Is the tip in the slot on the brace. Also make sure it is centered correctly. The brace should hold the tip and a free hand can hold the handle. You can just sharpen on side at a time freeing up ur other hand.

Mine were the same way. Just have to use them and they will be just fine. Only rub them together a little bit. They just have to break in and you will be fine.

Didn't mean to steal your thunder Curtis, But someone had to say it .

Wicked, very wicked

Based on my experience I would purchase then800/1000 ceramic stones first followed by the 2000/3000 ceramic stones. The 800/1000 will do a lot of clean up and refine the edge. The 2000/3000 will produce a really sharp edge. Get used to those first. Anything above that is just polishing the bevel.

I too strop with 3x8 leather, felt and nano cloth for my personal knives. Been thinking about the same thing you do with the belt grinder with a leather belt. For commercial applications ie restaurants I need a faster way of touching these knives up on a regular basis and this sounds like a way to go. Thnx for sharing

Just to give you my two cents worth, in the early days I thought I would be real smart and take pedestrian knives to 17.5-18.00 degrees only to watch the edges roll. Now I don't go any less than 21.5-22 degrees. Live is wonderful. Not than the edges can't be rolled its just harder for my clients to abuse them. You might put a small micro bevel on say around 24 degrees with a very strokes with your finest stone. I'm constantly experimenting with various techniques depending on the quality of the steel. What's very apparent is quality and hardness is all over the place. The other thing to keep in mind is that when steel is hardened its mostly on the surface. Only thru very expensive techniques to they achieve hardening deeper in the steel. The more you sharpen the softer the steel becomes on cheap knives.

First, I'm a die hard water stone guy. All my life I have sharpened by hand on a number of 3x8 stones. On my WEPS i have handles starting at 220, 320, 400, 600, 800, 1000, 2000, 3000, 5K, 8K, 10K (several brands), 12K, and 15K. I like most will start on the diamonds to start a burr and them go right into the wet stones. Yes you have to keep them wet. Yes they are messy, no getting around that. You have to have an angle cube. Most of my stones are custom make and yes it takes a while to set the angles but you get used to it. The benefits, you will get a gorgeous mirror finish. Yes yu can still strop and I do on 3 x11 sheets of leather, balsa at various grits and nano cloth on glass. At that point it becomes a work of art. Do I do this for all the knives I sharpen? No way but if the client wants a very sturdy edge with a little tooth and a shiny mirror bevel to the naked eye I can do that.

What you find is just guessing might be the difference between having a sharp useful knife and one that the edge rolls because of too steep an angle on the steel and it won't hold. I think most people want too steep of an angle I.e. 17-18 degrees and a good working edge 22-24 degrees will work just as we'll and last a lot longer. Depends on the usage of the knife. Sometimes on really good kitchen knives ill put a micro bevel at 24-25 degrees with a few stokes using 15K Chosera stones. Then strop a little on horse butt.

You would be may guessing without a angle cube. Blade height, thickness of the spin will always change things. It is by far the best money spent on an accessory. Yes WEPs carries these. There is also a testing stick sold by one of the dealers that when used properly is great for find ing small nicks in the steel. Beats cutting up fingers trying to find the ruff spots.

I have personally modified my technique no fewer than a dozen times. Different knives, styles, steels etc. practice on the cheap stuff first. If you make a,really bad mistake throw it away.

Go to Good Will, the swap meet or Saturday yard sales and buy for penny's some old beat up kitchen knives. First you can practice your technique, it will take a little practice and it varies by everyone. This will also help you to break in the diamond plates. These knives now become test beds for experimentation.

How hard did you rub the stones together?. You can ruin these very easily by doing that, a few very light strokes at most.

Two things you can do. One raise the knife in the block and two go for 20-22 Degrees on the cutting angle. It will cut just fine. This is one of those things that the second generation arm kit will resolve. You will do just fine.

Yes, check the index for the various topics

Your technique is getting down right scary. We can only hope to achieve a small bit of your knowledge oh Zen Master. Great work

Do I dare ask how long did it take you to bring this all off restoring this incredible bevel?

It's amazing to see how "plastic" metal can be. This is an incredible learning tool

This is going to sound odd coming from me but judging from how many times you have posted I would have to guess your new to the system that's great and we need more people to post their thoughts and experiences. I would first develope your technique and that means recommending the 800/1000 diamond plates and the super fine micro ceramics. Then get into stropping using balsa with the various pastes. Only after that I would venture out into the abyss. I personally use Chosera stones the majority f the time but I've sharpened about 400 kitchen knives so far. I've made tons of mistakes but all recoverable and that's part of e learning curve and fun. There are tons of posting here on the site and use this as valuable resource for learning and sharing.

Mad musing of a West Coast Edge Grinder

Great blog, the other thing I would add is to keep a record of the settings that were used to originally sharpen the knife on the WEPS. To originally create the same edge would be to use the same angle and what was the setting on the holder I.e. front t back ratio.