Been experimenting with the WS a little today. I had noticed that, even though by my eyes I was holding a knife straight up on both the right and left sides of the belt, I was not always getting a consistent angle on each side. When freehanding or even when using a guide, sometimes the bevel would be cut a bit differently on the two sides. This usually took the form of a shallower, more acute angle on the left side of the blade, which was sharpened on the right side of the belt.
I am guessing that this is caused by one of two factors, or maybe a combination of the two: (1) My eyes have a slightly different perspective on the blade when it is positioned on the right side of the belt vs. the left side; (2) The downward moving belt on the right side might cut the blade in a slightly different way than the upward moving belt on the left side.
An additional issue I was having when using the "traditional" method of doing a stroke on the right side, then a stroke on the left, was the movement at the end of the stroke where the handle is lifted to follow the curve of the belly, and moved out a bit at the very end so as to keep the narrowing tip section in contact (lightly and slightly!) with the belt. I am right handed, and while this movement is pretty easy on the right side of the belt, on the left side, it is more awkward and difficult.
So, my experiment is that I tried sharpening with a normal swipe on the right side, and then instead of going to the left side, I turn the knife around and hold it with the blade facing me (hammer style). I then draw it back across the same right side of the belt, pulling it away from me.
This "pull away" method keeps the blade in about the same position relative to my eyes, so that the spine can be kept at a consistent angle for each stroke. It likewise means that all sharpening is being done with the belt moving downwards and away from the edge. Finally, it also affords a new way of doing the "lift handle up and (slightly) out" movement that any blade with a belly and a narrowing tip requires.
So far so good. The pull away movement is a little awkward at first, but gets easier with practice. It takes a little longer than the "normal" method, because you have to re-position the knife in your hand between every stroke. For that reason, when I'm in a hurry or just being lazy, I use the normal method. But when I'm being slow and deliberate, especially with a knife that's giving me trouble, I find this technique to be helpful. I'm still experimenting, and this could ultimately turn out to be a flop, but I thought others might like to try it.
Comments and criticisms are welcome.
Andrew
