My revised thinking about the SVM and KJ knife jigs.

[jeffs55]

I have never tried this but I wonder. Regarding the off center sharpening of the older Tormek knife jigs. As some of you know, some Japanese knives are sharpened on one side only. Would that make the older jigs useful since they "prefer" one side over the other?

[cbwx34]

I have never tried this but I wonder. Regarding the off center sharpening of the older Tormek knife jigs. As some of you know, some Japanese knives are sharpened on one side only. Would that make the older jigs useful since they "prefer" one side over the other?

If there's an advantage, I don't see it.  You'd still have to match the angle on the one side, and it wouldn't match anything on the other side that I can see anyway...

[RickKrung]

I have never tried this but I wonder. Regarding the off center sharpening of the older Tormek knife jigs. As some of you know, some Japanese knives are sharpened on one side only. Would that make the older jigs useful since they "prefer" one side over the other?

If there's an advantage, I don't see it.  You'd still have to match the angle on the one side, and it wouldn't match anything on the other side that I can see anyway...

I agree there isn't an advantage.  The unequal bevels result from the blade being not centered in the jig jaws and really only results when the blade is ground on both sides, turning the assembly over to do so.  Grinding a one-sided beveled knife, you would do just that, grind only one side and not turn it over, ever, except perhaps to hone it flat. 

Rick

[Ken S]

I believe we are looking something important with the SVM-45. With the milled indented surface of the fixed jaw, only one thickness of knife blade is exactly perfect. What we overlook is this "perfect" thickness is in the middle thickness range of most kitchen knives. As we deviate from this thickness, we introduce error into the evenness of the two bevels. Even Wootz, who pioneered correcting for this error acknowledged as acceptable error range.

If we group knives to be sharpened into those within the acceptable thickness range and those falling outside of this range, I do not believe the non self centering issue is such a large concern. Just sharpen all of the acceptable thickness knives with the SVM-45 and then those outside of this range with the KJ-45. Use each jig in its strong area.

[Blacktailstillhunter]

Thanks to all the contributors to this thread, I read it all and several of the linked articles with great interest.

I've been reading the Tormek forum for a little while without comment, so this is my first post.

I'm a T-8 user with a few other sharpening methods as well.

Really enjoy the forum, and looking forward to reading more. The search function works well for me, and I'm amazed at some of custom designed add on's, mathematical tables and tricks, and general thinking here.
 

[Someguy]

Has anyone looked at any of the Tormek clone jigs such as Jet? Their knife jig looks to be the same style as the SVM-45, but I do not know if it matches the quality of the Tormek. I have used other Jet products and was curious on this one. Since Tormek discontinued the SVM-45 I wonder if this is a viable alternative for those of us without one.

[John Hancock Sr]

Has anyone looked at any of the Tormek clone jigs such as Jet?

My son bought me one of these

https://www.timbecon.com.au/sherwood-wet-stone-grinder-plane-camber-jig

Have not had a chance to use it yet but it seems quite good. I may give it s short appraisal once I use it.

[VijayDoshi]

I've posted on a couple of other threads, but I've developed a retrofit for the KJ to make it like an SVM. I'm a few iterations in now and am getting it really dialed in, including a friction ring for the knob. Take a look!

https://magnoliaknife.com/blogs/news/tormek-retrofit-blog-post

[Sir Amwell]

This looks like a great solution. Thanks! Especially if you can add that 'friction' to the thread on the adjustable stop to stop slipping.
I refer back to my original post in this thread.
If you have found a solution to this problem ( and it is a problem for professional sharpeners), why haven't Tormek?
If they did we wouldn't have to retrofit!
As said before, I have 9 of the old svm jigs for batch sharpening and would be happy to buy 9 more of a new jig incorporating both benefits.
An argument I've read is that it wouldn't be in Tormeks interest to do so because it's too niche and they wouldn't make money on their investment/development/marketing.
I may be wrong but I beg to differ.
They finally did it with the new angle jig for knives, so why not with this?
I think they're missing an opportunity.

[VijayDoshi]

 

This looks like a great solution. Thanks! Especially if you can add that 'friction' to the thread on the adjustable stop to stop slipping.

Yes, I've added an o-ring #3 on the current model (V2) - see blog post on my site.


BTW Version 3 (not yet produced) will move the fixed jaw off the center axis by 1.5mm to enable a perfect centering for a 3mm thickness, roughly the same compromise the SVM jigs made.

[iSharpen]

I've posted on a couple of other threads, but I've developed a retrofit for the KJ to make it like an SVM. I'm a few iterations in now and am getting it really dialed in, including a friction ring for the knob. Take a look!

https://magnoliaknife.com/blogs/news/tormek-retrofit-blog-post

Do you ever plan on shipping these out of the US? Your last response was "no". I'm hoping you've changed your mind. Also, will you be machining the thumb cup in the holder so it matches the feel of the old jig? Or, can I at least screw my old top onto your shaft? Is it the same thread?

[VijayDoshi]

Yes, I can ship to EU, Canada and a few other countries now - give it a shot on my website. The threads are not the same - I went with a standard (metric) thread vs. the one that Tormek uses (ACME). The iteration I will be producing next will have the thumb cup too! Trying to source a manufacturer at a reasonable cost though is proving to be VERY difficult though, design is done though.