Honing Wheel and Compound

[Rhino]

I have the exact thing.  It works well.  I did not like it because I don't have patience.

The stone is way smaller than the Tormek.  A 10 inch tormek has 31.4 inch x 3 inch (or was it 2 inch) of grinding surface.  That little stone has half inch by 4 inch of grinding surface.  It means that after a few strokes, your stone will be completely glazed over - even your rough stone - and be useless.  If you think the Tormek glaze over fast, you will be totally surprised with how quickly that stone will glaze over.  Also, since you are not going at 2826 inches a minute where a little glazing can be tolerated because you have so much linear speed, a little glazing really slows you down.  I upgraded to diamond stones on the Lasky system right away because of this.

Second, once I got used to Tormek grinding at 90 rpm or 2826 inches per minute, I couldn't bring myself to use a slow system with a small stone.  Even a diamond small stone is just so slow.

[grepper]

Cool Rhino.  Someone who has one!  Got to remember Herman is talking pocket knives, so in this case small stones are fine.  Diamonds work great.  I sure wish Tormek would come up with a solution for very small blades.  I've suggested something that can grab the handle.

A few more.  There are lots of them.

http://www.wickededgeusa.com/
http://www.expeditionexchange.com/edgepro/
http://www.kmesharp.com/kmeknshsy.html
http://eze-lap.com/hunting_fishing_outdoor_use/knife-sharpening-kit/
http://loraysharpener.com/page2.php

[Elden]

I use a DMT Aligner. They use diamond stones. Amazon, as well as others, carry them.
http://www.dmtsharp.com/news-events/press-releases/dmts-exciting-new-innovations-to-aligner-guided-knife-sharpening-system/

If you want to spend more money, there is the Edge Pro
http://www.edgeproinc.com/

or the Wicked Edge.
http://www.wickededgeusa.com/

[grepper]

I have this DMT system. 
http://www.sharpeningsupplies.com/DMT-Deluxe-Aligner-P2C24.aspx

It has a plastic clamp thing.  It's a little crappy IMHO.  It works sort of OK, but I can't really recommend it. 

The diamond stones are great.  In fact I used one of them tonight to touch up the inner side of some scissors.  In fact I've used the stones a lot.

[Elden]

I know it may look cheap, but I respectfully disagree with you Mark. I have put mine through the paces and it has held up well and works well. It is slow if you are changing or trying to straighten up the profile, however. That why we have the Tormek!

[grepper]

Interesting to hear Elden. You are not alone in thinking it works well.  I only purchased it after reading positive reviews such as yours.

My issues are:

1.  The clamp is a little thick compared to how the metal ones appear in their ads.  I suffered sort of the same kind of issues with very small knives that have a short spine to edge distance, as I do with the Tormek.  The stone hits the edge of the clamp before contacting the blade.  With the Tormek, the clamp hits the wheel.

2. I didn't like the bendy little plastic rod that you twist to slide and lock into place to adjust the angle.  Got to admit... It never broke though!

When I looked at the metal clamps, they looked as if they might work better for very small knives.  However, the DMT is the only one I have ever tried.  It is completely possible that other "systems" have their own issues too. 

The clamp, being plastic, has to be thicker to be stiff. It appears that some of the metal ones are thinner.  But I must say again that I have only used the DMT.  For larger knives it's not an issue... But then I'd use the Tormek!

I've read reviews that said exactly what you did.  Looks cheap, but has worked for years.

The DMT diamond stones have worked well.

I don't mean to disparage a product unnecessarily and the DMT never broke or anything like that.  I am just extremely picky before I would outright recommend a product.

I really appreciate hearing your opinion on this too Elden.   Very interesting.

Thanks!

Mark

[Rob]

So diamonds aren't just a girls best friend now then eh chaps?   

[Elden]

Mark,
As you said the diamond hones are great. To the original kit, I added the XX coarse, X coarse, ceramic, a second medium, a second guide and holder. I had questions that the holder would last, but it has. Understand your view about thickness.
The Tormek gets the knife done in a fraction of the time of the DMT and does it well, but it is a little hard to hold it on my lap while sitting in my recliner! Sometimes I still enjoy the hands on time of hand honing.

[Herman Trivilino]

Thanks Mark and Elden for your thoughtful comments, recommendations, and choices.  I don't want to spend a lot of money.  I already have the Tormek.  What I want is something simple that'll work well for pocket knives that are too small for the Tormek jigs. 

I like the idea of the diamond stone.  I've never used one and am anxious to give them a try.  I'm thinking about one of these two systems:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=dmt+a-prokit

The only difference I see between these two kits is the more expensive one comes with a plastic case and a ceramic rod for serrated edges?  Is that right?

[grepper]

Yup.  Looks that way to me.  Just check the gits of the stones, I think they are the same.  I have the pouch one.  Nice sturdy pouch that fits into a drawer nicely.

The diamond stones will cut a little more aggressively when new, but then they settle down to whatever they are suppose to be.  I too purchased one more aggressive stone.  I find I end up using the blue course one a lot.
http://www.sharpeningsupplies.com/DMT-Diamond-Flat-File-P236C104.aspx

I also purchased this flat file.  Works great for sharpening wire cutters where you can't get anything else between the jaws.  Finally, sharp wire cutters again!

[ionut]

Hi Herman,

You may want to try this http://forum.tormek.com/index.php?topic=1191.msg3308#msg3308 for small knives before you invest more, it costs about 2.37 cents and a couple of minutes.

All the best,
Ionut

[Ken S]

Ionut,

Your small knife jig was a very good idea when you posted it, and it still is.  It remains one of the best examples I have seen of the potential to go beyond the basic Tormek use.  I'm glad you reposted it.

Ken

[Elden]

Herman,
Actually they are the same kits only with the one having the case. They did not have that when I got mine. I made a wooden holding case for mine. You can see the taper for the serrated knives in the picture of the $49 set although it is not mentioned. Unless they have changed it, it is diamond as well. This is the taper I have mentioned using in my other posts.

[Elden]

Ionut,
I ran across your thread on the rest some time ago while going through the old threads. It looks great. It's been on the to do list, it just hasn't made it to the done list yet. I want to say that I have enjoyed reading all your past postings and am glad you are posting again!

[Herman Trivilino]

You may want to try this http://forum.tormek.com/index.php?topic=1191.msg3308#msg3308 for small knives before you invest more, it costs about 2.37 cents and a couple of minutes.

Here's my version.  I used the base of the scissors jig, an old blade from a lawn edger, and two tiny c-clamps.