Messages

Thanks, Herman.

Your sharpening circular saw blades with a file between your knees reminds me of some of the field conditions I had sharpening telephone drill bits.  Not pretty, but they cut well.

Ken

Mike,

Amid our joking about full member status, I just lost mine....... The other guy is one of your neighbors in Missouri.

Ken

Good point.  I hadn't thought of that.

Ken

Mike, check out the Multitool on sharptoolusa's site.  If I didn't already have a good belt grinder I would add it to my want list.  It looks like a very solid product.

Ken

Bravo, Jeff!

Incidentally, I have the DVD and drawing for that episode.  It was good purchase.  I also remember you post that you put all the drawers on one side of the work station.

Good story.

Ken

Mike, I believe you have the added distinction of being the first full member from Kansas. You should contact your local newspaper, if for some reason they are not yet aware of your honored status.

Joking aside, when I first joined this forum about three years ago, no one had yet posted even fifty posts.  The longest threads had about twenty posts.  The longest thread, with 130 posts, was a result of a member not wanting to start new topics.  It became quite clumsy.  We are progressing. 

I welcome the growth in the forum, and look forward to continued growth.

Ken

A hint to Tormek dealers who would like to sell more Tormek jigs:

Whenever someone purchases a Tormek, include a coupon for a free pair of inexpensive scissors.  (Or the scissors themselves.)

Or, to the Tormek users, (myself included), give up chips for a couple days and buy a pair of inexpensive scissors.  Why debate whether or not to attempt to sharpen a valued pair, either value of sentimental value?

I'm in almost the same situation as Rob.  (Almost because I do have the scissors jig.  My local Tormek dealer had a couple 20% off sales, and I loaded up.)  My reservation with buying the ax jig is that I don't own an ax.  If I should decide to purchase the ax jig, should I also purchase an ax?.....

Ken

Good post, Mark.  Good advice and funny, too.  If you could cut your bread the same way, you could have a .5 calorie lunch and make your fortune as part of the great diet hype industry.

Ken

Herman makes an excellent point.  He has also stated on the forum that part of his life working experience was working as a carpenter for a while.  As such, I'm sure he is no stranger to an oilstone of a file.

Norm Abram in his book, Measure Twice, Cut Once, states that his father could sharpen a chisel on a stone which looked like it had been machined. There is a lot to be said for directed experience. Using a Tormek should be an extension of our hands, not a replacement for them. 

Yesterday I thinned the bolsters on two of my kitchen knives.  I had reached the point Where the bolsters were protruding too much to maintain the curve of the blades.  (This procedure is often left out of knife sharpening material.)  A few freehand passes on the Tormek and the job was done.  I admit I don't have the skill to make it look as if I had machined it on a surface grinder, but the job is perfectly functional.  Any suggestions for improving this operation would be welcome.

After that, I tried just laying the knives on the stone (stone revolving AWAY).  I laid them parallel with the stone instead of perpendicular and eyeballed the bevel angle. Is this established orthodox best practice? Certainly not, but the knives do cut better now and my curiosity is satisfied.

So, to Martin and the others, don't be shy about "just doing it".

Ken

Good field work, Rob.

In his excellent book on sharpening, Ron Hock makes the comment that he uses carbon knives in his kitchen.  He states he hasn't needed to use more than a steel on them in years of use.  Interesting that someone of his knowledge and experience hasn't bought into the marketing nonsense of needing knives which won't stain when cutting onions.

Ken

Well stated, Herman.  When I ground off the decades of accumulated mushrooming from the splitting wedges, there was plenty of metal to absorb the heat.  A very good recommendation for sharp edges like planes and chisels is to stop grinding when you reach a small flat edge.  Finish the rest with an oil or water stone.  Often it's that last pass which ruins the edge, just like the last tap with the hammer or the last bit of tightening on a bolt.

Ken

Thanks, Elden.  Great post.  I wish I had known about these places before I donated my 9.6 volt Makitas to Goodwill.  They were very useful tools with a lot of life left in them.  Rebuilding the batteries would have been just the ticket.  I have bookmarked both for future reference.

By the way, congrats, Mike on achieving the status of full member.  Congrats, also to Justin in advance.  You will find that if you bring documentation of your newly achieved status to Starbucks, along with five dollars, you can probably get a cup of coffee.  (Or, like me, you can still bring your mug to the gas station across the street and get an OK coffee for one dollar.)

Elden, your post is an example of what this forum can provide.

Good job, guys.

Ken

Well done, Rob!

Ken

Two things help prevent overheating the tool in a dry grinder:

The right wheel.  My favorite is a Norton 3X. I am partial to the 46 grit.  (Use a coarse wheel and a light touch.) The bonding is designed to break down easily and expose fresh grains.

The second key factor is to dress the wheel with a crown.  Keeping the wheel flat means more rubbing.  If you are trying to start a fire, this is a good thing.  If you want to keep your tools cool, a crown is the way to go.

Actually, the ideal solution is a Tormek.  (You already knew that, right?  )

Ken

Martin,

A little directed practice should have you sharpening like a champ.  Draw an angle of about seven degrees on a piece of paper.  Get a dowel that fits in your scallops.  (Quarter inch should do the trick)  Add one piece of about 400 grit wet or dry sandpaper.  Tape it to the dowel at each end.

You can begin by getting a feel for the dowel without the sandpaper. Hold the dowel at the angle you have drawn. Use the sandpaper dowel like a file.  Once the motion seems natural, add the sandpaper. 

Work slowly.  There is no rush.  Very soon, your bread knife will be very sharp, and you will have added to your skill base.

Keep us posted.

Ken