Not a knife photo but one of a tool stand I made for my diamond stones. Simple walnut with brass 1/4 inch rods. It keeps the work space neat and orderly.
That’s awesome, I had another forum member make me one similar to that a few years back and I still use it every day! Mine has several rows though =) It does work super well, the only thing I don’t use it for is strops because I don’t want any cross contamination. Thanks for sharing!
Very nice job, Roper. I like the way you position the stones, as in lower grits on outside, one each of grits to the left and right of blade. Keeps you from reaching over the blade. I do this too, except my stones are just laying flat on the table. Nice job there!
Very nice set-up. What is the spacing from rod to rod? I would like to make one like that also.
Center to center is 1.5 inches…
Very similar to mine, where I too used a 1.5 inch spacing. My pins are 1/4" aluminum. I never thought of the outside-to-inside progression. Very clever. I’ll have to try it.
https://tcmeyer.smugmug.com/Wicked-Edge-Related-Stuff/Wicked-Edge-Related-Stuff/i-9ppWq6h/A
That’s an awesome stand! Mine are still in a (Plano) box…
I can tell that you have a scientific background because you use an HP calculator with RPN input. You don’t see those every day.
Actually, I have two of them; an HP11C and an HP15C. When HP came out with the HP35 back in the '70’s, we had to learn RPN and now everyone who did so prefers it to the algebraic versions you get today. The new calculators are so cheap that I’ve got at least 4 laying around the house and shop, but if one of the HP’s are within reach I’ll toss the new ones aside. I think the HP’s go for a good price on EBay.
RPN, hahah. I had to learn that for certain calculations when do a computer science subject…
What’s the story on the (non-WE) handles you use for your lapping films?
I guess this one’s for me.
A long time ago, I decided to upgrade my handles to Oilite bronze bushings to reduce the amount of angular error. It worked out really well, so since I had a fixture built for the conversion, I was converting everything I had. This was before WE offered the glass platens, so I was kind of on the leading edge there. I started out with maple, then Garolite (from McMaster) and finally ABS plastic. The ABS turned out to be the nicest version, but then I had some problems with glass platens scratching the knives (couldn’t seem to get the edge polishing right), so I switched to brass and it seemed to be the cat’s ass.
Since I don’t have a machine-shop level of equipment (I have wood-working gear) the level of accuracy I can achieve is limited, so I use the Variable Stone Thickness Adapters to hit exact angles. The result, however, is that there is zero detectable slop between the rods and the handles and I can hit angles within < 0.1 degree. Wipe the rods down with alcohol about once a month and they’re slicker than snail snot.
I’ve shared the bushing conversion with a few other forum members, but I think it is beyond most of their abilities. Cliff Curry has what is probably an easier solution. Clay has talked about selling an upgraded version of the handles, but nothing so far,
Thanks for the detailed explanation! The bushing conversion is beyond my abilities as well, but it is nice to learn about your cutting edge set-up.
Tom,
We’re still working on this and will eventually release something…
I noticed the discussion on HP calculators. For you iphone users there is an app for the HP 41 cx calculator. It is one of my favorite apps.
Here is a link:
Thanks, Bill. I see that Google offers Android app versions of the HP11C and HP15C for as little as $3.99.
For those younger math heads, the HP35 which came out in January of 1972, was the first scientific handheld calculator. A few years later (November 1976) I was going through security at the Heathrow airport in London and was questioned thoroughly when they saw my HP21. They’d never seen one like it and needed me to prove to them that it wouldn’t blow up. I was still using it when I sat for my PE exams in 1980. The LED display ate batteries pretty quick, so I borrowed another from a friend so I could make it through the two day exam. I recall that several others sitting for the exam would go occasionally to the back of the room to charge their calculator batteries. When the HP11C came out with an LCD display, batteries would last for years. And it really did fit in your pocket.