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So does it appear different then it does in this video?  (hoping they release the video in English, soon)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhA4uG9MUPU
They move the sleeve back and forth, there, presumably, to do the same thing without the paper.

If you're talking about the part in the video that starts around the 2:20 mark... they're moving the entire guide.  The "sleeve" is the paper that fits inside the guide (it's not in the video).  So in referring to your video, on some knives, the entire guide would need to be moved to accomodate the handle... what I'm referring to is the sleeve insert... where the guide wouldn't need to be moved, but the handle can contact the sleeve (since it "sticks out" at the top).

Edit to add:  In fact, thinking about the above... it might be why the guide itself is tapered... to try and better accommodate the various handle shapes.

A bit confused.  Does it need the sleeve where the plastic is?  How wide is the plastic compared to the wheel?  Shouldn't the plastic be as wide as the wheel?

The sleeve is used to prevent scratching the side of the blade... and yes, it is inserted where the plastic is.

The (plastic) guide is as wide as the wheel at the bottom, but it tapers toward the top to about 20mm.  Since the sleeves don't taper, on some knives the handle can hit the sleeve at the top, which will push it back and forth.

As I'm due to be away for a while, I managed to have a couple of hours this afternoon sharpening knives.

First was a 4" paring knife. This brought back to mind another reason why I stopped sharpening knives on the Tormek. A couple of times, whilst grinding towards the edge, it caught and managed to lift the jig off the usb, spun the jig and knife under the usb, whereupon it tried to give me a major Tormek tattoo in the midriff!

So tried sharpening away, and managed to get bevelled surfaces which were pretty rough despite having pre-graded the stone surface with to fine. The edge was not particularly sharp as barely catching my thumbnail and not readily cutting paper. Persevering with free hand honing I managed to polish a lot of the striations out and get a sharp edge.

I then tried an 8" chef's knife. This brought back to mind a previous issue - large knives get obstructed by the honing wheel when sharpening away. However the 8" was accommodated without too many issues. Again the bevelled surfaces were pretty rough, but the situation was again rescued by free hand honing. I always find that free hand honing is liable to round over the edge. I would prefer a jig in the expectation of achieving better results. 

So I took the bull by the horns and had a go at the Global knife. Despite getting equal sized bevels on both sides, again with poor surface quality. The edge looked and felt as though there was a burr, but it was not sharp. It didn't want to 'saw' through a piece of paper. After several attempts between honing and re-grinding I eventually got a satisfactory result. I did find when grinding this knife, it did not feel as comfortable on the stone as the previous 8" knife; it was susceptible to wander off line.

Having absorbed the information in the previous posts by others above, I tried to keep the section of the blade being ground, in line with my LOC on the wheel, lifting and pivoting as necessary to maintain this, without being concerned whether it was lift or pivot but what felt comfortable. I did find that towards the heel end of the Global blade it swung above the LOC, whereas the other 8" knife didn't. Overall the bevel thickness was pretty even along the length of the blade, so quite satisfied.

Anyway, for the short time I had, without practice, I have got three sharp knives. More through beginner's luck rather than being in full control of the situation. Certainly not as confident for repeat purposes as I would be when doing chisels and plane blades. Mind you, it took me many attempts (months!) to master the SE76 square edge jig.

Glad you were able to make a go of it... bummer it didn't come out quite right.  It looks like you've been a Tormek user for a while, so you're familiar with the system.  The only thing I can think of, in reading your post, is maybe a bit too much pressure?  Knives benefit from a light touch... especially the last few passes, I have found.  That and marking the edge with a Sharpie or marker, and make sure your hitting the very edge... sometimes when knives are sharpened with another type of sharpener, "matching" another method can take a bit more than expected... especially right at the very edge and if the other sharpener sharpened or honed at a higher angle... it will look like you're there, but there might be a very small section that still needs to be reached, so the knife won't cut well.  As for the finish being "rough"... not sure why.  Are you basing that on how it looked, or how it cut?  I know others have commented that it takes a bit to grade the stone "fine"... that, and once again sharpening pressure can affect the result.

Any other thoughts on the pivoting?  Think a smaller collar would make a difference (good or bad)?

But at least you got 'em sharp!   

I gave up a couple of years ago trying to sharpen our kitchen knives on the Tormek as I was unhappy with the results. I was wrestling with my thoughts on Lift and Pivot, coupled with trying to work out the effects due to the width of the knife jig collar. (We have since used a proprietary knife sharpener in the kitchen and it is more than sufficient for our needs.) I subsequently threw out all the spare knifes on which I had been practising.

Today my son asked me if I could rescue one of his Global knives - the edge is best described as torn to shreds! He doesn't know how, and his propriety sharpener isn't improving matters, and it is only the one knife which has a problem.

So I have just ploughed through all of this Topic, its associated links, printed off the diagrams, got my head round all the various trials and outcomes, and will in the near future have another go at knife sharpening.

With regard to the above comments that it may be of no interest to others (only the two, three main protagonists), if you asked me a week ago I would agree, but now I have a situation to resolve, it is all suddenly very interesting! Some good work has been undertaken and posted. Thank you.

Glad to hear... hope it works out.  Be interested to know what, if any problems you might encounter... would probably help lead to even a better solution.

If nothing else, you can always fix the damage on the Tormek, then switch to your regular "proprietary" sharpener.  (Be curious to know what that is... probably best shared in a private message, if you care to).

Thanks... glad to see there's an interest... hope it helps! 

Instead of the "post-it notes", would it be possible to use adhesive backed felt, trimmed to fit? I use the least expensive stuff on my platform jig because it works better than the expensive stuff which tends to be too thick.

I'm not sure... it would have to be changed periodically.  I attached a picture of the current setup... maybe you can tell me.

Referring to the picture... the "sleeves" come in a stack that resemble "Post-It" notes (1st pic. top left), (with a strip of adhesive on one long side, just like a "Post-It").  You pull one off (2nd pic.), and fold it in half.  Then insert into guide (3rd pic.).

I actually rewrote the review a bit, after reading your question and looking at the review, I realized I'd changed a bit. Initially I would trim the side so it matched the width of the guide, and more adhesive inside the guide, thinking that would be better... but the "sleeves" are the width of the stone (4th pic.), and if you center it, even if it gets pushed back and forth a little by the handle of some knives... it doesn't interfere with the sharpening... and doesn't really matter how much of the adhesive is contacting inside the guide.  Once I quit trimming them, they actually worked a bit better... and could get a few knives per sheet without issue, even though the instructions say one knife per sheet.

As a solution it works (as long as you don't miss putting the knife between the paper).    Guess the next question would be, what a stack of sleeves will cost vs. just getting some Post-Its and see if they work just as well,  (or just folded paper...), or like you've indicated... an alternative solution.

Hope that helps.


Edited to add:  I tried a piece of paper from a pocket notebook... seemed to work just about as well as the sleeves.  Also wanted to add, this problem isn't specific to the Tormek... every sharpener I've used that has a guide the knife "slides" on, experiences this issue.  A simple "sleeve" might turn out to be an innovative solution.

Post removed... link no longer valid.   

Stig made an interesting comment to me. He wanted to see the forum help our members "make sharp edges sharper". I totally agree. This forum has always welcomed questions from new members and more experienced members who want to make sharper edges.

In recent years, I have noticed another trend. In addition to our bread and butter sharpening questions, we have an increasing number of topics from members who want to explore and expand the limits of the Tormek. Fortunately, the Tormek is a very versatile machine and up to the task.

I find both psths fascinating, and hope they will both continue.

Ken

I think it's a natural desire to want to improve things... no matter how good they already are.  Forums can be a great place for this.  And, from what I've seen, a number of members are willing to share their discoveries, without hesitation.  (And in my case, also tolerant of my "explorations"....).   

I'm still finding new info all the time... glad the forum's here.  Hope it continues too.

Wondering how this would be secured for the trip?  (how is luggage treated traveling, between airport security and staff)

Can't be any worse than bouncing around in a delivery truck all day... followed by slinging it from waist high onto the porch, can it?   

As a new T-8 owner, I've been sharpening my chisels and gouges for wood carving.  I've had no problems with the process using the wheel in its course mode.  However, when I tried to touch up my Stubai 1/4" gouge veiner, I destroyed the tip, eating through the edge.  Though I was trying to use a light touch, apparently it wasn't light enough.  I had the veiner in the Tormek small tool jig and was having trouble following the tight contour.  Was it not made for use with a veiner?  Don't know if I should have started out by re-dressing the stone to its fine-grit mode before I started or is this tool just too small for sharpening with the T-8.  Guess I could have used just a diamond stone instead and freehanded it.  By the way, Having not seen a chisel/gouge forum here, I assumed this would be an appropriate forum.  This is my first post.

Welcome to the forum.

I don't know anything about the tool you described (I'm sure someone will be along who does)... but just a couple of comments...

"Touchups" (and sharpening in general) should be done with the stone graded "fine", and on a small tool, with the wheel turning away from the edge.  (I wonder if touchups could/should be done on the leather honing wheel)?  The stone graded coarse can be pretty aggressive... designed for repairs, major reprofiles, etc.  I do mostly knives... and I rarely find the need to grade the stone coarse.  I would think all the tools you mentioned would benefit grading the stone to fine, unless repairs or reprofiling is needed.

I would guess it could be done on the Tormek, but the specific questions about the gouge (which jig, etc.), I'll leave to someone who knows this stuff. 

Ah.... very cool.  Thanks!   

We've been using CBN wheels for over half a year, on a few hundred knives by now.

Do you have a grit preference?  (The.... If you could only buy one.... question).

And do you finish on a CBN (prior to stropping if any), or switch to a waterstone?  (Guess the easier question... what's your "CBN use" procedure)?

Thanks.

I just looked at my T4. I don't remember attaching the plate, however it is attached....

The plate was "pre-attached", but when I stuck the AngleMaster on it, it fell off.

Wonder if sitting in a delivery truck in triple digit temps. contributed to it... but in my case, no biggie, the superglue seems to have solved it.

Mine fell off on the T-4 I got.... I superglued it back on.  So far, so good!

You guys are liable to end up like me..........with a box of spare Tormek jigs and parts in various stages of repair. 

Ken

I'm sure I'll give you a run for your money...

For me, modifying a sharpener, is 1/2 the fun.  I don't expect Tormek, (or anyone else for that matter), to duplicate the setup I made in the other thread (adding a 2nd USB, sharpening parallel, etc).... just a modification I've enjoyed playing around with, to see what comes out.  If something develops that benefits someone else... so much the better.  No different than modifying a car for one's individual taste... (although cheaper I'm sure).   

I cut down a second one last night that I'm sending out to cbwx to get a second opinion on it. 
I mention this only to show,  in the attachment, how easily it can be cut out of the original collar without needing to add an additional piece like i did in the first attempt.

Thanks!  Looks good... looking forward to giving it a go. 

Thanks man 
I know the laser line isn't THAT important, but thought it might help still during the training and building muscle memory stage.
Depending on the profile of the curve to the tip, even with the collar it's still possible to end up well above or below the line

If i don't end up working all weekend, maybe I'll just pull one of the laser diodes off my drill press.... I never use it on there anyway, and can always reinstall it when I'm done needing "training wheels" here

Out of curiosity: I know someone said the newer knife jigs don't use the stop screw anymore...I'm guessing a new collar would have no way of working on an old jig, with no o-ring to hold it in place, but would an old collar still thread onto a newer jig?

With a stop collar, I don't think you'll see a real benefit to the laser, (but no harm trying... well, unless you stare at it...  ).

Yes an old collar will work on a newer jig.  (A bit of a sidebar, I've found that on the new collar, the stop can turn if you're not careful.  Definitely not as secure as the old version, but a bit easier to work with).  The collars actually look the same, (there's even an indicator on the new collar of the "spot" for the locking screw), but interestingly enough, the interior diameter of the new collar must be slightly bigger... I had to remove the O-ring to get the old collar on.  Once on though, it works no problem.