I have tried several different things and have found it is easier to by the replacement leather and balsa strips from WEPS. I do this for the very reason you cited ..."consistency"

The old leather pulls off fairly easily if you heat a hair dryer before removal. It is a little messy to clean up. You can use Goo Gone to clean up the residual glue.

I tried using a hot glue gun, but I do not seem to be able to move fast enough before it begins to harden. I found a Leathercraft Cement (from Hobby Lobby) that is much easier to work with. This glue is easier to clean up.

Regards,

Ralph

Clay, For some reason I was expecting the opposite. With the roo strops at 30 deg, would it not roll the edge over? ... and with the 0.6um at 25 deg, I would have expected it to cut somewhere on the shoulder and not the edge. I think I am missing something.

Thanks,

Ralph

Clay, What angle did you use to clean up the edge with the 'roo and then what angle did you use with the 0.6um micro-fine ceramics?

Thanks,

Ralph

Clay, Thanks for the quick reply. I just spoke with Kay and she is taking care of this. I will probably want to get the next upgrade with angle cube feature when available.

Thanks again,

Ralph

Received the new arms this evening. The left side arm does not fit. The arm stops before 26 degrees. I tried using some emory cloth on the left side of the bar which did nothing. I thought about using my 60/80 grit diamond paddles on the bar, but decided to post this message instead. Will call Kyle, Kay or Clay tomorrow.

Thanks,

Ralph

Steven, After the 1000 grit diamond stone, I use the super-fine ceramics and then the micro-fine. I have not yet tried going directly to the micro-fine ceramics from the 1000 grit. I will give it a try this weekend.

Ralph

Clay, This is very helpful. I did not really notice the aggressiveness of the mirco-fine ceramics. I will try it with the higher grit diamond stones. I am very satisfied with the micro-fine ceramics. For my purposes they produce excellent results. If the micro-fine ceramics had been available 6 months ago, I may not have been so determined to buy the Choseras and Shaptons, but I like them all for different reasons. The micro-fine ceramics are the best value (IMO).

Ralph

Dan, I cannot say this is true for just any other oil/lubricant, but the key perhaps with Ballistol (IMO) is that it emulisfies with water and it seems to resist to allowing accumulation of grit/shavings (low gunk factor) from sharpening. Someone on this forum could probably give us a Chemistry lesson on this, but I am not qualified since I had 2 years of freshman chemistry. LOL

Ralph

Dan, I did the same (using Ballistol) about a week ago and am happy with the results so far. I was initially concerned that there might be a tendency for the diamond stones to get gunked up, but this did not happen. I will probably continue to use it in this manner until I notice any potential problems. I plan to use it only on the diamond stones.

Ralph

Clay, Many thanks. I just wanted to know what I will be getting into. I placed my phone order with Kay a couple of weeks ago.

Ralph

Does the new arm modification require the riser to be installed? If we do not need the riser to achieve more acute angles afforded by the riser, can we continue to use the original vise (as is) without the riser? Now that I have sharpened several knives, I would like to be sure that I can touch up the edge of previously sharpened and achieve the same WE results without having to reprofile with the new riser.

Thanks,

Ralph

What do you think about using a product such as Balistol which emulsifies with water and has multiple sportsman applications? I have not yet tried it. I was looking for a chemistry lesson on this before I try it. I use it on firearms as a solvent/lubricant. The Ballistol odor may result in the user being exiled from the house to the garage as it smells like dirty socks.

Ralph

I really like the results of the micro-fine ceramics. I was getting ready to put a convexed edge on a Large and Small Sebenza, but had a question... the question may apply not only to the micro-fine ceramics, but also to the Choseras or Shaptons. If I were to follow the process described on Clay's video on putting a convexed edge on a small Sebenza and if I have available the micro fine ceramics,the Shaptons (down to 30k) and the Choseras (down to 10k), how far do you suggest progressing with fine grits in creating the facets before beginning to finish and blend the facets with the finer grit strops? Or would it be preferred to stop at the 1600 super fine ceramic and proceed with the stropping?

I woulld appreciate your input.

Thanks,

Ralph

I had indicated in an earlier post that I was having problems with dusting when using the Superfine ceramics. The problem apparently went away after 6-8 sharpening sessions. Also, it is possible that I could have using the 1200/1600 ceramics in a too heavy handed fashion. I started using filtered water with a bit of dish soap as previously suggested by Mark76 and Clay(I think). The results are excellent.

Also, I received the Coorstek Ceramics yesterday. These ultrafine ceramics work great right out of the box. I followed the Superfine Ceramics with the New Ultrafine (Coorstek) Ceramics. The amount of time spent stropping down to 0.5u is very fast to achieve the desired edge.

I think the difference in the Superfine and Coorstek Ceramics is significant. While the Superfine Ceramics appear to be more porous than the Coorstek Ceramics, the difference in results are amazing. I have consciously tried to lighten up on the pressure with the both sets of ceramics. My results have improved significantly. In my next post, I will try to include a few photos. So many knives, so little time!

Ralph

I purchased two sets of the 1200/1600 ceramics. I experienced a lot of dusting (with both 1200 & 1600) on the 1st set. Both sets are very porous (no magnification required to see this). The 1st set was noticably softer than the 2nd set. I have only sharpened 4-5 knives (total) with the two sets.

I have not tried, but I believe both sets could be easily scored with a butter knife. There is no comparison of these 1200/1600 ceramics with the Spyderco Sharpmaker ceramics. The Sharpmaker ceramics are much harder. I am anxious to hear Clay's comments regarding the quality of these. I am not in a hurry to send them back because of waiting so long for these.

I thought I understood from another thread on this forum that the Coorstek Ceramics should be available by now.

In the meantime the Shaptons and Choseras do an excellent job. At this point, I prefer the Shaptons (much quicker, IMO)

Ralph

Attached are a couple of photos that demonstrate Ken's "magic" in squaring up my Shapton Stones. The different is obvious when compared to the original photos in this thread. Thanks again, Ken.

Ralph

Update ... Yesterday, I just received my Shaptons Stones back from Ken Schwartz. Excellent job on squaring up and adjusting for a consistent overall thickness of the paddles, I am very pleased. I am actually very surprised that Ken was able to pull this off. Very little stone material was sacrificed in this process. I will post some photos in the next day or two so you can compare to my original set of stones that were posted earlier in this thread.

I could not wait to try them out. 320 grit through 30k and stropped from 0.5 micron down to 0.125 micron leather and balsa. I was very impressed how much quicker the results came with the Shaptons. I did not expect to like the results of the Shaptons better than the Choseras.

I am very happy with the results of the Shaptons. The mirrored edge came very quickly at somewhere around 5k or 8k. I was in a bit of a hurry and likely could have done an even better job of removing some very slight scratches had I more carefully alternated direction of the strokes.

Very impressed with the results. In my opinion, you can remove the question mark after "Quality" in the Subject Line above! Without question.

Thanks Ken for your efforts in squaring up the stones. And thanks Kay and Clay for the followup.

Photos to follow.

Ralph

Ken, You are welcome. I will look forward to receiving the package. I would be honored to be afforded the opportunity to "smoke test" one of your new products for the WEPS and provide you with my opinion/feedback. You know what they say about opinions ... and by now you know I have one. Once again, thank you for your proposed resolution.

Kind Regards,

Ralph

Ken, I really appreciate your reply and what you propose to do regarding the replacement of my Shapton Stones with ones that are of consistent thickness and square. That would be EXCELLENT! I could not expect any more than that. I will wait to hear from Clay. The stones were sent back to WEPS today. WEPS should receive them not later than Tuesday (tracking info was provided to WEPS via email).

Thanks for your understanding and commitment to supporting the quality of the WEPS products. Many Thanks!

Regards,

Ralph

Ken & Tom, Thanks for your replys. Your comments and insights are much appreciated. I had a pleasant conversation with Clay this morning and have decided to return the Shapton Stones. As indicated to Clay, I am very happy with everything received from WEPS to date with the exception of the Shapton Stones. Call me cheap, but for approximately $1,100, I expected consistent flat/square stones that are of the same level of quality of everything else that is provided by WEPS. Call me lazy, but I do not want to have to use the angle cube in between each pair of stones.

I indicated to Clay that when the QC improves on the Shaptons or I can be assured of flat/square stones, then I would gladly purchase them again.

I hope my comments have not been too harsh. I initially failed to fully appreciate the hand craftsmanship that goes into cutting these stones for the WE system.

Thanks again.