Tormek honing compound experiments, initial report

[Ken S]

Tormek has designed a well spaced general program: coarse stone (220 grit); fine graded stone (1000 grit); and Honing compound on the leather wheel. This combination works well day in and day out.

However, being a curious person, I enjoy tinkering with the process. The Tormek honing compound has been described as "cutting fast and leaving a fine finish", which it does. Along the sharpening, honing, polishing spectrum, I have wondered if valve grinding compound might perhaps cut a little faster, and perhaps leave not so fine a finish. I was looking for something to augment the process, not to replace the regular honing compound.

I acquired an extra leather honing wheel. As the valve grinding compound has larger granules, I did not want to cross contaminate my existing leather wheel. Referencing another recent post, I removed the leather wheel. I positioned the drive wheel such that the Tormek lettering was upright. When I replaced the leather wheel, I made a small arrow pointing upward and the notation "VGC" for valve grinding compound. I happened to designate the new wheel for the Tormek compound, although either way would have worked equally well.

I found the perfect test tool, a much neglected, rusted 1 1/4" socket chisel. The chisel is probably older than I am, and the rust may be of the same vintage. The handle was long gone, and an earlier owner had hammered on the socket with a steel hammer instead of replacing the handle. For all of this abuse, the chisel was still remarkably sharp. I don't remember how I acquired it; it may have been in a tool chest I bought years ago.

I loaded the wheel with valve grinding compound. This compound was in a small jar (Permatex brand). It was applied easily with a putty knife.

I turned the chisel ninety degrees to the leather wheel and honed in one spot on the back of the chisel for a rough count of sixty seconds. I then did the same with the other wheel and Tormek honing compound further down the back of the chisel.

This is only a preliminary test. I plan to do much more further testing.

Initially, I was surprised with how well each of the compounds did. The results were slightly, but noticeably different. The valve grinding compound removed the surface rust and minor pitting. The surface was smooth and had some shine. This compound also left some small, but noticeable scratches running in the direction of the wheel (side to side on the chisel back).

The Tormek compound did not leave visible scratch marks. It also left a higher gloss polish on the metal. It did not entirely remove the pitting. Either result was acceptable, and a vast improvement to the before situation. At this stage, I don't know what more time would produce for either compound.

My gut feeling (not yet substantiated by testing) is that the valve grinding compound would give basic restoration to a neglected tool more quickly and leave the surface quite smooth. After a quick wheel change, the Tormek compound would finish the job by eliminating the small scratches and leaving a high gloss reflection.

I have several other honing ideas to test. I will report on these as I complete them. Incidentally, I also tried honing with the T4. I did not notice any difference between the T7 and T4 for this operation. One observation, if I planned to do much leather honing wheel switching with the T3 or T4, I would order a spare end nut for the T7. Instead of a regular steel hexagonal nut, the T7 item is an easily grabbed plastic threaded wheel.

I will keep you posted.

Ken

[Ken S]

Day two.

I set up "strops". Instead of using the traditional leather strips, I used pieces of cardboard (Triscuit box) taped onto a piece of heavy glass. I used one for valve grinding compound and one for Tormek honing compound. I used these directly on the backs of two new Irwin Blue chisels, each 3/4".

The set up worked surprisingly well, although I found that a flat piece of wood worked better, especially with the valve grinding compound. The valve grinding compound cut more quickly; the Tormek honing compound left a higher polish. I am approaching the conclusion that using these two compounds as a team may produce better results than using either individually.

I will try MDF, another commonly recommended surface.

While working on these chisels, I was reminded why I purchased a Tormek in the first place. Two of the fingers in my right hand locked up while pressing down on the chisel. That brought back painful memories from my oilstone and water stone days. Remembering past flattening with the Tormek, using the tarmac did not seem any faster than using oil or water stones. It was less painful for my hands. I also remember creating more work for myself during these attempts due to poor technique, something I hope to remedy during these tests.

I will test the method of using VGC (valve grinding compound) on a flat piece of MDF to determine how much out of flat a chisel back is. (I will cover the back with sharpie ink before doing this. What that knowledge, I will switch to either grinding on the side of the Tormek wheel or using VGC or THC (Tormek Honing Compound) on the leather honing wheel. When the chisel back looks uniformly polished, I will mark it again and use the THC to check flatness.

Actually, the chisel is flat enough if the side edges and along the entire bottom of the back is polished flat. If the middle is a bit concave, that is not a problem. The opposite, convex, commonly called a "belly" is a problem and would indicate wither returning to the side of the wheel or returning the chisel for a refund/replacement.