Hi Mitchell!

You can easily do a 2" high blade in the WEPS - If you've seen my video, that's about 7cm, and I've done a 10cm high blade. You can also get a 5mm thick spine in the clamp

I know a bunch of kitchen guys with high end knives who are holding off on the WEPS because of the "limited" low angle capabilities - these guys want 6 degree relief angles and 10 degree primary edge angles per side, though. I generally sharpen my kitchen knives between 15 and 18 degrees per side, so I'm not worried. My cleaver shave was 18 degrees per side.

On cleavers, the added height of the blade allows you to get down to 12-13 degrees per side, but you really need very high quality steel if you plan to go that low and expect it to last for more than 1 cut.

Hi all, I'll add my 2 cents here since I do a lot of kitchen knives at farmers markets. I use 19 degrees on all knives including high end German. 15 degrees for Mac and Global. Japanese steel on the high end can take a sharper angle. Cleavers on the other hand I use Clays guide from the manual. I have found that If you are not sure, contact the knife maker or distributor and they will tell you the stock angle. ( Check my post for sharpening a K-Bar ) As for cleaning my gear I use a stick magnet that I picked up at an auto parts store, works great stores easy. Went to the show yesterday, met Clay, had a good time met some fellow WEPS, sharpened some knives. BTW my personal folder is a Spyderco Endura, final strop 1/10 micron diamond spray, scary sharp.