Hello,
I'm a new WEPS user. Just got the Field and Sport a couple days ago and got a really nice sharp edge on a knife within an hour. Love this thing. I ran into a problem yesterday, however. I tried sharpening a short blade (edge to top, not length) and the stones ran into the angled part of the clamp and could not touch the blade edge. I also tried clamping the blade at the very top edge of the clamp and really making sure it was tight but the stones still cannot make contact at 20 degrees. The F&S version of the WEPS is different from the straight "A" frame design of the pro. There is an angle that sticks out that interferes with the line of the stones at low angles. I have not seen any posts on this anywhere on the forum. Am I doing something wrong? I have a call into Clay but have not spoken to him yet. I love this thing and don't want to return it but I have to be able to sharpen ANY knife with it... Suggestions welcome!

Here is a picture:


Untitled by GermoneGold, on Flickr

Welcome to the forum!

I think a blade has to extend about 1/2" over the clamp to clear at 20 deg. (Maybe a little less). So if it doesn't, there's not much you can do that I can think of, that you haven't already tried. Clay may have a trick up his sleeve though.

That being said, unless you're sharpening for a specific reason, sharpening at 22 vs. 20 shouldn't produce a noticeable difference in the end result. So, at least one alternative is to just sharpen at the next notch. This is what I'd try, and see if the blade performs the way you want.

Thanks for the welcome! I hope Clay does have a trick up his sleeve. Otherwise I'll just have to return this and go to the pro. I love the portability of the F&S though... I just want to be able to sharpen some of my smaller knives that have much more acute angles. Some of my knives have smaller angles and I don't want to change that. A solution I thought of was some kind of extender that lifts the knife up a couple of inches. That would change the angle but I sharpen using a sharpie more than I do to a specific number. The extender would have to be really stiff though and clamp onto the knife securely....

Clay does have some ideas to extend the knife above the clamp that he's mentioned before... no idea on a timeline though. They should work on either model. So definitely check with him before you decide.

A couple of suggestions to offer since I've done about 100 knives on the Field and Sport so far, including quite a few at 20 degrees. First of all, make sure you actually NEED 20 degrees. There are a lot more edges at 22 than 20 in my experience, including several that are actually published with specs showing 20, when they're actually closer to 22.

There are VERY few knives that won't sharpen at 20 degrees. In my experience so far, that's the cut-off angle; anything below that is dependant on the blade width, but at 20, if you make CERTAIN that you are never trying to sharpen with the bottom bolt extended into the vise too far.

Back out both bolts until they are inside the vise frame. Position your knife properly against the ledge in the top of the vise...VERY important. Then tighten the top bolt onto the knife until the knife is held firmly by the top bolt tension only. DON'T over tighten, but tighten it firmly. you should not be able to move the blade by bumping it. THEN, tighten the bottom bolt in. Again, don't reef on it with both hands; remember the knife is already held in place with the upper bolt.

The blade positioning is important with the F&S, and the bolt issue is big. Another work around based on your photo, try sharpening one side of the blade on the clean side of the vise ( the movable side), then turn the knife in the vise and sharpen the other side.

I hope some of that helps!

Thanks for the advice! I spoke to Clay this morning. He was great on the phone and very helpful. He had a couple of suggestions. One was to clamp the knife at the very top of the clamp (which I had tried) and the other suggestion was to let the stones contact the clamp and wear away the coating on the clamp which adds some thickness. Judging from how close the stone gets to the blade edge this might work. He also offered to just let me send in the F&S case, clamp and arms and he'd send me the pro base and arms (I want to keep the stones). I opted for the exchange because even though I like the portability of the F&S I just don't want to have to opt for work-arounds. I'd rather just be able to sharpen as intended. Especially since I am very new to sharpening, etc. Anyway, I am very satisfied with the resolution!

I also am a new user to the F&S system and haven't had great results; my edges are alright, but nothing hair shaving like everybody claims. I think I need to start over with the 100 grit stones and be sure I raise a burr...

I have done my Hinderer XM-18 and Strider SMF which should be 22.5° on each side, so I set the arms on 22°. I started with the 600 grit stones since my edges were in pretty good shape and I did the marker technique on the edge as well. The stones took the marker off all the way to the edge (as far as I could tell; I don't have a loupe currently to check tho), and I worked to the 1000 stones. The edges turned out the same, if not a little bit worse, than what they were when I started. I tried doing the swipes with no pressure and letting the stones do the work; I tried using a bit more pressure to make sure the stones maintained contact with the blade...same results.

Maybe I just need more practice...I debated getting the standard model over the F&S bc you can fine tune the angle (instead of having a more fixed angle of 16, 18, 20, 22, etc.), but I'm not sure that this is my issue. Any suggestions from the pros here

I think the main thing going on is that your stones aren't broken in. The more you use them, the better they'll get and the sharper your edges will be. There are a lot of loose diamonds that need to be knocked off with the first bunch of knives you sharpen.

KadinHunter wrote:

You've GOT to raise a burr all the way along the edge with the 100 before moving on. No matter how long it takes and it could take a while with some of these super steels. Don't move to 200 until you have a burr all the way along the edge.

I sent my F&S back to Clay and I am waiting for the Pro base and arms so I can get back to sharpening!!!!