Messages

Do take a hard look at the FVB. It can be made in a shop quite easily or bought fully assembled.

The software and accurate height setting is key to really sharp knives. When I say sharp I am referring to several levels beyond out of the box sharpness.

I have not found a good up to date listing of knife steels used by each manufacturer. Here is a listing of a few of the more common ones.
https://www.knivesandtools.com/en/ct/steel-types-for-kitchen-knives.htm
There are many sites that discuss the individual steels.

It has been my experience that the vast majority of knife owners own knives ranging from the very inexpensive to the moderately priced knives such as Victorinox, Wüsthof , Shun, Global, Henckels, etc. These knives can all be sharpened to a razor's edge using only the SG-250 and the leather wheel. I know a couple of chefs that own and use high end Japanese knives. They treat them very well and all sharpen them by hand on water stones. Also note that many of the knives made from the super steels are EDC and survial/hunting knives not kitchen knives.

I think a lot depends on who you are sharpening for and the range of knives you see. If you look at the knife forums I get the impression that super steel knives are common place. This has not been my experience. I too am tempted to buy a fine diamond wheel and even a Japanese wheel but both are hard to justify based on the knives I see. I am what I like to call a concierge sharpener. I have a nice group of loyal customers that I sharpen for and my financial goal is to support my hobbies.

My recommendation is to become truly proficient using the SG-250 and leather wheel and only buy additional wheels if you have knives that require it. The one add on that I did buy was the FVB. This and the software for setting the proper blade sharpening angle have resulted in consistently sharper knives. https://forum.tormek.com/index.php?topic=3627.0

Good advice Ken. With worldwide distribution it must be difficult for Tormek to insure that their standards are always maintained.

I have not had an opportunity to contact customer service but from all that I have read they appear to be dedicated to making sure the customer is satisfied. I think most of us have used the equipment without issue as the number of problems raised does seem small.

Jam I like the idea of the diamond plate. I find that I rarely need the coarse range offered by the SG wheel, however, grading it to the finest possible value would be a real benefit.

I have seen a real decrease in damaged knives since I began my education campaign. I am more of a concierge sharpener and I have a group of repeat customers. I do get some new word of mouth customers that I have to explain the care and feeding of a knife edge to.

Using your phones calculator you can easily calculate where the sandpaper bar should contact the table for your chosen angle.

Simply divide the thickness of the board the knife is sitting on by the Sin (DPS). This will tell you where the sand paper board should contact the table. You can put a piece of masking tape down for reference. This would be useful if you are not replicating the DPS angle as was shown in the video.

Double check your wheel diameter setting in the applet. The grinding wheel is not exactly 250 mm but this should not result in the variation you are seeing.

I see the answer was just posted here:

https://forum.tormek.com/index.php?topic=3685.msg27666#new

Following the sharpening and deburring processes from the "Knife Deburring" book has taken my results to another level.

I am now contemplating getting another leather wheel and using an even finer honing compound.

If I will only have one compound finer than the Tormek paste what would you suggest?

I had a small business making wheel thrown pottery and I did it as a sideline to my full time  job. Doing all the paperwork and record keeping was a pain for even my small operation. The good part was that it turned out to be profitable. I was able to convert a hobby into a money making operation that paid for itself and my other hobbies. When we relocated I did not start it up again but switched over to teaching evenings. A lot less paperwork as an independent contractor. Most of the effort is up front and once you are going it becomes more routine every month.

Good luck

Here is a page that gives an overview of the necessary steps and more detail if you need it

https://www.sba.gov/business-guide/10-steps-start-your-business/

I have a Japanese single bevel knife that I got a few years ago for almost nothing at a store that sold closeout items from large department stores. It is quite sharp out of the box. I have never used it; being left handed the bevel is on the wrong side. I think I will give it to my daughter to try. Once it dulls I will use this method to sharpen it and expand my skills.

The first thing I would suggest is to watch a couple of videos on the subject.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVl8lTiMlAA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGFeBd8ZspM

I would not do this freehand.The angle is such that in my opinion you really need the jig. I have done a number of scissors and I think there is a definite learning curve involved. I did my first sharpening on sacrificial scissors where there was no loss if I was not successful. After that I found a box of scissors at work that were going to be discarded (thanks to going pretty much paperless) and worked on those. I have since done a few for customers. One thing I found was that many of the scissors were gummed up with glue from tape. I started all with a good cleaning. I also found that many needed tightening and a drop of lubrication. This actually brought some back into the serviceable region. I used a marker when setting the angle as I found that there is no standard angle especially between brands. Take your time and do not apply too much pressure.

I use the coarse grading of the stone only when a knife has damage or needs some serious restoration. On a really dull knife I use the stone somewhere in between coarse and fine. This may require a couple of extra passes at the midpoint of the stones grading. This is where a coarsely graded stone ends up after a number of knives. I then use the grading stone on the fine side and finish up with the stone as fine as I can get it easily.  I have honed my knives that are just beyond where a steel will bring them back but most customers bring them when they are much duller.

My grandfather was a cabinet maker for his entire life. In his spare time he enjoyed carving figures and adding decoration to custom pieces. He maintained his tools religiously. I still remember as a very young person not being allowed to touch anything until he taught me to use and maintain each tool properly. At the time I did not understand this but it has served me well. I also think poorly maintained tools are a significant factor when people have difficulty producing the expected results with a project.