Paper wheels for the Tormek ?

[Ken98660]

Over at the blade forum there's a message poster who claims that he's getting better results sharpening on a Tormek with paper wheels. Has anyone else tried sharpening with paper wheels ?

[3D Anvil]

Never heard of anyone using paper wheels on a Tormek.  Are you sure he's not talking about honing on paper wheels AFTER sharpening on the Tormek? 

[Ken98660]

Never heard of anyone using paper wheels on a Tormek.  Are you sure he's not talking about honing on paper wheels AFTER sharpening on the Tormek?

I'm pretty sure that he must have been referring to the idea of honing on a Tormek with paper wheels, now that you mention it.

[cbwx34]

Forum member kwakster dabbled with a paper wheel mod on the Tormek...

https://forum.tormek.com/index.php?topic=3509.0

... I think just for honing. In that same thread you can see I mounted a paper wheel using the shaft extension.  Worked OK, but in the end I don't think there's any real advantage over the leather wheel.  (I think paper wheels work better at a faster speed.)

[Sir Amwell]

I second cbw. I think the whole point of paper wheels is the high speed and the fast feed.

[Ken S]

One sharpener I respect highly uses paper wheels. He uses the wheel with wax and grit instead of the fine grinding wheel. He uses the second wheel with honing compound instead of the leather honing wheel. He told me that the wax used with the grit wheel does not melt well unless used with a high speed buffer or grinder. He is skilled enough to control the heat with touch. I suspect most of us, me included, are not that skilled.

The late Vadim Kriachuk of Knife Grinders, another highly skilled sharpener, made a very informative video sharpening a knife with his SG-250, and leather honing wheel with PA-70 honing compound. As I recall, the BESS number was around 75, very impressive.

I suspect performance with the leather honing wheel gets better as the fine grinding wheel performance is improved.

Ken