Messages

Welcome to the forum, Martha.

If you hold your knife on a cutting board, looking at it from the side, you should not be able to see light under any part of it. If you do, you need to correct it. The area where the light shines through will not cut through properly. In English, we call this "the green onion effect". This is usually caused by the bolster of the knife protruding below the edge of the blade. This is corrected by grinding down the bolster. This should be checked and corrected as part of routine sharpening, although it is frequently overlooked. This can be done freehand. Wolfgang covers this in one of the advanced knife sharpening classes.

Please let us know if this does not correct the problem. We are here to help.

While you are reading this, may I ask a favor? Although I am a US native English speaker, I have some long ago background in Spanish and German. I am sensitive to the frustrations our members who are not native English speakers may have on the forum. The forum has grown from a primarily US based English speaking community to a much more global community. I welcome this growth, although it also brings some "growing pains". I  would welcome any suggestions you might have to make the forum more multilingual friendly. You may post them or send mea Personal Message

Here is a link to the Knife Grinders youtube describing how to use the diamond grading plates:

https://youtu.be/141hD1d1zj0?si=KNY8N51jgPNBNrE9

Ken

I sharpen only my own knives. The only thin knife I own is the Henckels boning knife which is part of the set I purchased in 1990. My wife and I eat very little fish, so I have never added a fillet knife.

I have SVM 100 and 140 jigs, as well as a KJ-140. My boning knife is not long enough for either 140 jig. In hindsight, I would not purchase either of the long knife jigs, although I like the regular knife jigs.

Ken

Nicely done, Kwakster!

Ken

I would like to interject my thoughts about what is included and what is not included with various Tormek models. I will use the T4 as an illustration. The balance is between the most substantial machine and the final price. I have always thought the T4 is more than a hobby machine. When it was first introduced, the only three Tormek wheels for it were the SG and the SJ. The diamond wheels were not added until several years later. I have always thought that the TT-50 should have been included, although I realize that would have increased the price substantially. I also replaced the plastic EZY Lock nut with the metal nut issued with the T8 and the plain nut with the quick release as on the T8. These make the T4 a more efficient heavy duty machine, although at higher cost.

I look at any Tormek as a long term investment. I do not factor in cost"savings" when comparing models. In the long run, I believe the more practical machine is the best value.

Ken

I would like to add my thought that I believe the middle gap in the longer Tormek knife jigs was an intentional design feature. When I visited Tormek, I was included in a design committee meeting. The members are an incredible, very experienced group. I have great confidence in them.

Ken

Eric,

I agree with Rich. With traditional hand woodwork, glue ups for tabletops are usually "sprung". This means being planed so that the two ends of the board protrude ever so slightly beyond the middle of the board. When the boards are clamped together, the middle is compressed enough to be together and the ends are under pressure.

This is notquite the same as the knife jig jaws; however, extra pressure on the ends of the jaws will make the clamp more secure.

Ken 

PStoTormek: This would be good to include in the instruction sheet.

I would not purchase an SG-250 until you have definitively proven based on your own sharpening that your DF-250 will not sharpen scissors. I suspect that the DF-250 will do the job. You may have to use a lighter touch, but the results may be the same. You should base your decision upon your actual testing.

Ken

I second Wim's and Rich's recommendations.

Ken

I have used several brands of markers over the years. All worked. However, my less than scientific testing indicated that the Tormek markers provided the best coverage.

Ken

David,

You ask an excellent question. Over the years, I have acquired a formidable book library of sharpening and woodworking books. In the past few years, my studying has become almost exclusively online videos. For years, I complained to Tormek about the lack of good instructional videos which went beyond short, marketing videos. The answer was always the same, "We would like to; however, our staff just doesn't have the time".

Covid changed that. Travel bans made the old demo at trade fairs strategy non working (one of the very few benefits of Covid). We finally have a series of well done online videos which go beyond easy marketing.

My advice is to limit your precious study time to really studying the Tormek online youtubes. Do this until you acquire a very solid foundation in the Tormek technique. Please note that I am not saying that the Tormek method is the only good method or that it is the only method. By mastering it, you build a solid comparison base to evaluate other ideas. It can help you avoid two pitfalls:

The first pitfall is inexperience with the Tormek. This includes things like using whatever honing compound one happens to already have. I don't know if Tormek PA-70 compound is really better than other brands or not. I do know that Tormek has standardized on it for many years.

Related is non wetgrinding thinking. Like you, I have decades of bench stone sharpening experience. It is valuable related experience. It is not the same as Tormek sharpening.

The second pitfall is, for lack of a better term, "marketing propaganda". While often not incorrect, this often ignores the entire picture. Is water "messy", or is grinding dust unhealthy? Is the useof an anticorrosion solution "expensive" or do thebenefits outweigh the cost? And, what isthe real cost?

I expect any vendor toadvocate his own product.Ihave noproblem with that; however, all vendor information, including that of Tormek, should beable to withstand reasonable criticism.

In conclusion, Irecommend study of the handbook andTormek's online classes.

Ken

PS I apologize for the typos. I recently had cataract surgery on both eyes and am awaiting new lenses for closevision.

David,

In learning how to use"the beast", you have two definite advantages. First, you have experience as a working chef. While it is nice BESS testing knowledge and a digital microscope, you have in the trenches experiences using kitchen knives. This will stand by you in both sharpening and talking with customers. Second, your years of sharpening with stones is good related experience. It is not the same as wet sharpening with a Tormek; however, it will assist your learning process. with diligence and patience you will succeed.

Please keep us posted.

Ken

Rich has several useful and reasonably priced 3D designed tools on his website. They are availably either ready made or just the plans for those who have a 3D printer or access to one.

For many years, I have recommended getting to know a local machinist. I would like to amend that recommend that recommendation to also include either acquiring a 3D printer or getting to know someone with access to one.

Going back a number of years, the problem for third party vendors has been the cost of international shipping. Living in the US, I have paid for shipping to or from Australia and Europe several times. Often the cost of shipping was more than the value of the article. Tariffs further complicate this.  I have several tools from Rich's Colvin Tools. They are well designed and manufactured. Rich provides a useful function of providing useful accessories for the US market at affordable prices and very reasonable shipping costs.

Ken

Welcome to the forum, David. I do not think you made a bad decision with the composite honing wheel.

The original purpose of the composite honing wheel (in combination with the 600 grit diamond wheel) was to provide the T2 with wheels which would require neither water nor honing paste. This was judged more efficient in a commercial kitchen environment.

The composite wheel can be made to work more efficiently by modifying the grinding technique slightly. Make the last few passes with very light pressure. This removes most of the burr before using the honing wheel. Johan demonstrates this in the online class about the T2.

Ken

Welcome to the forum, Nis.

I have been thinking about your post, especially your "deep dive" comment. I think many of us share that passion. In my opinion, the member deep dive which most influenced me has been Dutchman's grinding angle tables(now pinned at the top of the knife sharpening section). Dutchman's deep dive, which began years ago with his calculator, revolutionized bevel angle setting. It is the foundation for all of the computer angle setting programs. Dutchman did not invent trigonometry; he did adapt it to sharpening with a Tormek.

All of this reply is my opinion, and there are many other forum deep dives.

My custom is to start most days with quiet study time on my ipad. This video made me think of you:


https://youtu.be/5MgBikgcWnY?si=pQ8b_SBtbxbXo1t5

while much of my study is Tormek related, I do not limit it to exclusively Tormek.

In my opinion, one of the difficulties of deep diving is developing a sense of which sources to ignore and/or question critically. Some information, taken in context, may actually be correct, but is not applicable to using a Tormek. Some information may be biased to push a vendor's products. (Incidentally, I hold Tormek to this same standard of criticism.)

I try to ask two questions of ideas and products: Is it possible and is it practical? Related to these questions is what are the author's credentials?

I believe in and encourage deep dives, especially those which include having a solid foundation of fundamentals.

Keep on diving!

Ken