Long Knife Jig asymmetry problem

[Edwe]

God posting carvingcat, I love pictures.. makes much more sense

So this isnt only the long knife jig, maybe all jigs?
I still think Tormek have to fix this, chims or whatever.

[Elden]

   Welcome to the forum, Wolfy. As Stig (Stickan) has posted, it really is a cosmetic situation.

http://forum.tormek.com/index.php?topic=2577.msg13542#msg13542

[WolfY]

Thanks Elden.

[carvingcat]

Hi guys, I'm new here and this is my first reply

The problem you describe about the angle change as the jig is turned 180 dgrs is of little concern to me too.
But let say for the regular user with the standard jig that use it for years and never got into this measurements, is it a real problem? Let say the sharpening angle difference is 2~3 dgrs.
How much tolerance will you accept?

Carvingcat, Is your jig bent or was it so originally?

This is how it came from new, the original box was undamaged so there was no problem during transport, but to be honest I think it is bent, I'd be very interested to compare it against another one - I can't decide whether to try to straighten it, risking breaking it, or just leave it as it is and adjust the angle for each side.

   Welcome to the forum, Wolfy. As Stig (Stickan) has posted, it really is a cosmetic situation.

http://forum.tormek.com/index.php?topic=2577.msg13542#msg13542

I think it is more than a cosmetic issue, after the first run it was impossible to cut a thin slice of garlic as the knife would slip out sideways on the cut.
Having taken much more time I'm now able to get a superb edge, but I have to do 2 strokes on one side, then flip the knife jig over and completely re-set the desired angle and do 2 strokes on the other. After testing with the knife still in the jig, if it needs further refinement I repeat the process again. It takes time, and it is a pain re-setting the angle (requiring 3 to 4 turns of the adjustable stop) but the final results are impressive - I can slice garlic as thinly as I'd ever need

[Jan]

Thanks Jan, the SVM-45 is identical to the SVM-100 apart from the width of the blade jaws which are 100mm on the SVM-100 and (I assume) 45MM on the SVM-45, they both function in exactly the same way. The knife I'm using here is exactly 2mm thick, and the more I look at the jig the more I think it could be a defective item.

You are welcome, Carvingcat! Congrats to your perfect photo documentation. 

You are probably correct, your knife jig could be defective. Before trying to straighten the jig I would recommend to experiment with centring the knife in the jig using suitable shim (spacer). See the post #37 of this thread.

Jan

[WolfY]

This is how it came from new, the original box was undamaged so there was no problem during transport, but to be honest I think it is bent, I'd be very interested to compare it against another one - I can't decide whether to try to straighten it, risking breaking it, or just leave it as it is and adjust the angle for each side.
http://forum.tormek.com/index.php?topic=2577.msg13542#msg13542

Carvingcat,
To me it looks like it getting the bent after tightening the screw to hard. There is a lot of torque power there. Maybe it was bent originally too, which add to the bent.
With such a bent no wonder you get large angle difference on the knife sides.

As this also bothered me even before seeing your pic's, so I have worked on some ideas on a self centering auto protrusion jig to keep at least the jig end to knife edge as constant as possible.

[Ken S]

Outstanding photography, carvingcat! I will have to clean up my act to keep up with the newer members. Out of curiosity, what lighting do you use?

Ken

[Ken S]

WolfY,

I am of two minds on this. I appreciate accuracy. I also realize that this sharpening was traditionally done by hand and without jigs. I tend to think that historically a couple degrees would not matter.

Ken

[Elden]

Ken and Zeev,

   Check out the accuracy or lack thereof of this sharpening process.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5yENFigHEA

The movement of the knife in the line of the wheel travel when the grinding was started, really jumped out at me. I imagine he gets some Sharp knives, however. Sounds like he does quite a number of knives.

   By the way, I am glad I have a Tormek! Notice the sound of that unit slowing down when under a load.

[carvingcat]

Outstanding photography, carvingcat! I will have to clean up my act to keep up with the newer members. Out of curiosity, what lighting do you use?

Ken

Thank you Ken, here I'm using a couple of Elinchrom D-Lite strobes with some 66cm softboxes attached, set either side of the shot. It's my standard setup for photographing my carving work (www.perrylancaster.com if you're interested). I love them, but any good quality lights will give the same results...

[WolfY]

Ken and Zeev,

   Check out the accuracy or lack thereof of this sharpening process.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5yENFigHEA

The movement of the knife in the line of the wheel travel when the grinding was started, really jumped out at me. I imagine he gets some Sharp knives, however. Sounds like he does quite a number of knives.

   By the way, I am glad I have a Tormek! Notice the sound of that unit slowing down when under a load.

Looks terrible...

[carvingcat]

WolfY,

I am of two minds on this. I appreciate accuracy. I also realize that this sharpening was traditionally done by hand and without jigs. I tend to think that historically a couple degrees would not matter.

Ken

I think if you were sharpening knives by hand all day as a full time job you'd probably be able to get results as good as any of us using the jigs! I tried sharpening a couple of small knives by hand too, and I got reasonable results (for a novice!) - but I bought into the Tormek system for controlled accuracy of sharpening, and I'm delighted with the results for my gouges, it has to be said I'm obsessive about my knives!

[Ken S]

carvingcat,

I looked at your website. Very nice work! I recommend the forum members and guests also check it out.

Keep up the good work and keep posting.

Ken

[carvingcat]

Thank you Ken

[Ken S]

Elden,

What  struck  me as odd about the you tube was that the grinding wheel had a distinct hollow. The presenter later mentioned this. I have not yet watched the first three in the series. The guy seems experienced, however, I was surprised that anyone would make a video with a wheel in obvious need of truing.

I have become a believer in frequent, light truing.

Ken