I bought a T8 custom as doing my research, it was the best fit for my future business needs. After looking through this forum, I noticed that the diamond wheel is not recommended for scissors which is a little upsetting as I have shelled out over $2500 for a system that I thought would get me up and running. I do not see any information about not using diamond wheels for sharpening scissors in any videos (I am willing to be corrected if I am wrong) so now I have to pay an extra $300 for the basic stone?
I have just ordered the MB-102 to help me with maintain a better angle during honing and learning to sharpen chisels and such and was wondering if It would work on scissors as I will be edge leading (I think that's right)the rotation is moving AWAY from me as I have read that its mostly the vibrations that can damage the diamond wheel (as well as the steep angle).
Any thoughts?
I think a good place to start, would be how the diamonds are attached to the steel hub.
If I'm not wrong, the diamonds are suspended in a solution that has a metal dissolved in it, then the steel hub and solution are electrified, drawing the dissolved metal out of the solution and onto the hub. The diamonds that are suspended in this constantly agitated solution get caught up in this electroplating process, and are "glued" onto the hub.
Long story short, diamond dust is glued to steel using another metal (nickel)
If the scissor blade manages to scrape off some of that metal, then your diamond grindstone is pretty much BER (Beyond Economical Repair)
The SG-250 is much more forgiving as any gouges/dents can be graded down to flat again. It's also great for practice and doing any experimentation on.
$300 may feel like a lot to add to your toolkit, but it's good to consider what you risk by saving that $300.
I don't have thousands of knives sharpened on the T8 under my belt, but I can confidently say that almost 99% of my customer knives needed reprofiling and repairs. (they are animals)
And once your business picks up, you won't regret having a 220 grit grindstone to power through more knives quickly.
Also, I sharpen scissors entirely on the SG-250. I use it at 220 grit to reprofile/repair, then use it at 1000 grit to smoothen the peaks the 220 grit creates, leaving a somewhat micro serrated edge. (I sharpen scissors mostly for tailors, so they need that consistent "bite" when sewing)
David,
Scissors generally are not made from hardened steel so an aggressive stone will wear away the metal quickly. And, you don't want to hone them.
I use the SG-250 on my Tormek to sharpen scissors for my wife. I have not used the extra fine diamond grinding wheel (e.g., the EF-250); however I believe it would also work quite well. The fine diamond grinding wheel (DF-250) may be too aggressive and leave too rough of a surface, but I am not positive of that.
As for jigs, the Tormek SC-60 scissors jig is my recommendation. If you have the older, Tormek SVX-150 scissors jig, that works well also.
The Tormek videos
- Axes & scissors sharpening | Part 2 | Tormek Live Sharpening Class (https://www.youtube.com/live/QlScXCdisAo?si=b_6xTCoscNwjJZq-) (https://www.youtube.com/live/QlScXCdisAo?si=b_6xTCoscNwjJZq-)
- Scissors sharpening with the SC-60 Scissors Jig | Part 28 | Tormek Live Sharpening Class (https://www.youtube.com/live/YXh-Gt2TT3s?si=SWj2X0hwBj00hpJp) (https://www.youtube.com/live/YXh-Gt2TT3s?si=SWj2X0hwBj00hpJp)
cover this well. In the second video, Sébastien discusses sharpening scissors on the T-2 which uses a diamond grinding stone.
Kind regards,
Rich
Thanks everyone, not trying to be a scrooge (tis the season) but spending more money makes me a bit angry. In hindsight, I should not have bought the custom T8 and just gone with the basic T8 setup. Oh well, lesson learned.