I’ve used my new WE GO to sharpen a handful of knives in preparation for some of my more expensive knives. I also bought the advanced alignment guide for more repeatable results.
Today I came to the realization that I cannot achieve the factory angle (15-18 degrees) on many of my smaller knives.
It seems that I have encountered a catch 22 situation - I need to purchase the $75 low angle adapter (why isn’t this included or built into the design? Couldn’t the vise/clamp be thinner?). Once I do that, I will not be able to use the advanced alignment guide.
Overall I’ve been very impressed with the unit but it seems like I can only sharpen a subset of my knives - and once I buy the adapter I can no longer achieve repeatable mounting.
Appreciate any insight that anyone can provide on this. Am I missing something?
The WEGO model is a compact portable model with no accessories. It's made with the beginning or entry level sharpener with budget in mind. Below are the details of this model and what's included, and what's not.
Can sharpen blades up to 15” long
Can clamp blades up to 1/4” thick with included vise screws (longer screws may be used to enable clamping of even thicker blades)
Angle range: 15-30 degrees per side (30-60 degrees inclusive)
Angle adjustment in 1 degree increments
Sharpener's angle markings are calibrated for knife's edge at 5/8" over top of vise
Minimum knife height for stones to clear vise at lowest angle is 5/8" over top of vise. Low Angle Adapter (sold separately) required to reach low angles on smaller knives
Thanks for the welcome Marc. I’m not sure that answered any of my questions. I was aware of the specifications before I bought the sharpener.
The model I purchased is not relevant as all of the more expensive models are also limited to 5/8” minimum height, all require the low angle adapter, and all render the alignment guide useless - as far as I can tell.
Low Angle Adapter (sold separately) required to reach low angles on smaller knives
Every model W.E. even the most expensive ones have limitations and may require purchase of accessories to sharpen all the different style knives there are in the market place. Many of us modify and custom adapt our sharpeners, even well accessorized models, to enhance their sharpening abilities and characteristics.
The AAG is poorly designed. There is a lot of lower space on it that most people will never use unless they are sharpening a boomerang. It needs to go much higher. I have no idea what they were thinking of when they designed it. Hopefully they will fix that.
Agreed and thanks for the reply Robert. The intention of my post was to discuss limitations with the design and potential workarounds that others have come up with (obviously I’m not the first person to recognize them).
I innovate…try drilling two more holes in the AAG in the top corner, straight above the first pair. Then use it turned upside down, it still has the grids and the numbers. It’ll give you a usable position reference. If need be, to make it taller, try turning it 180º then drill two more holes and use it like that. It’ll work in any orientation as long as the grid is parallel and perpendicular to the jaw’s top and side. It’ll take two seconds to add the holes.
Just record the orientation you used for the AAG on your sharpening log. As long as you can get a couple reference points on the knife, such as tip or heel or handle or spine, you should be able to match the clamping postion.
John
The majority of the knives I have sharpened on my WE130 required the use of the LAA. My solution to this problem was to not use the Depth Key and to align the AAG as shown in the image below. It has worked extremely well for me over the last three years.
rummels
Because you are using a LAA, you can tighten its jaws just enough to hold the knife in place. Then position the AAG as I suggested, and move the knife forward or backward in the LAA until it is where you want it. This assumes you are protecting your blade with masking tape.
rummels
Thanks for the tips Rummels, definitely helpful to know that you can still rig it up with the LAA. Makes me feel better about shelling out the additional money.
Let us know how the LAA works out for you. I have the WE130 and I also found it necessary to add the LAA to my accessories. It has worked really well for me.
rummels
Thank you for the comment. We are working on redesigning it based on feedback we’ve received. That said, the reason for all the locations in the lower half is because of the occasional need to tilt the tip of the knife down to find the “sweet spot”. The amount of space we gave was obviously excessive and we’ll try to move some of that real estate up higher. We’ll also make it longer.
The AAG is poorly designed. There is a lot of lower space on it that most people will never use unless they are sharpening a boomerang. It needs to go much higher. I have no idea what they were thinking of when they designed it. Hopefully they will fix that.
Thank you for the comment. We are working on redesigning it based on feedback we’ve received. That said, the reason for all the locations in the lower half is because of the occasional need to tilt the tip of the knife down to find the “sweet spot”. The amount of space we gave was obviously excessive and we’ll try to move some of that real estate up higher. We’ll also make it longer.[/quote]
