OK so I’ve read the posts, as much as I can find here, along with the directions on the website, but I cannot figure out how to use this and I had an incident today where a difference in thickness really screwed up my edge.
Can somebody please post either a video or better instructions, sorry Clay, than the website?
Here ya go,
https://www.wickededgeusa.com/weswat-variable-stone-thickness-adapter/
Why is it nick named S.W.A.T ?? I get VSTA but I can’t figure out swat.
I hope Tom is able to answer this. I think he is an avid user of it.
Thank you, I did not see that on the website!
As Mark said, I am an avid user and use the VSTAs with every stone change.
There are a couple of details that aren’t covered in the instructions Joe pointed you to. I’ll have to resurrect my version and upload some photos. Give me a day or two.
Make sure you are consistent in how you set it up and checking/adjusting the rest of the stones. Take out the play in the paddles the same exact way from start to finish. It frustrated me the first time I tried using them and I gave up. Last night I thought it through and and I had excellent consistent results and for the first time I didn’t have to use leather strops (only used diamond film down to 0.5um) to blend in the faceting even after checking every step with an angle cube. Now it’s much faster then checking with an angle cube and yeilds better results.
Tip, I cut and taped a piece of white paper under the vsta’s so I could see any gap between the stone and face of the vsta.
What does swat stand for??(relative to the vsta)
Good answer Joe!
Here’s a couple of points to be aware of:
The socket-head cap screws that came with my VSTAs tended to skew the angle of the VSTA when I tightened it. The answer was to grind or file flat the end of the screw.
When setting the position of the VSTA, hold it flat against the stone you’ve just set the angle on. Also try to hold it perpendicular to the angle bar. When you are satisfied with the position, tighten the VSTA screw. In the photo below, you’ll see that like Joe, I placed a sheet of paper under it to make it easier to see what I was doing. I used the paper only for photo purposes.
https://tcmeyer.smugmug.com/Wicked-Edge-Related-Stuff/Wicked-Edge-VSTA-photos/i-G3kHvmC
It’s important to note that once you’ve set the VSTA, it becomes your angle reference. All stones - even the stone you just set the angle on, must be reset to the VSTA. This is because of any errors that might have occurred when tightening the VSTA screws. Again, all stones should be set to this reference.
The objective here is to make the rod exactly parallel to the face of the VSTA. In the photo below, I show my technique in setting the stones against the VSTA. I tightly pinch the rod against the bore of the handle with my thumb on the back of the VSTA bar. Then I adjust the stone toward the VSTA until I feel it bottom out. If the end of the stone nearest you is already touching the VSTA, back off on the angle (using collar or microadjusts) until you see daylight between the stone and the face of the VSTA (shown in the photo), then adjust it toward the VSTA until you feel it bottom out. The adjustment you’ve just made puts the rod parallel to the bore. If the bore is parallel to the face of the stone, then the rod is also parallel to the VSTA.
https://tcmeyer.smugmug.com/Wicked-Edge-Related-Stuff/Wicked-Edge-VSTA-photos/i-JTKgfRN
You’ll want to settle on the amount of force you apply when bottoming-out the microadjusts, trying always to apply the same amount of force. Apply too much force and you can feel the rod being forced out of parallel. Once you’ve got the sequence figured out, it only takes about 5 seconds to set your stone angle to the VSTA reference. A few years ago, I did a sequence of tests and found that the variability in the angle after adjusting to the VSTA was only about 0.1 degrees. I’ll have to repeat those tests now that I have an angle cube that’s twice as accurate.
If you have stones which differ in thickness by more than the range of the microadjusts, you may want to modify your collar setup. Some of us have flipped our angle bar, putting the detents on the back side. Then we added a quick locking lever on the near side. This lets you make rapid adjustments without having to deal with the detents. Loosen the clamping lever, slide the angle collar to where the stone is flat against the VSTA, then reclamp. Now you can use the microadjusts as described above. If you want to use the detents for multiple facets (convex edges?) you can still do so with the screw on the back side.
Thank you, that is really helpful.
I read the multiple page thread about taking the play out of the linkage and Guide arms… But could not tell if there was any general consensus about the best way to do this. While I was sharpening on my GEN 3 vice yesterday, I did notice that there is quite some play between the diameter of the rod and the handle bore and would like to eliminate or reduce it. Are Subway straws still the recommended choice?
“What does swat stand for??(relative to the vsta)”
If I remember correctly, Stone Width Adjustment Tool.
Both the VSTA (Variable Stone Thickness Adapter AKA S.W.A.T. (Stone Width Adapter Tool) and the AAG (Advanced Alignment Guide) were largely, almost totally inspired by users here on the forum, especially cbwx34 and he’s to blame thank for the S.W.A.T. acronym 
. The input from all of you guys has guided our designs immensely and we’re eternally grateful. We changed the acronym to VSTA because we really wanted to focus on the thickness of the stones and not the width. SWAT sounds cooler than ViSTA.
So, the cheap way to do this would be re measuring with each grit? This looks like a good idea! I noticed a differential between my diamond hones and the ceramics. It messed up my work
Some of my paddles are a different thickness on each side. Measuring every time I changed stones didn’t work for me as well as these do as long as I am consistent. I love them now.
I don’t know if it’s possible, but lately we have a lot of questions about the VSTA. It would be nice if somebody could make a vid on how to use them.
So… S.T.A.T. (Stone Thickness Adjustment Tool). Just think of the ads…
This is not my video, I just did a YouTube search. I haven’t even watched the whole thing so if it sucks im sorry.
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We changed the acronym to VSTA because we really wanted to focus on the thickness of the stones and not the width. SWAT sounds cooler than VSTA.So…. S.T.A.T. (Stone Thickness Adjustment Tool). Just think of the ads….
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You make a good point 
Clay, it would be nice if you could change the VSTA name to the SWAT name (with explamation). Thw VSTA name is old and is derived from this other sharpenimg device. But more over, it doesn’t desribe tbe function properly.