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I tried this over the weekend and the tape did protect the blade, despite getting soaked pretty good.  My only slight concern was that I had a bit of trouble making sure the blade was aligned just right in the KJ-45, it was hard to get even light on both sides of the blade between the jig clamp.  I may try some paper as you mention but once it gets wet I suspect it won't do much... possibly some plastic wrap would be better in this way or wax paper.

I had come across a good bit of medical tape also when searching cloth tape, I was wondering if it could have been because most medical tape is white.  I do think the gaffers tape will work quite well, I bought the 1/2" width which I feel will be easiest to work with to not have to make as many tears to resize fitting at the ricasso for protection.   Also 1/2" on either side of the blade where the KJ-45 clamps should be enough to prevent the friction damage I've noted.

I am hesitant to try putting the tape on the gripping surfaces of the KJ-45, however,  My fear is that removal may be tricky if it doesn't work well and don't want to put excess force on the jig.  I do have a use case where I cannot tape the blade with certain powder coat finishes that have a sort of spray on camo layer above the coating.  I've seen people tape these blades and have the top camo layer come off.

So I've found what I believe to be what Vadim meant by 'cloth tape', while there are several types out there I believe what he means is something along the lines of 'gaffers tape'.  Basically similar to duct tape but much more useful for most all uses.  Gaffers tape has good abrasive resistance (check) and is designed to hold firmly and resist water (check), while removing cleanly without adhesive residue left on the blade or objects (check).  I ordered some of the following tape from ProTapes @ BHPhoto.com, should be here tomorrow and I'm going to give it a try.

https://www.protapes.com/products/pro-spike

I get the concept -- not wanting to polish out the toothiness of the edge -- but I just don't see the benefit in practice.  If you want a toothy edge, just finish on a coarser stone and strop lightly.  As far as refined edges and tomato slicing, that hasn't been my experience.  If an edge is sharp enough to split a hair on contact, it will sail through tomato skin like it isn't there.

It's also a matter of edge retention, coarse edges function more like a saw or serrated knife in the sense that they retain those peaks and valleys despite being worn down significantly. 

Vadim's research shows rock hard felt wheels and leather wheels deburr better than sharpening stones. My BESS sharpness tester often shows a HUGE increase in sharpness after stropping on a kangaroo strop.

Barbers for many years deburred on a leather strop. I suggest you give deburring a try on the Tormek leather wheel. There's a good reason why it's part of the Tormek package.

The concern is not shaving sharpness exactly but rather retaining slicing or draw cutting aggression and edge retention while still being razor sharp.  Usually when there is more burnishing you end up damaging the apex and subsequent edge retention, which is inevitable on any worn abrasive which is also full of metal particles.

You are spot on, quality generally takes priority over quantity but you never know.  In that case, I'd probably hone extra light on the 220 to prepare the burr to remove.  Then double angle and draw short strokes over stationary stone wheel to remove burr alternating sides very lightly.  Then I'd micro bevel with diamond plate of suitable grit, I really don't believe the strop wheel saves much time over this approach and should yield much better result.

I use good ole fashioned hockey tape as it's a fabric tape. It works well and is extremely cheap.

Do you use it on the blade?  Does it come off cleanly from the steel?

I have zero plans to use the wheel for honing because I use waterstones for finishing, by hand.  Basically, I feel that stropping on leather with compound is a low quality way of applying finished edge.  It cancels out any perceived benefits of using high quality knives with superior steel and heat treat combination.

I use the grinding stone only for shaping and setting angles, which it's great for comparative to doing by hand on very coarse stones.  You end up with a lot of steel particles and worn abrasive in the leather which ends up burnishing, rather than cutting.  I do no want burnishing on the apex as is not good for the edge in many ways.

Something around 1000 grit waterstone that produces a bit of mud will quickly remove any damage the apex sustained in grinding and eliminate the burr.   Then it's simply a matter of microbeveling the very apex with whichever finishing stone or diamond plate you choose for the intended task of the knife. 

You could also try taping the clamp.

That's a good tip, hadn't thought of trying that.

Is it possible to just simply remove the locknut and leather wheel from the unit while grinding on the stone?  I fear the handle of longer knives will hit on the wheel and catch leading to an unsafe condition.  Truthfully I never use the leather wheel and would prefer to just always have it off assuming it doesn't cause mechanical complications to the unit.

Think I'm going to give this one a try, cheap enough.  2" wide makes just wide enough for the KJ-45 to snip a small piece off.  Easy removal, high abrasion resitance.  Looking at my KJ-45 where it contacts the blade, it does appear to be an abrasion... likely vibration makes for slight rubbing in the high spots.

https://www.grainger.com/product/3M-Cloth-Tape-High-Temp-Sealing-15C124?opr=ILOF

Thanks for the welcome and the tip.  Can't help but wonder if you could be more specific as to what kind of cloth tape he used.  I see 3M sells a bunch of different kinds from glass cloth to cotton, etc.

This seems like it might be exactly what you are referring to.... https://www.uline.com/Product/Detail/S-16003/3M-Electrical-Tape/3M-1755-Cotton-Friction-Tape-3-4-x-60

I can't help but wonder though whether the marks on the wear spots are from friction or by compressed force/pressure.  If it's pressure related, I wonder if the tape would stop the coating from being sort of 'dented'.

I've done several knives with this new jig and what I've noted is that whenever you use a knife that has a powder coating finish it puts wear on the coating there and sort of leaves a dent/scrape.  I don't mind personally but I sharpen knives for others and some people are very picky about wear spots and seem to not use their knives.  I have not tried a satin finished knife yet but it's coming next and have the same concern here.  I had a thought to wrap the blade with painter's tape there but wasn't sure how secure the blade would be fixed into the jig with that extra material there and quite possibly it may steel leave marks there from compressive forces.  Anybody have anything to offer here?