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Thank you Sebastien for the information.

Welcome to the forum. With just a little practice you will have knives and tools that are razor sharp and that maintain their edge very well. Do not hesitate to ask questions. There are also some great videos by Jeff Farris that are worth watching before you start.

https://www.youtube.com/user/SharpToolsUSA

Ken, Sorry late reply. A knife in constant use in a boning room for instance, would be a daily sharpen if you have not hit a chain mail glove or such. A worker would normally carry two knives and steel which normally gets them through the day. For sharpening we usually look for thinness behind the edge to stop the wedging effect which causes drag, a knife will shave but still drag if to thick behind the edge. The sharpness is not determined so much by the grit of the stone as the last thing to touch edge determines sharpness, in our case it is the steel which determines sharpness, as such the knife needs to be able to shave after steeling. Workers would probably make three thousand cuts a day, steeling is vital to maintaining an edge throughout the day, a good steel is treasured.
As an example: Using a norton india fine bench stone to finish edge, and steeling. Using a victorinox six inch curved boning knife we could easily bone twenty beef bodies daily, or one hundred and twenty sheep which was a normal days work.Understanding steeling is very difficult to teach, there are many misunderstanding about their use which can only be gained with experience. I have not worked in the industry for twenty years and know that much has changed. Brinky

While my personal usage does not come close to this level I make it a point to steel any blade I am using before I start cutting with a smooth steel. I am sold on how it maintains an edge. After much use I will use a steel that has very fine grooves. I find that this routine adds greatly to the time needed between sharpening. I also train each of my customers on how to properly use a steel. Many admit that they don't bother which is a little disheartening.

My wife ordered a 4 pack of these from Kuhn Rikon for under $30. She got them without the S&H fee shown as part of some special they were running. They are a very good Swiss company so I am interested if they perform as well at home as they did on TV. One pair is slated for the shop another for the kitchen and one as a gift for my daughter.

https://www.qvc.com/Kuhn-Rikon-Set-of-%284%29-Shears-with-Gift-Boxes.product.K49303.html?sc=PSCH

Thank you so much for the help Ken and yes john I was also thinking of decanting for re use but then also comes the question how long can one re use before the efficacy of the anti corrosion liquid is obsolete and one needs new water and liquid.....
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Again if it were me; I would mix a batch of fresh liquid and store it in a glass bottle. I would use this to replenish liquid lost in the grinding and decanting. By adding fresh solution it would keep the concentration close.  I am tempted to buy a fine diamond wheel and in my process I would remove it and dry it after use. I would do all my knives in a batch, change to the diamond wheel and finish them all. I would then remove the diamond wheel, dry and put it away.

I am very interested in the results you see Rick. I have been using Vadim's Tormek process with the FVB and I have been very happy with the sharpness I have achieved. Giving a customer knives back that are sharper than they were when new is rewarding. I have not jumped to the paper wheels yet. I am thinking of another route using the fine diamond paste on a new Tormek leather wheel. My working area is limited as I have 2 regular size workbenches and a small one for my grinder and drill press. I is used exclusively for reloading ammunition and the other for everything else.

Pls can you give me the link for the book as I have had a look but cant seem to find it on your site

http://knifegrinders.com.au/11Shop.htm

I don't have these wheels so this is just my opinion not based on experience.

If I had these wheels I would change the water just to make sure nothing could damage the Japanese wheel. I would decant and reuse the water from the diamond wheel to be conservative with the anti-corrosion fluid. After spending so much on the extra wheels I would be careful with them.

Just an FYI concerning stainless steel. At least some of it will rust. The kind Tormek uses might not, I do not know but be aware that not all stainless steel is rust proof. The kind used on Walther TP 22 handguns will rust.

All steels will corrode given the proper conditions. Depending on the alloy some are more resistant than others. This is why it is always a good idea to wash and dry knives soon after use. Oxidation on the cutting edge while imperceptible dulls the blade. This is another reason to steel the blade with a smooth steel prior to each use. The shaft will eventually show some corrosion if left in a warm wet environment for a long time.

Ken, have you tried the DE-250 as a final step after the SG-250 and prior to honing?

Thanks for the information.

The acronym PPC I believe refers to the Pin Pivot Collar employed to keep a consistent bevel on knives with curved edges.

I think this is a traditionally shaped Japanese knife using a newer Super Blue Steel. This is a rather new exotic steel. It is not at all easy to sharpen with the traditional Japanese stones due to the Vanadium. I think you may have an easier time getting a proper edge with the fine diamond wheel.

I always have loosened the nut by holding the grinding wheel and honing wheel and turning them in opposite directions. I have never found it necessary to use any tools for this. Once you get it loose I would suggest cleaning and lightly lubricating the threads and only finger tightening the nut as it self tightens when the machine is turned on.

What I admire about "Wootz" in addition to the competence demonstrated with facts is the great availability of communication and the sharing of its methods with the whole community. More unique than rare merit in a world full of self-centered individualists. Infinitely grateful. 

I totally agree with you Van. The Tormek community which Wootz is a valued member reminds me in many ways of the old service station/auto repair and body shop that was on the small island I grew up on. It had a family dynamic where men and their sons would spend time there during business hours sitting around a wood burning stove in the center of the shop. I remember the men that worked there coming over and talking between jobs and they would freely teach you how to do anything if you asked and they had time. Over my pre-college years I learned many things in that shop. I can not remember anyone ever being put down for discussing something or having an opinion. Not to say there were not differences of opinion but it never felt confrontational. I am grateful that this community is here for all of us.

I think the dilemma we have is that as good as it is the BESS device measures cutting force for a push cut. SHARPCO has a good video on how to apply a measured force to reduce this variable. We use this push cut force score to correlate it to sharpness. Sharpness is actually how perfectly the edge apex is formed. As we see in the many SEM photographs the apex is not as perfect as imagined. Much of Wootz's excellent work centers around achieving as near perfect an apex angle as possible.

An ax can be sharpened to a razors edge even though the cutting force is greater on a push cut due to the higher angle and more material behind the apex. We also see this when comparing an old European knife to a Japanese knife of the same era. The European knives were typically sharpened between 20° and 25° DPS while Japanese knives were mostly single edges at 15°. Both knives could be sharpened to a razor sharpness, however, the Japanese knife appeared sharper as much less force was needed to make a slice with the thinner blade. As the blades we sharpen get closer and closer to having the perfect apex I think the limits of the BESS measurement method may be reached. I see no reason why identical 12° DPS and 20° DPS knifes apexes cannot be equally as sharp.