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 wasn’t able to hold the tolerances I wanted. All of the handles varied enough in side-to-side distance from the center of the bore, as well as in parallelism. I needed to use the Variable Stone Thickness Adapter to account for the variability.
Wicked Edge made some improvements with the rollout of the Gen 3 Pro and about the same time I switched to rods made from .257 steel. There’s still some “sloppiness” in the rod-to-handle fit, but good technique will account for the “system” slop and produce good results. For me, that means always setting my angles with the stone set in the same place and with the same amount of pressure applied at the same place.
Here’s my technique summarized:
- When setting the angle, always place the face of the stone against the blade directly above the center of the vise with one inch of stone face extended above the edge. With the fingers of your opposite hand, reach around the vise and pull the bottom of the stone toward the vise with a nominal amount of pressure. Imagine the weight of a pound of butter. That's about how much force to use. Do it every time you set an angle.
- I always grasp the handles in the same way - with my thumb nestled in the second finger-groove up from the bottom. My index finger is nestled in the same opposing groove and the middle finger is in the bottom groove. The ring finger and pinkie are always closed against my palm. This technique will reduce the percentage of time your fingers will be above the edge. Besides benefiting from consistency, you've reduced the chances of springing any leaks. You can further increase the safety factor by using edge-leading strokes, since following through on your stroke will not put your pinkies above the edge.
Try to keep the pressure you apply constant. Applying more pressure at any point will tend to deflect the rod/handle/ball joint system and change the angle. What's more, the angle will change throughout the stroke, resulting in a convex grind and a sloppy looking bevel facet. I use the "pound of butter" concept to judge my pressure.
Even with the best techniques, you’ll find that the actual angles change from the top of your stroke to the bottom, simply because of the lever principle. At any time in the stroke, the pressure applied is distributed between the point of contact at the edge and the ball joint. The further the pressure point is from the edge, the lower the percentage of the total pressure applied will be felt at the edge. Consistency is the key.
If your technique is such that your pressure point goes above the edge, the pressure applied will tip the scales, as the slop in the handle will go from one direction to the other. Prove this to yourself by putting your angle gage on a handle. then move the handle up slowly. When the pressure point rises above the edge, the angle will jump by anywhere from one to three degrees. You can usually hear a “klunk” when this happens. Learn to listen for this, as it’s a warning that you’re doing something wrong.
You can reduce this effect by “following through”, just as you would when swiping past the tip of the blade to prevent rollover. Rather than just applying a simple one direction force, use your grasp of the handle to prevent the handle from rocking as it moves over the edge.
