Centering knives in the jigs

[The Smoker]

Hello Forum
I first realized this problem about centering knives in the most used jigs SVM 45 and SVM 140 recently. I own a Goniometer and wondered why one side of the bevel was grinded 15 degrees and maybe the other side 13 degrees. So there is a offset in the jigs that compensate for most knives which are about 2-3 mm in the spine. But if you f.eks have a knife 1.5 mm at the spine a solution can be to fasten some tape to bring up the thickness of the spine. I know it's possible to buy centering jigs made of innovators that has nothing to do with Tormek - but also for a reasonable high price. Does anyone know if Tormek looks into this problem and maybe comes up with a solution?

[cbwx34]

Hello Forum
I first realized this problem about centering knives in the most used jigs SVM 45 and SVM 140 recently. I own a Goniometer and wondered why one side of the bevel was grinded 15 degrees and maybe the other side 13 degrees. So there is a offset in the jigs that compensate for most knives which are about 2-3 mm in the spine. But if you f.eks have a knife 1.5 mm at the spine a solution can be to fasten some tape to bring up the thickness of the spine. I know it's possible to buy centering jigs made of innovators that has nothing to do with Tormek - but also for a reasonable high price. Does anyone know if Tormek looks into this problem and maybe comes up with a solution?

To date, there's no solution from Tormek.

If you haven't seen them already, there are some solutions in the forum, for example:

Homemade Knife Rest

Knife Jigs Solution

Mounting Knife in SVM-45

[The Smoker]

Thank you cbwx34 - I will look into it 

[Ken S]

I think it is only fair to include how Tormek, as a business, might look at the self centering knife jig issue. Tormek must pay due diligence to the legal aspects of this. As a business, Tormek has constraints that we do not have as individuals.
For example: One of the several useful jigs originated and developed by this forum is "Herman's homemade small platform". There have been a number of variations on this useful jig. (Its narrow width allows both sides of small knife blades to be ground full length without having to reposition the jig.) It is easily made in a home workshop. Tormek, with its industrial machinery and Torlock patent, could make a more polished product. With the possibility of a prior use legal action, Tormek will understandably not do this. Any self centering jig posted on the forum would also be subject to prior use lawsuits.

In reality, any of us wanting a self centering knife jig must either find a third party product, work with a local machinist, or do it yourself.

It is also important that the Tormek is not a knife sharpening machine. The Tormek is a multipurpose sharpening system which works nicely with sharpening knives. (Tormek even calls the blue machines "the woodworking machines".) Look at the news tab on Tormek's website and see all the innovations Tormek has made over the years. They are impressive. Since I started in 2009, Tormek has introduced four new machines and eleven new grinding wheels plus a new composite honing wheel. Almost all of the jigs have been redesigned, at least one redesigned twice. Not all sharpening areas have seen improvements at the same time. I would say that woodturners have seen the most advances. Knife sharpeners have also seen innovations, although many of these come from the T2 and T1.

I have no doubt that the Tormek engineers are aware of the self centering issue. I believe we will eventually have a Tormek self centering knife jig. In the meantime, if it seems a problem, we must pursue other options.

Ken

[The Smoker]

Hello Kenn S
I have no doubt at all that Tormek use much innovation power continuously. But I also have to say that the sharpening world gets filled with more and more nerds And as regards self centering issues then in my opinion it's a problem which have been well known for years. Regarding company restraints ok, but a new innovation will always be a possibility. Hope something will pop up from the Tormeks in near future 

[Lindorm]

Hello,

I've been working on a solution for this problem for a almost half a year which I plan to try to sell in the near future.
I think I can keep the pricepoint down low enough so that it could be interesting for most "grinding nerds" at least.   
But my aim is not only to solve this issue, this solution will also make the process of setting up a knife in jig for grinding easier and faster.
I am also making an app that can be used with this hardware or independently for calculating knife edge grinding angle, the base functionality works but some work is still needed before I can release it.

BR Lindorm

[Arthur]

This problem can be solved with standard TORMEK tools with some modifications. But it will be interesting to see your work.

[Dutchman]

I really don't understand why it is so important that the sharpening angles on both sides of the blade are identical.
In the extreme case, if I were to sharpen only one side of the blade at the full cutting angle, would I notice anything special when cutting?

[Lindorm]

You mean like a chisel? Chisels can be sharp  so you can still make a knife sharp with uneven edge angles.

But if you have the same angle you will have a more similar amount of steel that you have to remove from each side.
Which makes it easier to grind centered and even bevels. An added benefit is less steel to remove in total; faster and extend the lifetime of the knife.

The product I'm developing helps not only with even angles, but has at least a handful of different helpful features, so if even edge angles is not a priority I hope it can still be an interesting product for those people. 

[cbwx34]

You mean like a chisel? Chisels can be sharp  so you can still make a knife sharp with uneven edge angles.

But if you have the same angle you will have a more similar amount of steel that you have to remove from each side.
Which makes it easier to grind centered and even bevels. An added benefit is less steel to remove in total; faster and extend the lifetime of the knife.

The product I'm developing helps not only with even angles, but has at least a handful of different helpful features, so if even edge angles is not a priority I hope it can still be an interesting product for those people. 

And don't forget aesthetics... probably more important now than in the past, to have a knife edge centered, even width bevels, etc.

[Dutchman]

You mean like a chisel? Chisels can be sharp  so you can still make a knife sharp with uneven edge angles.

But if you have the same angle you will have a more similar amount of steel that you have to remove from each side.
Which makes it easier to grind centered and even bevels. An added benefit is less steel to remove in total; faster and extend the lifetime of the knife.

The product I'm developing helps not only with even angles, but has at least a handful of different helpful features, so if even edge angles is not a priority I hope it can still be an interesting product for those people. 

And don't forget aesthetics... probably more important now than in the past, to have a knife edge centered, even width bevels, etc.

Then I can certainly conclude that uneven bevels are no problem to really worry about