I have been lurking on the forum for some time; although this is my first post. Great community, I have learned a TON!

I recently got my WE system and have been going through my knives sharpening, etc. I have run into an issue with a few of them that I would like your opinions/input on.

Some of my pocket knives have a thick spine that tapers directly to the edge like the pictures below (Schrade 170UH in this case, 4.25" blade x .75"):

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The vice, even when tightened as much as possible, cannot hold the knife steady at a 90-degree angle to the base. How do you handle these? I see faults in most of the ways I have thought up to correct.

THANKS!!

Ed

My usual solution to this problem is the use of my handy piece of chamois to wrap and fold i such a way as to fill the voids left by the shape of the knife. Mind you my knives may not have had the angle to deal with that you do, but it should work. Some people use a layer or layers of double-sided tape to do the job. Give it a shot and see what happens.

Good luck
Leo

Hey Ed,

It's nice to see you on here. Please check out this tutorial: Sharpening Fully Flat Ground Blades. This should answer your question pretty thoroughly. The only thing I have to add to it lately is that I've been enjoying using Moleskin, which you can find in almost any grocery store or pharmacy, instead of the foam tape lately.

It's interesting to see this same question keep popping up.

The day the WEPS can clamp a knife without gaps or packing the said gaps with foam/chamois/moleskin it will be complete.

As I have said before, the clamp should follow the sides of the knife, on every knife.
It doesn't, because there is no way to then make the clamp/knife vertical.

I see this as Clays' biggest challenge!

Billabong wrote:


Wait til you see what I have up my sleeve I hope that translates okay to Aussie English

wickededge wrote:


The only word I don't understand is this one, "wait".

I'm thinking of starting a thread called "Clay's Bucket List".

I was thinking of some kind of base for the clamps which allowed precise rotation of each side for a few degrees. Kind of a machinist's base. Wouldn't need to allow much rotation because the amount of taper over the length of the clamp is small. But I agree that clamping a heavily tapered spine knife is a pesky problem and chamois or tape or foam is not the optimal solution, although it works.

Rgds,

Billabong wrote:


He's solved it....

wickededge wrote:


I have seen the future, and it's awesome!!

(Keep in mind though, it's just a prototype, not something coming out tomorrow. Today's machine still works great!)

cbwx34 wrote:


Let me take a look and I will rate its awsomeness for you!

I like awesome things!

Is it a clamp within a clamp?