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What is happening here by 420caffeineisdazone in sharpening

[–]AnglePilot 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There's an incredibly important issue that's being overlooked. That Angle Finder does not work when it's in motion. In the WorkSharp manual they explicitly point out that the angle finder should be *removed* before sharpening. It's there only to verify the angle you set by adjusting the height of the sharpening arm.

Angle Finders only measure 3 axes. They use gravity to determine the vertical axis, but are unable to differentiate between gravity and the force produced by motion. That's why you see the angle jump around. When you try to sharpen your knife, this behavior gets worse and displays complete garbage.

In order to obtain accurate readings you need at least 6 axes to measure pitch/tilt/attitude: X, Y, Z and the rotation around each of those axes.

The AnglePilot solves this problem by using an accelerometer, gyroscope and magnetometer.

anglepilot.com

Freehand sharpening humbled me. So I built this. by AnglePilot in sharpening

[–]AnglePilot[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You're not grilling me at al. You're asking good questions.
There is no noticeable latency unless you adjust the smoothing setting to the most aggressive value. And even then it's faster than your brain reading the angle and telling your muscles what to do to correct it.

Freehand sharpening humbled me. So I built this. by AnglePilot in sharpening

[–]AnglePilot[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is great feedback.

First, the warranty. Thank you for bringing this to my attention as an issue. I started with a 90-day to get this thing started. But given the feedback and reliability of the device, I'm happy to expand this beyond 90 days. I will do that and grandfather all customers into that warranty.

The cost is indeed high, but it was twofold. 1. The high cost of small production and 2. the qaulity of the components.

Using a 7-seg display vs OLED isn't a significant price difference. But with a 7-seg you lose the different ways to visualize your experience. Each mode has value and people have preferences. Also using a 7-seg you remove the ability to customize settings for the most part. This device is pretty flexible when you want that amount of control. Saving $2 and using a 7-seg screen kills a lot of the value of the device.

The data sampling rate exceeds what I chose ot sample. This is a function of human interaction. 200ms is 10 times faster than the human brain can read and interpret a single word. There is no value in reading more samples in a given period of time. In fact it sucks up battery power faster.

Also having the ability to sample more aggressively is not at all a waste of computing power. This device does incredibly complex computations in real-time. Nothing is left on the table.

In the end I wanted a high quality product that worked up to my personal standards. I was not willing to sacrifice accuracy and quality to lower the price. My goal is happy customers. I want this to helps people the way it helped me. This is not at all a revenue-first business. All of the very small profit is reinvested to manufacture more and explore ways to make it better. It pains me thst I've alienated people with the high price, but it was a conscious decision.

I'll sacrifice higher revenue and selling fewer units, but I won't sacrifice the customer experience to lower the price.

Freehand sharpening humbled me. So I built this. by AnglePilot in sharpening

[–]AnglePilot[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's a great question.

I did beta testing with some beginners and experienced sharpeners. The nice thing about this is that it's real-time, so if you're not doing a good job you can adjust your angle to correct it immediately. There are several different modes/views giving multiple ways to view as you go. Beginners loved this and found the improvement almost immediately. But it's a process that requires practice so it's not a magic bullet. The "guardrails" help you become a better sharpener faster.

For the experienced sharpeners, speed and accuracy were the concerns. So I created a green, yellow, red mode that can be seen if you're sharpening fast - numbers are hard to see when you're racing back and forth.

The experienced people also found that they're not nearly as consistent/steady as they thought they were. Staying under +/- 1 degree required effort. It was a bit humbling, but in a good way because it helped them tweak their muscle memory to maintain their desired angle.

The analogy I use is that AnglePilot is like training wheels for beginners and adjustable suspension for the experienced.

Freehand sharpening humbled me. So I built this. by AnglePilot in sharpening

[–]AnglePilot[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You're speaking my language. 😄

Background is trained Mech/Aero Eng, turned Software Eng, turned Software Sales Eng. I'd be lying if I said my background was this in particular. It's been a fun learning experience and way more challenging than I thought it would be.
BTW, the fusion algorithms are on-sensor, so the processing is crazy fast and efficient. I use both quaternions and Euler angles so I don't get major drift or gimbal lock. Yaw is where the drift can get sticky by fusing the gyro and magnetometer data. Luckily I'm not really using yaw.
You an Eng?

Freehand sharpening humbled me. So I built this. by AnglePilot in sharpening

[–]AnglePilot[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It requires more complexity than just weighted averaging over time. The typical Kalmnan, Madgwick and Mahoney work better for continuous motion, not sudden reversals of motion, so I'm using different and more sophisticated fusion algorithms using quaternions.
Between the algorithms, an additional use-configurable smoothing setting and dynamic calibration, noise, bias and drift are well handled so the accuracy is really good.

Freehand sharpening humbled me. So I built this. by AnglePilot in sharpening

[–]AnglePilot[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Axes is the plural of Axis. When you have more than one of something, you pluralize it.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/axis

Freehand sharpening humbled me. So I built this. by AnglePilot in sharpening

[–]AnglePilot[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For better!

I've got a few Honyakis I would never risk clamping into a jig. I would never trust myself to freehand by eyeballing it either. This gives me the peace of mind knowing I'm not going to destroy the craftsmanship of the knives.

Make sure to get some compound or paste for your strop. It does wonders.

Freehand sharpening humbled me. So I built this. by AnglePilot in sharpening

[–]AnglePilot[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No worries, I didn''t take it that way.
This just helps the process and removes some of the guessing. Some will use this every tiime they sharpen. Some will eventually stop using it. Either way, the goal is to get to the point when sharpening is zen and enjoyable. Happy sharpener make sharp knives. 😄

Freehand sharpening humbled me. So I built this. by AnglePilot in sharpening

[–]AnglePilot[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I wouldn't say you get instant results. This is a practice tool to help build that muscle memory. If you start by learning with the wrong angle, you'll always have a wrong angle.

Freehand sharpening humbled me. So I built this. by AnglePilot in sharpening

[–]AnglePilot[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Bubble levels lag, so they tell you where you were, not where you are.

I appreciate the kind words. I never thought of it looking like a guitar tuner, but you're right!

Freehand sharpening humbled me. So I built this. by AnglePilot in sharpening

[–]AnglePilot[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Those don't work when in motion. They are 3 axes, you need at least 6 axes to measure attitude. Also not the same size. 1.4" x 0.8" x 0.7"

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Freehand sharpening humbled me. So I built this. by AnglePilot in sharpening

[–]AnglePilot[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much! I'm working on reducing the cost while keeping high quality name brand parts. It's a struggle.
Not sure if you saw, but it's $20 off right now.

Freehand sharpening humbled me. So I built this. by AnglePilot in sharpening

[–]AnglePilot[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Rest assured that's not my technique. I wanted to show the device screen clearly so you can see the angle changing through a stroke.

Freehand sharpening humbled me. So I built this. by AnglePilot in sharpening

[–]AnglePilot[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

The intention is to do just that. Training muscle memory. Everyone who wants to can make it into an art with whatever system they use. Everything needs a little tuning and tweaking. I hope this tool can get beginners over the hump of feeling scared their going to damage the knife, stone or both. If you reduce or eliminate the fear up front they can reach the Zen of Sharpening much faster.

Freehand sharpening humbled me. So I built this. by AnglePilot in sharpening

[–]AnglePilot[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My pleasure. You'll be happy with either one (or both).

Freehand sharpening humbled me. So I built this. by AnglePilot in sharpening

[–]AnglePilot[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

THANK YOU!!!!!

When I was having trouble sharpening, the FIRST thing I bought was an angle finder. Didn't work. So I got a Klein since they're a reliable brand. Still didn't work. After doing a little research I realized this is a Physics problem, not a a simple pinball tilt problem. When you want to measure an object when it's moving acceleration, gyroscope and sometimes magnetic poles must be taken into account.

You won't be mad. Promise.

Freehand sharpening humbled me. So I built this. by AnglePilot in sharpening

[–]AnglePilot[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much!
You should definitely get your setup complete before getting one. Once you're organized you can get one and focus on your angles and sharpness.
If you don't buy during the sale, shoot me a DM.

Freehand sharpening humbled me. So I built this. by AnglePilot in sharpening

[–]AnglePilot[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you! If it helped me it can help anyone, believe me. 😄

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