carving knives freehand

[dasrott]

ok i hav read all the books and the forum and im struggling with using the small knife jig with carving knives. they are all different shape and size and its quite difficult. what im wondering, and this might be not considered correct is to sharpen without the jig, that is freehand. Im not looking for a edge that i can measure bess with im simply looking for a sharp carving knife. Just wondering what folks opinions are. Should i keep at it and try and find the way to use the jig or should i just rely on feel? I have been carving and sharpening for a long time so i think i can be pretty successful doing it freehand. just wondering

[cbwx34]

ok i hav read all the books and the forum and im struggling with using the small knife jig with carving knives. they are all different shape and size and its quite difficult. what im wondering, and this might be not considered correct is to sharpen without the jig, that is freehand. Im not looking for a edge that i can measure bess with im simply looking for a sharp carving knife. Just wondering what folks opinions are. Should i keep at it and try and find the way to use the jig or should i just rely on feel? I have been carving and sharpening for a long time so i think i can be pretty successful doing it freehand. just wondering

Sharpening freehand, I would say yes... and no.

If you have the skill, and get the results you want, freehand is a quick and easy way to get the job done.  I've recommended it before, and you'll see a lot of commercial sharpeners do it, if for no other reason than to handle the volume.

But for carving knives, it may be a different story.  (This is just my observation of seeing what carving knife users prefer... not something I do).  Some carvers seem to prefer the hollow grind the wheel creates... they will create it, then maintain the knife on a strop (similar to a straight razor), using the Tormek only occasionally to "reset" the hollow.  This would be hard to do without the aid of the jig.  The small size of the knife itself, also would benefit from being held in a jig.  Finally, (and again this depends on your skill level), a freehand edge may not be "as sharp" as a guided one on such a knife... again it may be "good enough" for what you want/need though.

In looking at your posts, it appears you've only had your Tormek a few days.  I think this may not be enough time to "give up" on the small knife jig?  Perhaps post what specific problems you might be having, and see if there's a solution.  But, I would say, at this point, I'd give the small knife holder more of a chance... spend a bit of time with it each day until you're more comfortable with it.  Set it down if you become frustrated.  I think in the long run, you will get the hang of it, and it would produce better results for the task.

There is a carver you may want to look up on YouTube and Instagram "Spoon Carving with Tom".  He does some of what I mentioned above.  A couple of posts you may find of interest...

https://www.instagram.com/p/ByxCcreAqiW
https://www.instagram.com/p/ByCimi7g6h7
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bn_p9qjgbqd

... most of his Tormek videos were "live feeds" so not there anymore, but he does say he'll help if you contact him directly, and his posts indicate carving knives in the holder were a challenge, but worth the effort to learn.

(So short version... I'd work with the jig a bit more.). 

[Ken S]

Rick,

I agree with CB. I post this only for future reference for you. Look into Herman's Homemade Small Platform on the forum. In the early days of the platform, another pioneering member, Ionut, posted that he thought scalpels could be sharpened with the small platform. I have been a believer in the small platform from the very start. After you have more experience with your Tormek, I would suggest that you make one following Herman's suggestion of using the scissors jig platform as a basis.

Ken

[dasrott]

you guys are great and yes i should be more diligent i guess the knife that tom is using is actually a big carving knife most are smaller but thats ok i can't find the hermans platform at least it didn't come up in a search i think your right i need to rep apply myself and get more familiar with the machine and perhaps concentrate on one or two knives in the beginning. the problem i seem to be having is that when put the small knife in the small knife jig its too long ro make contact with the wheel for some reason so its a application problem that is solely my fault and because i don't know what im doing i see the scissor jib mentioned so that might be the next step thanks again i really appreciate you taking the time

[cbwx34]

you guys are great and yes i should be more diligent i guess the knife that tom is using is actually a big carving knife most are smaller but thats ok i can't find the hermans platform at least it didn't come up in a search i think your right i need to rep apply myself and get more familiar with the machine and perhaps concentrate on one or two knives in the beginning. the problem i seem to be having is that when put the small knife in the small knife jig its too long ro make contact with the wheel for some reason so its a application problem that is solely my fault and because i don't know what im doing i see the scissor jib mentioned so that might be the next step thanks again i really appreciate you taking the time

Platform jig....
https://forum.tormek.com/index.php?topic=1592
...(doesn't really allow for establishing a good hollow, but does make for nice consistent grinds).

My one thought on "the jig is too long"... try screwing in the back part of the jig, ('2' in the picture), to make the overall length shorter (if that's what you mean by "too long").

[dasrott]

excellent ty