Clay could you possible post a picture. I have been able to get the VSTA tight and flat against the first stone that I set the sharpening angle with before I tighten the collar. Then I have been subsequently able to use tcmeyer’s method to set up the second stone in the progression. What I find after checking the subsequent stone’s angle with the angle cube is they can be fine adjusted closer to my desired setting sharpening angle with the angle cube than just by using the VSTA. I’ve used it several times now and I get better results just using the angle cube. Even though the cube has it’s problems with accuracy and repeatability. I think if I was using more thickness variable stones such as chosera’s or shapton’s it may be more repeatable for me with the VSTA.
Hodma:
Read my post just a little ways back in this thread. I think I may have solved the problem.
But one shouldn’t get too tied up in what your target angle might be. Yes, with the angle cube we can set the arms to within 0.1 deg of what you desire. And maybe the VSTAs might miss that by a tenth or so. Don’t drive yourself nuts over it. If the VSTA setting puts you at 19.9 degrees, who’s gonna know the difference once the blade is sharp and out of the vise?
Even if one of us OCD types clamps your knife up in our WEPS and runs a Sharpie test on it, do you think he’ll come to the conclusion that the bevel is off by a tenth and that you screwed up? Heck, he’ll be impressed by your ability to put the bevel there in the first place. How does he know you weren’t shooting for 19.9?
[quote quote=“tcmeyer” post=20655]Hodma:
Read my post just a little ways back in this thread. I think I may have solved the problem.
But one shouldn’t get too tied up in what your target angle might be. Yes, with the angle cube we can set the arms to within 0.1 deg of what you desire. And maybe the VSTAs might miss that by a tenth or so. Don’t drive yourself nuts over it. If the VSTA setting puts you at 19.9 degrees, who’s gonna know the difference once the blade is sharp and out of the vise?
Even if one of us OCD types clamps your knife up in our WEPS and runs a Sharpie test on it, do you think he’ll come to the conclusion that the bevel is off by a tenth and that you screwed up? Heck, he’ll be impressed by your ability to put the bevel there in the first place. How does he know you weren’t shooting for 19.9?[/quote]
Thank you for your reply. Me an OCD type, I highly resemble that statement! Thanks for your help.
I don’t post here to whine or complain. I hope my posts don’t come across that way. I post to share my experiences and confusion looking for feedback and correction to improve my technique. Tcmeyer. believe me I read and reread and studied your posts and everyone else’s input. I have learned a tremendous amount from this forum and repeated practice with the WE. My edges show me that. It’s remarkable how sharp they are in the six months that I have used the WE. But the better they get, then the more I want to learn and the better I want to sharpen.
tcmeyer I sent you a private message. Thanks again.
Marc
Hey Mark,
I agree w/ Tom about the variation of .1 degree; The angle cubes have at least that much variance in their readings. Even if the cubes could be that accurate consistently, the difference of a 1/10th of a degree is so small as to be basically irrelevant - you won’t even see any faceting of the bevel at high magnification with that small a change. Additionally, there are small amounts of play between the stones and the rods and within the ball joint that could also throw off your readings.
–Clay
This is a spectacular discussion.
I have VTSAs that I purchased a couple months ago, using the Gen 3 vise with the guide bar flipped around so the screws of the rods and VTSA tighten into a smooth surface.
My frustration starts when snugging up the VTSA to the plate (keeping in mind the time it took to get the plate at the angle I want)…when I snug up the VTSA, it pushes the plate away by virtue of the VTSA pushing outward as it is tightened. It then throws off the angle of the first plate!
My technique for subsequent plates is to loosen the entire collar and not fiddle with the micro adjusts, as the collar is infinitely adjustable due to I my guide bar being flipped around…am I missing something with that method?
I’m wondering if I should just angle cube everything and skip the error the VTSA seems to be introducing…? Help sought.