grading with diamond plates works way better

[Stickan]

Hi ,
When there is discussions about sharpening and edges we almost never talk about the fact of pressure.
Next time you true the stone, take a chisel or a plane blade and try different pressure on the tool.  Sharpen half of the tools edge with normal pressure and less pressure on the second half.
There is a huge difference already on a stone that is about 220 grid.
Use the fine side of the stonegrader about 40 seconds on the stone and try the same thing when the stone is about 1000 grid. Still a difference.

I think I do apply more pressure while sharpening than the common Tormek user but always use very little pressure the last 5-10 seconds before I hone the tool.
That gives me a perfect edge every time.

Our stonegrader is what we find most efficient to use on our stones. We know that a diamondplate can flatten the grids/stone perfectly at the same height and give a great result. However, after a while grids will break and make scratches on the tools surface.
So we don't find it good enough and therefore offer the Japanese stone.
After use it takes me about 1 minute to clean the stone with our SP-650 so I cant see any reason to buy other stones to use.
With that said, we all do things a bit different and even when using the stonegrader we use different pressure which will give us a different view of the stonegrader.
I see the stonegrader as the stones best friend and could not use a Tormek without having it close to the machine.

Sincerely,
Stig

[Ken S]

My new photographic "darkroom" (Macbook Pro laptop) has Apple's "latest and greatest" touch sensitive trackpad. It is capable of doing more tricks than I know by using varying finger pressure. It's easy to forget that the Tormek can work the same way. Stig makes an excellent point.

Periodically I reread the handbook and watch the videos on the tormek.com site. This repetition has never failed to provide more than I knew before. It is easy to forget things like how many different ways the tool rest (SVD-110) can be used or how versatile the TTS-100 can be (it can be used for more than turning tools).It is easy to get into a rut. I find I need to refresh my study of the basics from time to time. In our quest to make the Tormek more versatile for our needs, we should not forget the versatility of a solid basic technique.

I plan to spend a fair amount of time honing my basic Tormek skills and knowledge this month. I will include substantial time working with the stone grader. I will post my progress.

Ken