Hi. I know this is not strictly a Tormek question but it is connected sufficiently to warrant the question I hope.
For a while now I have been setting up and trying to use paper wheels on a slow grinder to remove burrs. All this with information from Vadim's book, Knifegrinder equipment and many emails from the man himself when I had questions. Obviously that route is now closed ( can't tell you how shocked and upset I was to hear of his death). Without his advice I feel a bit lost. I have had mixed results and whilst I don't aspire to duplicate Vadim's results exactly as described in his sharpening protocols, I am not getting any where near and getting very confused.
To cut to the chase, is there anyone out there who has gone through this process successfully and is happy to share knowledge and experience?
I understand it's not strictly Tormek ( even though a T8 is used to set edges and deroot burrs with a felt wheel) but maybe someone would be willing to give a contact email address so correspondence could occur outside of the forum?
I would so much appreciate any help I can get. Thanks.
I tried paper wheels for a little and found it too bothersome. In conversation with Vadim, I settled on a single rock-hard felt wheel using 1µ diamond paste as my primary (powered) honing step. A key factor in being able to use only one honing step is the use of the SJ wheel, at the grinding angle to begin the honing process, which I think is more of a refinement of the burr rather than removal. I do strop on a hanging leather stop as a final step. I may not be producing the same level of sharpness as using multiple honing steps, but it is satisfactory for me. I no longer measure that sharpness using a BESS tester unless I want to demonstrate it to someone. My edges are consistently around 100 BESS and I don't feel the need to push it further.
When I was setting up for paper wheels, I was going to be using 2 or 3 diamond paste grits first on a slow speed grinder then on a high speed buffer. It just became too much of a bother and took up too much space.
Rick
Thanks for that Rick. Much appreciated.
I am assuming this process is a one size fits all and that any raise of the honing angle is at the felt wheel stage, the degree being dependent on the type of knife steel/ burr?
Quote from: Sir Amwell on March 22, 2022, 11:27:21 AM
Thanks for that Rick. Much appreciated.
I am assuming this process is a one size fits all and that any raise of the honing angle is at the felt wheel stage, the degree being dependent on the type of knife steel/ burr?
Yes, generally so, at least in my process. Whatever honing/burr removal that occurs, is after use of the SJ wheel in my process which is where the higher angles come into play, which is entirely based on Knife Grinders' work, mostly as laid out in the deburring book. I do not often sharpen harder steels, so I'm not often in the under 1º.
If one were using multiple paper or felt wheels, I think the SJ wheel might not be necessary, as I recall, diamonds of around 5µ are close to the grit size of the SJ wheel, so that step could be done on paper/felt, as could other steps of finer diamonds. I was quite happy to settle on a process that involves only one, at 1µ.
Rick