Proof of concept - small blades

[micha]

Yesterday's Salmon knife thread made me think about a simple solution for very small and thin blades.

Using shims was a first approach, which held the knife, but of course not very firmly.
I thought about using something as a separator or spacer between the two shims.

Found some rubber today and decided to give it a go.

I hope the pictures will make it clear. Basically, it's just two pieces of feeler gauge stock 0,5mm and a thin segment of rubber in a duct-tape cover. Altering the width of that rubber segment could make things even better.

Even with this quick-and-easy approach I could clamp the knife with quite some protrusion, back of the spine even shifted beyond the jig's edge. It centered ok and clamped firmly enough for the knife to be ground. Taping the blade might result in an even firmer grip. I could have lowered the angle to about 10° without grinding into the jig.
Finally I can sharpen my old DE razor blades, too. (just kiddding...)

The same could be done for the SVM 140, of course.

Just wanted to share that, I'd be glad to hear about your thoughts or ideas for improvement.

Mike

[cbwx34]

Yesterday's Salmon knife thread made me think about a simple solution for very small and thin blades.

Using shims was a first approach, which held the knife, but of course not very firmly.
I thought about using something as a separator or spacer between the two shims.

Found some rubber today and decided to give it a go.

I hope the pictures will make it clear. Basically, it's just two pieces of feeler gauge stock 0,5mm and a thin segment of rubber in a duct-tape cover. Altering the width of that rubber segment could make things even better.

Even with this quick-and-easy approach I could clamp the knife with quite some protrusion, back of the spine even shifted beyond the jig's edge. It centered ok and clamped firmly enough for the knife to be ground. Taping the blade might result in an even firmer grip. I could have lowered the angle to about 10° without grinding into the jig.
Finally I can sharpen my old DE razor blades, too. (just kiddding...)

The same could be done for the SVM 140, of course.

Just wanted to share that, I'd be glad to hear about your thoughts or ideas for improvement.

Mike

Looks like an idea worth pursuing! 👍

[micha]

I've played around further with the thingama-jig™ and fixed some multiblade pocketknives. Utility razor blades were great for testing, too.
Thin Painter's tape is helpful in both improving grip and protecting the blade, if necessary.
Results and especially appearance are notably better than the outcome of my imperfect freehand skills. (I keep on working on freehanding either, but I'm just not ready.)

The thickness of the rubber layer is quite critical, it must be slightly thicker than the back of the knife, especially with tapered blades. I've yet to find some softer rubber material, that would probably adapt to a wider range of blade thicknesses.

[cbwx34]

Your mod reminded me a bit of a homemade "Low Angle Adapter" someone made for another sharpener...



... seemed to give a similar result.

I have some rubber drawer liner that holds pretty well... (just don't have anything around to make the clamp out of...yet).

[micha]

CB,
that's also a great idea.
And thanks for mentioning the drawer liner - I think some sponge rubber will do just fine and be more yielding. I'll give that a try. 

Mike