Two Grinding Wheels

[banjoey]

Is it possible to put the Japanese Wheel in place of the of the leather wheel.  Keeping the 225/1000 wheel on the right side?

J

[Ken S]

Welcome to the forum, Banjoey.

The short answer to your question is no. Since that is not an informative answer, here is the long answer:

The leather honing wheel rides piggyback on the rubber drive wheel. The rubber drive wheel is attached to the drive shaft. The motor shaft rubs against the periphery of the rubber drive wheel.

The difference in diameter between the smaller motor shaft and the larger rubber drive wheel is what causes the speed reduction of the Tormek. While it is certainly theoretically possible to remachine the Tormek to work with two wheels at the same time, it would be more cost effective just to use two Tormeks.

Before you become discouraged, let me offer some less costly alternatives: . I do not believe that most users have fully mastered the stone grader. After using the stone grader for several years I accidentally made a discovery about it. I wanted to see what happened if I used the fine side for a longer time. To my surprise, my grinding wheel was noticeably finer. What I had previously thought was graded fine, which we call 1000 grit was actually somewhere in the middle. Let's call it 600 grit.

The stone grader is really a more versatile tool than Tormek promotes it to be. It is not just 220 or 1000 grit; it can be used to produce intermediate grits. 600 grit is just a guess; the point is that a subtle technique is a more versatile technique. Unfortunately, I think too many Tormek users are too busy sharpening every blade in the shop to spend some quiet time really learning the stone grader.

The same situation is true with the leather honing wheel. Many users prefer fine bench stones. I do wonder how many of them have fully mastered the leather honing wheel before deciding on that preference.

Incidentally, if you are thinking of going directly from the coarse graded SG to the SJ (bypassing the fine grading of the SG), don't do it. Just like with bench stones, using finer stones in progression makes the scratch pattern finer. The SJ is a polishing stone; it is not designed to remove much metal.

The EZYlock shaft makes wheel changing very fast. For small volume sharpening, it makes wheel changing practical.

Do not overlook the effect of ending with light pressure passes.

Keep posting. All questions should have answers.

Ken

[banjoey]

Ken what an awesome reply!

I have been working BBQ Cook Off events.  I have been using two tormeks.  What an incredible machine.  Two weeks ago at an event the t-8 ran pretty much for 11 hours NON-Stop and my T-4 worked as hard as a T-4 could!!

I too have found that different pressures with the grading stone will produce I believe an even finer grit.  I use the stone hard at first.  Gives me that course.  Then I re-do it with the course grit but with less pressure. 
Third step will be to use the fine grit with more pressure and a fourth time with light pressure but longer! 

Thank you for confirming my thoughts about achieving multiple grits using the stone with different pressures and length of time.

I have been a wicked edge user for a long time.  But with the Water Stone...I don't use it as often.  The Tormek with the Water stone gives me all the options. 

I have to admit I haven't really mastered the leather wheen.  I will do a rough debur with the wheel then go to some manual strophs I have made using a finer and finer strophing spray.

I get a wonderfully sharp knife in usually less than 10 minutes.  As I get more experienced my times go down and quality goes up!!

Thank you again for the great reply.

Joseph

[Ken S]

Great work, Joseph!

Your Tormeks get quite a workout. I would add one comment about your T4 "working as hard as a T4 could". I believe the thirty minute duty cycle is an artificial limitation relating to the T3. The all plastic housing of the T3 retained heat and caused some melting problems from overheating. The T4, a major redesign, corrected the overheating problem. The machined zinc top acts as a radiator and safely disperses the heat. As you know, the machined zinc top was later incorporated into the T8. In my experience, this operator needs a rest long before the T4!

The Tormek can be a much more capable machine than is advertised. The marketing is for new beginners. The new purchaser needs to reach a certain level quickly and easily and quickly. In today's immediate gratification world, most people are not interested in a course of self study. A serious Tormek user has a machine which is very versatile.

If you read the first topic "bolted" to the top of this section, the tips and techniques topic, you will find my thoughts on learning the Tormek. I did not intent to become lengthy, however, the length has produced many more ideas. I prefer to work with chisels, as they are simpler, only one straight brvel, and easy to see. By having several identical tools, you can learn about the effects of things like different grinding pressures. You can, and should, do the same thing with knives.

Find a well lit, comfortable place to set up when you do not have time constraints. Spend some relaxed time really learning your leather honing wheel. You may end up still preferring your present method, which is fine. Your preference will be a better informed choice, based on competency in both methods. It will also give you the skill of being able to switch methods when circumstances change.

If you will allow me a shameless plug, do a member search for Rich Colvin. Rich's signature contains a link to the online Sharpener's Handbook he has assembled. Rich has included an article I wrote about the kenjig, originally called the Knife Setting Tool. This method is easy to learn. You can make the jig in a minute from one small piece of cardboard (or plywood for the deluxe method). There is nothing to buy. It will automate setting the knife jigs for different sizes of knives. With complete accuracy, you can shave time off of the set up of every knife. Try it.

Must dash.  Keep posting!

Ken

[banjoey]

Great work, Joseph!

Your Tormeks get quite a workout. I would add one comment about your T4 "working as hard as a T4 could". I believe the thirty minute duty cycle is an artificial limitation relating to the T3. The all plastic housing of the T3 retained heat and caused some melting problems from overheating. The T4, a major redesign, corrected the overheating problem. The machined zinc top acts as a radiator and safely disperses the heat. As you know, the machined zinc top was later incorporated into the T8. In my experience, this operator needs a rest long before the T4!

The Tormek can be a much more capable machine than is advertised. The marketing is for new beginners. The new purchaser needs to reach a certain level quickly and easily and quickly. In today's immediate gratification world, most people are not interested in a course of self study. A serious Tormek user has a machine which is very versatile.

If you read the first topic "bolted" to the top of this section, the tips and techniques topic, you will find my thoughts on learning the Tormek. I did not intent to become lengthy, however, the length has produced many more ideas. I prefer to work with chisels, as they are simpler, only one straight brvel, and easy to see. By having several identical tools, you can learn about the effects of things like different grinding pressures. You can, and should, do the same thing with knives.

Find a well lit, comfortable place to set up when you do not have time constraints. Spend some relaxed time really learning your leather honing wheel. You may end up still preferring your present method, which is fine. Your preference will be a better informed choice, based on competency in both methods. It will also give you the skill of being able to switch methods when circumstances change.

If you will allow me a shameless plug, do a member search for Rich Colvin. Rich's signature contains a link to the online Sharpener's Handbook he has assembled. Rich has included an article I wrote about the kenjig, originally called the Knife Setting Tool. This method is easy to learn. You can make the jig in a minute from one small piece of cardboard (or plywood for the deluxe method). There is nothing to buy. It will automate setting the knife jigs for different sizes of knives. With complete accuracy, you can shave time off of the set up of every knife. Try it.

Must dash.  Keep posting!

Ken

Ken,

As a coder by trade I am really research orientated.  Before I purchased this, I had already been through ALL the wonderful references you mentioned above. 

As far as your articles above.  I can't say enough how helpful they were and are!  I believe the online Sharpener's Handbook was one of the first references I found when I ventured into this. 

My first BBQ Event I worked my T-4 pretty much for 11 hours.  I sharpened over 100 knives that day.  What an amazing machine. 

I am awaiting my Japanese Water Stone to arrive now. 

Ken thank you!

Joseph