Wicked Edge clamp vs FFG + distal taper

F

Fred S2

Joined
Sep 5, 2008
Messages
185
Any insight on how the WE clamp holds on FFG blades with plenty of distal taper?
Think Spyderco Military. I generally use a Lansky, and the WE clamp looks like it is very similar in function (although much better quality) when compared to the Lansky. That being said, the Lansky sucks at holding the Military.

The Lansky is even worse on swedge grinds like BM 94x, and I have a couple of those in addition to the 5-6 Militaries

I am considering either Edge Pro or WE, and right now my big hangup is the clamp on the WE.

Pics of a WE holding on to a Military would be cool.
 
Fred S2 said:
Any insight on how the WE clamp holds on FFG blades with plenty of distal taper?
Think Spyderco Military. I generally use a Lansky, and the WE clamp looks like it is very similar in function (although much better quality) when compared to the Lansky. That being said, the Lansky sucks at holding the Military.

The Lansky is even worse on swedge grinds like BM 94x, and I have a couple of those in addition to the 5-6 Militaries

I am considering either Edge Pro or WE, and right now my big hangup is the clamp on the WE.

Pics of a WE holding on to a Military would be cool.
Click to expand...

Waiting anxiously to see if anyone has any input on this. I too use the lanky and it sucks for swedge....
 
Fred S2 said:
Any insight on how the WE clamp holds on FFG blades with plenty of distal taper?
Think Spyderco Military. I generally use a Lansky, and the WE clamp looks like it is very similar in function (although much better quality) when compared to the Lansky. That being said, the Lansky sucks at holding the Military.

The Lansky is even worse on swedge grinds like BM 94x, and I have a couple of those in addition to the 5-6 Militaries

I am considering either Edge Pro or WE, and right now my big hangup is the clamp on the WE.

Pics of a WE holding on to a Military would be cool.
Click to expand...


I'm a new WE owner and do not have a ffg? I can say since no one seems to be weighing in? I have clamped about a dozen different knifes now and the clamp is rock solid! I had my doubts when I tightened the top screw and the knife moved? I then tightened the bottom screw and the knife was like it got welded in! I have seen on you tube were some use a 1" square of chamois to "custom" fit the blade? I would buy with confidence!! Just my .02, hope that it might help your decision?
 
The trouble I have with the Lansky clamp is not so much the FFG grind, because I can get the Lansky clamp to grip that OK, it is the distal taper really needs the clamp to angle in 2 dimensions, and the screws and the flat surfaces on the clamp only allow for angle in 1 dimension. I can see how the Edge pro lets the flat of the blade sit down tight on the table, but the WE/Lansky clamp doesn't seem to cope well.
 
Some people have had success in using double sided foam tape on both sides of the blade, to cushion it in the clamp.
 
Clay made some videos of sharpening a PM2, take a look:

http://www.wickededgeusa.com/index.php?option=com_hwdvideoshare&task=viewvideo&Itemid=77&video_id=28

He also did one of sharpening a BM 940:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixzRZGSLaIw

He recommended foam tape in the videos for the FFG which I used and it does help, I was able to clamp my PM2 and 940's fine. He later recommended using moleskin which I also tried and I like it better.

I've done a bunch of 940's on mine and got great edges. The PM2 was a little trickier, not so much because of the clamp but because of the stones. There was one spot about 1/4" long right by the ricasso that I could not reach with the stock stones; the plastic overhangs the stone a bit and would hit the blade, preventing me from getting that last bit of edge sharp. Clay recommended the Chosera stones since they are thicker and that solved the problem.

Very happy with my Wicked Edge overall.
 
I see the foam deal looking pretty good on the FFG, but he does cheat a bit on the 940 by clamping on the flat back by the thumb stud. I did my 943 like that with my lansky, and got way too low of a bevel up by the tip, which is thin enough that it doesnt need any help in being fragile.

Really my agony is that the Lansky either is made badly enough or I have to tighten it down so far to really hold the blade that I have to use the 20 deg hole on the screw side and the 17 on the non-screw side to get even sorta even bevels. When I see the WE Clamp, I see a beefed up Lansky. That may well be enough to make the clamp amazing, but I just don't know.

Still not even close to deciding between WE and EP, but a clamp that wont hold a FFG + distal taper blade tightly and centered is an automatic washout
 
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