Clamp of the week... (or try something different)...

[cbwx34]

It works!

This week... try something different!   
(Post it here!)

[Jan]

Great idea, CB. Thanks for sharing. 

Jan

[Ken S]

Clever.

Ken

[wanderingwhittler]

CB, great idea, both for the clamp and for the thread!

I may have to dust off my old Lansky just to say I've tried it...

[Jan]

I have tested the Lansky knife clamp on Tormek and can confirm that it works and really has a self-centering capability mentioned by CB. 

The Lansky knife clamp is of subtle construction, the jaws are only 25 mm wide and so the grip is not very firm. It is made of extruded aluminum. The quality of manufacturing is not comparable with zinc Tormek knife jig.

My Lansky clamp has a notched design. The notches are good for holding small and narrow blades, e.g. pocket knife blades.

The Lansky clamp holds good blades with parallel sides also, provided they are wide enough.

The Lansky clamp does not provide good grip for strongly tapering blades, esp. those which are not sufficiently wide. The grip is reduced by the notches, because here the jaws are not in contact with the blade.

Jan

[Ken S]

Interesting observations, Jan.

I think of the Tormek jigs as parabolas. At the base of the parabola are tools which can not or should not be sharpened with the Tormek using that jig. As we move up the slope, we encounter tools which can be sharpened with that jig, although not ideally. Ascending the slope further, we encounter tools which are sharpened very well with the jig. The same conditions apply as we pass the apex and descend. For my work, essentially basic kitchen knives and pocket knives, the Tormek knife jigs work nicely. In fact, I could work with only the standard Tormek knife jig.

If I was doing more challenging knife sharpening, I would look into more specialized jigs. Wootz has a set of Tormek knife jigs modified with a milling machine to accomodate a wider range of thicknesses while maintaining good centering. If I needed some of the features of the Lansky jig, but required a more robust jig like the Tormek, I would work with a machinist and have one custom made. The Tormek is designed to work very well with the upper regions of the parabola. Someone who works on the fringes will need to improvise. My first improvation choices would be a Herman style small platform and/or milling the jig slots like Wootz has done. If I needed to go beyond that, I would look into custom machining.

I consider a small platform essential. I do not know why Tormek does not make one. Herman's design using the scissors jig platform is well designed and modestly priced. I really like the idea of using the knife jig assembly for the T2, although the hundred dollar price for just the parts seems excessive.

I think the Tormek is a very versatile machine, which can be even more versatile with intelligent individual modifications.

Ken

[Jan]

Yes, Ken, you are correct! 
The Lansky knife clamp can easily be redesigned for the use with Tormek. The simplicity with which the self-centering capability is achieved is amazing.

Jan

[Plekter]

Does the Lansky clamp give approximately the same total lenght from the USB to the stone as the Tormek clamp?

[Jan]

No, the distance for the Lansky knife clamp is much smaller, only circa 100 mm. You have to lower/bring near the USB adequately. 

Jan

[Fernando]

Before tormek my main sharpening system was lansky, because I mainly sharpened victorinox Swiss knives with diamond stones, and when time is not a problem, lansky is an excellent option, it has a good cost - benefit, it is a good option for those little blades of folding knives, but now with tormek I think it could solve the self-centering problem, and grab small razor blades, with the improvement of speed. I like the idea
It is good to try new alternatives 

[RickKrung]

CB,

How is the Lansky for pivoting? 


This thread has re-invigorated my interest in working on a self-centering jig for the Tormek.  The Lansky is right down the line I was thinking of for the jaw portion.  It is just how to combine that with the round shaft of the Tormek jigs.  I have a couple ideas that need to be tried.  I've ordered two of the Lansky jigs as a leg-up on the jaws.  I envision making jaws that are wider once the adaptation to the round shaft is worked out.  (please contain yourself, CB  )

Rick

[cbwx34]

CB,

How is the Lansky for pivoting? 

This thread has re-invigorated my interest in working on a self-centering jig for the Tormek.  The Lansky is right down the line I was thinking of for the jaw portion.  It is just how to combine that with the round shaft of the Tormek jigs.  I have a couple ideas that need to be tried.  I've ordered two of the Lansky jigs as a leg-up on the jaws.  I envision making jaws that are wider once the adaptation to the round shaft is worked out.  (please contain yourself, CB  )

Rick

Actually worked better than I thought... might make a good platform for you to experiment with.  (And yes, I'm containing myself)...

[RickKrung]

Actually worked better than I thought... might make a good platform for you to experiment with.  (And yes, I'm containing myself)...

I am still waiting for them to be delivered.  One with the rubber inserts at the jaw and one regular one.  Former is due for delivery today.  I figure to lop off the wings and shorten the jaws so there is room to join them on a shaft.  We'll see. 

Rick

[RickKrung]

Actually worked better than I thought... might make a good platform for you to experiment with.  (And yes, I'm containing myself)...

I am still waiting for them to be delivered.  One with the rubber inserts at the jaw and one regular one.  Former is due for delivery today.  I figure to lop off the wings and shorten the jaws so there is room to join them on a shaft.  We'll see. 

Rick

They both arrived today.  But I am grossly disappointed.

First off, I'm not at all impressed with the finish.  These appear to be cutoff from extrusions that have been sand blasted to hide machining marks and create a uniform surface appearance.  My view of them is that they have been over-blasted, creating an overly rough surface. 

The rubber jawed one doesn't hold a blade firmly.  The blade wiggles even with the knobs tightened as much as I can with my fingers. I didn't want to use pliers as I think that shouldn't be necessary and I think I'll be returning these, so didn't want to damage them.  I realize these jigs are designed to hold a blade stationary while an abrasive is gently slid over the bevels, so perhaps these jaws hold fine for that, but I find them unsuitable for use with the Tormek.

The notched jaw (standard?) one also doesn't hold a blade firmly either.  One jaw is flat, but the other jaw is crowned (higher in the middle) and the blade wiggles even worse than the rubber jawed one.  I think the notch is useless and only compromises the rest of the jig.  This one uses a phillips/flat screw head requiring a screwdriver to tighten for adjusting the jaw opening width, which I find annoying.  The rubber jawed one uses a red topped knob, but the jig surface is recessed to compensate for the knob's height. 

On both, there is a very slight recess where the locking screw presses to tighten the blade, but it is too shallow and the jaws "walk" apart when the knob is tightened on the notched jaw jig.  The other one doesn't, but I think that is solely due to the rubber inserts as opposed to the screw tip staying in the recess on its own. 

My assessment is that these jigs do not provide a suitable platform for experimenting with developing a self-centering jig.  I'll either fabricate something from aluminum stock that more closely resembles the Tormek jig or take one of my unmodified jaw SVM-45 (knife jig) jigs and cut off the shaft and make other mods I think are necessary for a self-centering jig. 

In fairness, these may work fine for use in the Lansky system. I just think they are not a good match for the Tormek. 

Rick

[cbwx34]

They both arrived today.  But I am grossly disappointed.

First off, I'm not at all impressed with the finish.  These appear to be cutoff from extrusions that have been sand blasted to hide machining marks and create a uniform surface appearance.  My view of them is that they have been over-blasted, creating an overly rough surface. 

The rubber jawed one doesn't hold a blade firmly.  The blade wiggles even with the knobs tightened as much as I can with my fingers. I didn't want to use pliers as I think that shouldn't be necessary and I think I'll be returning these, so didn't want to damage them.  I realize these jigs are designed to hold a blade stationary while an abrasive is gently slid over the bevels, so perhaps these jaws hold fine for that, but I find them unsuitable for use with the Tormek.

The notched jaw (standard?) one also doesn't hold a blade firmly either.  One jaw is flat, but the other jaw is crowned (higher in the middle) and the blade wiggles even worse than the rubber jawed one.  I think the notch is useless and only compromises the rest of the jig.  This one uses a phillips/flat screw head requiring a screwdriver to tighten for adjusting the jaw opening width, which I find annoying.  The rubber jawed one uses a red topped knob, but the jig surface is recessed to compensate for the knob's height. 

On both, there is a very slight recess where the locking screw presses to tighten the blade, but it is too shallow and the jaws "walk" apart when the knob is tightened on the notched jaw jig.  The other one doesn't, but I think that is solely due to the rubber inserts as opposed to the screw tip staying in the recess on its own. 

My assessment is that these jigs do not provide a suitable platform for experimenting with developing a self-centering jig.  I'll either fabricate something from aluminum stock that more closely resembles the Tormek jig or take one of my unmodified jaw SVM-45 (knife jig) jigs and cut off the shaft and make other mods I think are necessary for a self-centering jig. 

In fairness, these may work fine for use in the Lansky system. I just think they are not a good match for the Tormek. 

Rick

Well that's too bad.  Your post did remind me of a thread on Bladeforums a while back, where someone who had numerous Lanskys over the years said the quality had declined.  (Mine is well over a decade old).

Good thing I contained my excitement!