Adopt a grinding buddy

[Elden]

   Have you ever considered taking a fledgling under your wing?

   I have a son who I would love to see take an aggressive interest in the Tormek (referred to as the "T" hereafter in this post). He is a very busy dad who operates a tree service. I sharpen his chainsaw chains for his several saws. He has been shown how to sharpen them and could pick up the process very quickly if necessary, but it is more convenient for old Dad to do it. I have had him help me sharpen some knives on the T as well and he probably will help me more in the future. BUT, he is busy and that really doesn't seem to be his interest, at least at the present.

   Several of the teenage boys at church have had me sharpen knives for them. I have enjoyed doing them for them. As I have stated in the past, using the T for knives is difficult for me as my left hand and arm do not function well. The work which I do, for the most part, must be done with my right arm and hand. Consequently, most all of the knife work is done on a DMT Aligner, as I can still use my left hand to hold the hone assembly. One of the young fellows has a Lansky hone setup. I have mentioned the T to him previously and he has acted interested.

   I have thought about letting him use mine. This past Sunday, I spoke to him about letting him use it and teaching him about it. That will include the great videos available and this forum. His reply? "I'd love to!"

   As all of us are getting older every day, consider it if yours aren't "aggressively interested".

[SharpenADullWitt]

Had a few talks about that kind of stuff and as an example, the Clint Eastwood movie, Gran Torino.  There are always things that one is interested in, that their family will not be, I would much rather see it go to someone who will, then be set aside for years, because it was x's, so it deteriorates.

If one wants to set something aside, sell the stuff and let the money sit and grow.  It will be more help later, then something your going to get less for, because it costs so much to fix.

[Jan]

The idea to pass own skills in the family is of course tempting.  In the family the situation is usually facilitated by the fact that our kids know a lot about sharpening by hearsay and can initially achieve more rapid progress than a foreign apprentice starting from scratch. But in many cases the effort of children to be independent from their parents is stronger.

This situation opens the door for an apprentice from the outside. In my thinking, to invite a boy to learn sharpening, is a great honor for him. The knowledge of sharpening knives may significantly strengthen his position in the boys team.

There is only one think I would be worried about, how carefully will the apprentice protect my investment in TORMEK, including the grinding wheel.

Jan

[Ken S]

Most of us reach a point in life where we need to mentor younger persons. I believe this is one of our finest hours. Just my opinion, I feel that sharing a valued life skill is more meaningful experience than sharing money.

I hope we all find interested younger people to mentor.

Ken

[Elden]

   Those are good comments from all 3 of you.

Randal,
We do have a way of  accumulating things. As you were alluding, some of it we probably won't use again. Other things can come in handy at later time.

Jan,
Quote: "There is only one think I would be worried about, how carefully will the apprentice protect my investment in TORMEK, including the grinding wheel."

   That is a valid concern. I trust he will. My parents and others have previously taken that risk with me. My grinding wheel has seen most of its useful life, therefore, it makes that issue much smaller.

Ken,
   I thoroughly agree with you. Who knows, maybe one day they will become a Tormek owner and user (in this case). I am not planning on giving the T away, at least not now. I still have hopes that my son will eventually become more interested in using it. He is willing to help me with it from time to time.