the clamp, could you drop me the same pm?

tia.

Victor

43

If your pm is relating to the clamp, could you drop me the same pm?

tia.

Victor[/quote]

It was just in regards to where I heard about the issues =)

44

Got the Gen 3 clamp and have been trying it out and experimenting with setup.
Have a couple questions for you folks that are using it.

  1. With a wide/longer knife, say a chefs knife the std length arms from the pro pack 2 seem to be a little short.
    When trying to make use of most of the length of the stone (full stroke), I end up with sometimes less than 2 inches of the rod left in the stone when the stroke is finished. The new jaws are about 1 1/4" taller than the old jaws and with a wide blade it makes some difference.
    With the same knife and old jaws the stone had at least 4" of rod left in it.

I notice Josh is using longer rods in his review. Would longer rods be better to use? Can WE supply them?

  1. My jaw mechanism makes a loud pop/click noise when releasing the tension but not when applying the tension.
    It occurs when the arm is half way thru it’s travel. Sounds like one part is catching on another. Lubing the cam and follower did not change the noise. Is this click noise appearing on your jaws?

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!

45

[quote quote=“DSGROUSE” post=23513]

The only thing I have noticed with mine is that the left side arm is 1°off the right side. Give or take based on blade height. So if the right is 16° the left will be 15°. I have been moving the fine adjustment, but it is almost all the way out.[/quote]

1 degree off on one side? Really, that seems excessive, at least for a $700 precision sharpener. Being that you have the Gen III Pro, can that somehow be fixed. being that both arm adjustments are geared to each other?

I can understand equal inaccuracy of both sides, due to blade height.

But 1 degree off from side to side not a good thing. One shouldn’t have to have their micro adjustment on one side all the way out to compensate.

Hopefully Clay can address this and have it corrected.

I’ve been waiting since I think February myself for the Gen III Pro. Have to wait a little longer now, I guess.

46

[quote quote=“juneau92” post=23574]

1 degree off on one side? Really, that seems excessive, at least for a $700 precision sharpener. Being that you have the Gen III Pro, can that somehow be fixed. being that both arm adjustments are geared to each other?

I can understand equal inaccuracy of both sides, due to blade height.

But 1 degree off from side to side not a good thing. One shouldn’t have to have their micro adjustment on one side all the way out to compensate.

Hopefully Clay can address this and have it corrected.

I’ve been waiting since I think February myself for the Gen III Pro. Have to wait a little longer now, I guess.[/quote]

1 degree is way too much. There were a few first batch that went out that we’ve been hearing about that had the angle issue. Once we found out about it, we made some changes to both the manufacturing process and the QC process so the machines going out now don’t have that issue. We will of course fix or replace any machines from the first batch that are having the issue.

The overall threshold is this - less than .5 degrees of variance from side to side and less than .5 degrees of variance from whats stated on the dial for a blade that extends 5/8" from the top of the clamp. An example of a machine that would fail QC now would be one in which (for a blade that extends 5/8" from the top of the clamp), when set at 20 degrees, the left side measures 19.7 and the right side measures 20.3. The difference between the two sides is .6 degrees so the machine fails QC even though both sides are with .5 degrees of where the dial is set.

We selected .5 degrees of variance as the threshold because of the combined tolerances of all the different parts that go to making up the angle - there is the height of the vise, the left/right position of the vise relative to the sliders, the sliders themselves, where the sliders attach to the upright posts, the upright posts themselves and where the ball joint hole is placed, the lever and where it’s slots are placed relative to the pins in the sliders etc… even when all parts are within the tight tolerances of +/-0.005, if you get a combination of parts that are made to spec and still have the machine a little off.

I hope that’s a helpful explanation.

DSGROUSE (and anyone else that’s noticed the issue) - please give Kyle a call: 877-616-9911 so we can get your machine squared away.

47

[quote quote=“wbear” post=23560]Got the Gen 3 clamp and have been trying it out and experimenting with setup.
Have a couple questions for you folks that are using it.

  1. With a wide/longer knife, say a chefs knife the std length arms from the pro pack 2 seem to be a little short.
    When trying to make use of most of the length of the stone (full stroke), I end up with sometimes less than 2 inches of the rod left in the stone when the stroke is finished. The new jaws are about 1 1/4" taller than the old jaws and with a wide blade it makes some difference.
    With the same knife and old jaws the stone had at least 4" of rod left in it.

I notice Josh is using longer rods in his review. Would longer rods be better to use? Can WE supply them?

  1. My jaw mechanism makes a loud pop/click noise when releasing the tension but not when applying the tension.
    It occurs when the arm is half way thru it’s travel. Sounds like one part is catching on another. Lubing the cam and follower did not change the noise. Is this click noise appearing on your jaws?

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!![/quote]

Longer arms are available, please give a call and we’ll get you set up: 877-616-9911.

I’m curious about the pop you’re experiencing. I had something similar on one of the demo machines we took to a few shows. I’m thinking we’ll need to replace your cam. Please mention it when you call and we’ll get another one on the way for you. It’s very easy to swap out the cam.

48

Thanks, Clay, for the quick and detailed reply. Great customer service! :slight_smile:

49

[quote quote=“wickededge” post=23575][quote quote=“juneau92” post=23574]

1 degree off on one side? Really, that seems excessive, at least for a $700 precision sharpener. Being that you have the Gen III Pro, can that somehow be fixed. being that both arm adjustments are geared to each other?

I can understand equal inaccuracy of both sides, due to blade height.

But 1 degree off from side to side not a good thing. One shouldn’t have to have their micro adjustment on one side all the way out to compensate.

Hopefully Clay can address this and have it corrected.

I’ve been waiting since I think February myself for the Gen III Pro. Have to wait a little longer now, I guess.[/quote]

1 degree is way too much. There were a few first batch that went out that we’ve been hearing about that had the angle issue. Once we found out about it, we made some changes to both the manufacturing process and the QC process so the machines going out now don’t have that issue. We will of course fix or replace any machines from the first batch that are having the issue.

The overall threshold is this - less than .5 degrees of variance from side to side and less than .5 degrees of variance from whats stated on the dial for a blade that extends 5/8" from the top of the clamp. An example of a machine that would fail QC now would be one in which (for a blade that extends 5/8" from the top of the clamp), when set at 20 degrees, the left side measures 19.7 and the right side measures 20.3. The difference between the two sides is .6 degrees so the machine fails QC even though both sides are with .5 degrees of where the dial is set.

We selected .5 degrees of variance as the threshold because of the combined tolerances of all the different parts that go to making up the angle - there is the height of the vise, the left/right position of the vise relative to the sliders, the sliders themselves, where the sliders attach to the upright posts, the upright posts themselves and where the ball joint hole is placed, the lever and where it’s slots are placed relative to the pins in the sliders etc… even when all parts are within the tight tolerances of +/-0.005, if you get a combination of parts that are made to spec and still have the machine a little off.

I hope that’s a helpful explanation.

DSGROUSE (and anyone else that’s noticed the issue) - please give Kyle a call: 877-616-9911 so we can get your machine squared away.[/quote]

I will call tomorrow, thanks for the reply

50

The G3 will fit in the case but will need new foam which we’re waiting on. We’ve approved drawings and are waiting for a sample to test before getting the dies made.[/quote]

Do u think I will just be able to cut the foam I already have with my case to make it work?

Davidghemail

51

The G3 will fit in the case but will need new foam which we’re waiting on. We’ve approved drawings and are waiting for a sample to test before getting the dies made.[/quote]

Do u think I will just be able to cut the foam I already have with my case to make it work?

Davidghemail[/quote]

I think you can probably do it. It might not look perfect but I’m sure it would work.

52

Thanks Clay.
Kyle will send a replacement cam and I just received some new 10" arms I ordered before you posted your reply.
I’ll get back with an update which may be a couple weeks since he has to get a cam in from your supplier.

53

would this clamp work with the low angle adaptor?

54

Is anyone that had the Gen 2 Clamp with the Riser Block using the Riser Block on their Gen 3 Clamp?

55

Will a blade .272 thick fit in the vise with the optional 1/4’ vise jaw?