So I’ve managed to acquire some nice Spyderco folders. Have a Paramilitary 2 and Manix 2 in CPM S110V, and another Manix 2 with the Maxamet blade.
The stock Wicked Edge stones look like they will be okay for the Manix knives, but as we know the plastic lip on the paddles interferes with the choil at the grind line on the Paramilitary 2 knives.
Some have removed the plastic lip from the paddles to resolve the issue, but doing so may expose fingertips to the ever increasingly sharp edge.
I think the preferred solution is to put a spacer under the abrasive portion of the paddle to gain some vertical clearance to avoid the choil interference.
Mr. Meyer has said he uses a hotplate to heat the metal abrasive plate to soften the VHB adhesive tape in order to remove the metal plate from the plastic paddle. I know from experience how well VHB tape bonds, and while heat will certainly help to get it loose, I can imagine damaging the plate or the plastic paddle during the removal process.
Can anyone with experience with disassembling Wicked Edge paddles give me some pointers?
In light of the popularity of Spyderco knives, and that their Paramilitary 2 is one of their best sellers, perhaps Wicked Edge should consider changing to thicker metal plates so us customers don’t have to modify the paddles. The cost increase would be very small.
I have not experience with disassembling WE paddles, bu I do have experience with making (having made) a sharpening notch in the Spyderco’s. Works very well.
If you raise the platen’s temp to about 180F, they will pry off fairly easily, but I’d be VERY careful with ceramic platens as they’d crack just as easily. Once the platen is off, you can roll the tape off like a very stubborn booger. Not easy. Use gloves, because the sideways force applied, when combined with the heat will contribute to nasty blisters on your thumb for sure.
I’ve never had problems with applying heat to the plastic handles.
Wait what I cant sharpen my PM2’s on the WE. One of the main reasons I bought the F&S pro (on order) was for my PM2 knives. Im confused so those of you that heat up the paddles and remove the platen how are you reattching them to the paddles?
And what the hell is a sharpening notch and why is their cardboard stuck in it in the picture above lol? Seriously this is alarming one of the reasons I bought this ($600+) system is so I wouldnt have to take shortcuts and rig things up to work properly. This is only the most popular highest selling knife of all time with nearly 50 different versions and the wicked edge cant sharpen it as is?
The larger Spyderco knives have the unusually high ricasso, which interferes with the edge lip that borders the stone on WE paddles. I have a Stretch which has the interference and a Delica which doesn’t. A simple fix is to cut away that part of the lip that is causing you problems. Since the interference only happens at the start or end of the stroke, you only need to remove a short segment at the top and bottom.
I have home-made paddles for film that I made from ABS and I didn’t provide a bordering lip. I did provide a rounded finger groove on both sides and have never been concerned about the safety of my fat little fingers.
1" X 1" ABS and 3/8" OD X 1/4" ID bronze bushings from McMaster. Add 3/4" X 1/8" brass from Jantz and some woodworking tools. The photo is of blocks on my granite plate on the 2000 grit sandpaper used to lap the faces flat. The trick is to drill the holes and keep 'em parallel to the faces. Good luck. Took me 4 different generations, a half-dozen fixtures and dozens of hours to get it workable. You really need some serious metal working tools to do it right. And the guys with the stock, unmodified WE handles are making knives every bit as sharp as me.
But if you’re interested, the ABS was machined to final dimensions with my DeWalt planer. The brass platens are attached with super glue. The bore was drilled with a long 3/8" bit and the bushings were thumb-pressed into position. Because the bore is 3/8", you need longer rods so the top bushing won’t slip off the rod at the high-end on the stroke. Mine are 14".
Yes I am in the same state as one of the reasons I got the WE is for my Spydercos including the PM2. I am not mechanical enough to change paddle structure but thankfully I did not sell my KME. I am glad I saw this topic before I started the PM2 on the WE.
