Hi All,
Last night, while working on reprofiling an edge, I somehow managed to scrape/sand the lead edges at the top of the knife vise. After looking, I really don't know how the stones came in contact with it, but it did.
While the damage is mostly cosmetic (I think)it about made me cry....I have to assume this is operator error.
But what did I do wrong?
The setup was stock WEPS 1, old arms, old base rod, no riser.
The blade is pretty deep (1.5"), so I had it set to the lower pin holes (depth).

I was trying to get as clsoe to 20 degrees angle as possible, and it looked like the system only contacted a few times/side but of course with the 100 grit diamond, so they did the most damage.
I'll try to get a picture or two this evening.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

I would venture a guess that half the WEPS owners have a scratched (or polished in my case) vise tip. It just happens when you set the angle too low on an already low-profile knife. You're right in that the scratches are purely cosmetic, nothing is wrong with your system.

For future, if it bothers you, just put the blade in the top holes if you're going for a sub-20 degree angle, and even above the top holes for very small blades, like multi-tool blades.

MathewWhaley wrote:
(I fixed your post Mathew).

Yup... just consider it "seasoned" or broken in.

(On another sharpener, I once sharpened half the unit away, before I realized I wasn't hitting the knife).

I've sharpened more vise jaws than I care to admit

So before you laugh, I am just as stunned it happened this fast. Ya gotta love new diamond stones.

The problem:





And the simple solution:



No, not pretty, but maybe effective. I'm sure the tape feels different than steel or aluminum.

Yep, Been there,done that. I think it gives it character.

I am curious as to why he did that in the way that he did. I have abraded my vice jaws many times..
If the knife was setup as Clay suggests.. balance heel to tip... and everything is adjusted properly, the sanding marks would typically be even accross the top of the jaws... I would think...mine have been!

Fred, did you read this:
www.wickededgeusa.com/index.php?option=c...eneral&Itemid=46

Did you do what is suggested there?
Something is strange with that abrasion pattern...

Phil

Character is good..at that rate he will abrade the jaws way too quickly...

BTW, I tape the edge of my grips and thumb studs to prevent accidental damage while sharpening.

I agree the sharpened vice give character but I don't want that much character on my knives.

The knife I was working on was an old Spydeco folder. Short but wide curved blade. I used the deeper notches and had it in the vise with the handle towards me.
Thinking about this...I may have been really sloppy at the beginning of my stroke and compensated for the play in the arms towards the tip.
I'll experiment a bit with that knife and see if I can replicate the error.
To Philips question I had read that post by Clay with great interest. It was something I always wondered about when using my old Lansky, but never thought to actually use an angle gauge to research.

Just trying to visualize how you only hit the edge of the vice closest to you in that kind of arc..
I am not there..

EDIT unless the heel of the knife was sitting much lower than the tip, perhaps due to the hump for the spyder hole ...??

Phil