Worksharp Precision Adjust input needed

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Brawny

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Aug 6, 2018
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I’ve used my WPA a few times on my Spyderco Sage 5 and, while I can get it serviceably sharp, I can’t get it razor sharp. Am I just not spending enough time? I don’t know what else to do. Has anyone had a hard time at first but finally perfected it? I’m quite certain it’s user error, but I don’t know what to do about it.
 
Which edition do you have? Do you have the upgrade kit with the extra stones and strop? And what kind of steel is the sage 5?
 
Swp321 said:
Which edition do you have? Do you have the upgrade kit with the extra stones and strop? And what kind of steel is the sage 5?
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S30v, original. I’m doing something wrong, let me show you the blade.

I can’t seem to get a good consistent angle because of the blade to spine design. Or, more likely, my lack of skill.
 
I was the same way until I got it. I got the upgrade kit and it literally handles everything I throw at it. I’ve done dozens of kitchen knife sets so far and no hic ups with the diamond stones. It even took some microchipping out of the edge of my Giantmouse. It’s a great system if you don’t mind doing things by hand.
 
Most pocket knives I sharpen between 18-20 degrees per side. 25-30 degrees is gonna leave you more with a cleaver instead of a slicer/cutter. You’ll want to start with the 320 and lightly start from the handle side and move your way out to the tip until you feel a burr under the blade then flip and repeat. Once that’s done move up to the 600 stone and rinse and repeat. Use the ceramic if you want to smooth it out some or stop with the 600 for a more toothy edge. That’s just what I do and me offering my experiences to you, I’m not saying I’m an expert. You could always grab a full cheap chefs knife and practice over and over again until you get the feel of it. To me it’s a feel and go process working the stones on the blade will let the blade tell you when it’s ready to move to the next step. Hope this helps.
 
I spent way too much time on it this morning but I learned some stuff.
1. I still can’t get a nice edge.
B) I am working too fast, I’m too impatient. The result is a wobbly stroke that leaves an inconsistent edge.
In conclusion: I need to slow down and be more deliberate. Rushing through is not doing me any favors.

I dropped the angle to 20°, as well.
 
Brawny said:
while I can get it serviceably sharp, I can’t get it razor sharp. Am I just not spending enough time? I don’t know what else to do. Has anyone had a hard time at first but finally perfected it? I’m quite certain it’s user error, but I don’t know what to do about it.
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a general note re the photo:
for aesthetic reasons, knives are released such that the width of the bevel is constant say 2.00mm. because of the changing thickness of the blade "behind the edge", this results in a gradual change of bevel angle (i.e. smaller nearing the knife tip).

however your worksharp system impregnates/imprints its own constant sharpening angle. while you'll hit the Factory bevel angle at one spot, the stone will not hit it nearing the tip. that's erh logical.
hehe with my GRSS i produced some new funny looking bevels and i was okay with it but usually one would want to keep the original bevel grind looks (= constant 2.00mm along dee entire edge length), socalled matching the factory angle.

just keep grinding until all original spyderco bevel grind marks have been overlapped by your worksharp grind marks . you're on the right path .

last Sat i was at a music friend's and did a 1st time demo of sharpening his 2 kitchen knives. the knives were in not too bad condition (lots of micro chips tho) and i managed to grind a beautiful bevel with my RRS non-textbook edge-following movements and fine deburring with the Spyderco round file, all done in my lap lol. perfect demo because he could see my efforts of chasing the burr and see me really knowing what i was doing, namely the manipulation of the apex until i knew that it was done before doing any cutting tests for final reconfirmation.

with freehanding you have more flexibility with the sharpening angle
 
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My thinking is that your just not raising a burr completely before switching sides. Remember that raising a burr is absolutely mandatory to get a good edge and that you can have a crazy sharp edge at the lowest stone grit that you have. Unless your raising a burr on both sides, progressing in grit won't get you anything but a polished bevel that isn't apexed right.
 
LimpCroissant said:
My thinking is that your just not raising a burr completely before switching sides. Remember that raising a burr is absolutely mandatory to get a good edge and that you can have a crazy sharp edge at the lowest stone grit that you have. Unless your raising a burr on both sides, progressing in grit won't get you anything but a polished bevel that isn't apexed right.
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Yeah that’s what I don’t quite understand. How do I establish/recognize a burr when I get to one? Is it possible to have one, then lose it?
 
Lightly move the diamond stone up and down from handle to tip lightly then back to handle and so on. Let the stone do the work. Once you’ve made a few passes feel the edge of the blade under the edge and see if it feels what I call rough. If so that means the stones are doing the grinding. Once you’ve reached a point where you feel the roughness under the blade is enough you more than likely have a burr. It’s not gonna be instantaneous with s30v. Just take your time and if you need drop to 19 degrees. Once you’ve gotten your first burr flip the knife over and repeat, then move to the 600 stone and repeat. The ceramic is just to hone and smooth out the edge so your not gonna raise much of a burr with that just with the diamond stones. Let me know if I can help any further.
 
Brawny said:
Yeah that’s what I don’t quite understand. How do I establish/recognize a burr when I get to one? Is it possible to have one, then lose it?
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This is what I do because sometimes I have a hard time feeling the burr with my finger tips. It can be very hard to feel. Get a flashlight and shine the light from behind the spine facing the edge. Wipe your fingers parrallel to the edge first to get all the particles and crap off. You'll be able to see any burr there like that, the flashlight will reflect it. And yes it is possible to have one and lose it. I'd recommend just focus on one side of the knife and go until you can for sure see a burr all along the edge, no doubts. Then switch sides and get that burr all along that edge. After you've completed that, then you alternate sides more frequently to get rid of that burr and leave you with a nice edge. I'd reccomend also just saying screw your higher grit stones for now until you can get a sharp edge on just your lowest grit stone. For example, When I'm done with my 140 grit diamond stone, it will slice through paper no problem and shave arm hair.
 
Brawny said:
Is it possible to have one, then lose it?
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burrs plural, lose it, find it, knock it off, partly or along entire edge, flip n repeat, yes.
Coarse stone will raise bigger burr, and you could get rid of it when grinding other side, but of course your creating another burr on the opposite side.
Brawny said:
The result is a wobbly stroke that leaves an inconsistent edge.
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try this, set camera up n video your grinding strokes for both sides, maybe your wobbly perception is on to something?

Good advice so far OP.
Better to think of each burr individually, seeing and feeling 3 areas individually- hilt center and tip. Cell phone pics, a kids magnifying glass, jewelers loop, etc, would let you zoom in for seeing burr. I learned from Boys Life or Field and Stream articles when a pup, only remember being "told" to keep stroke steady and the same every time.
 
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