Messages

In the ongoing grinding into or away debate, I don't hear much about freehand or guided sharpening. Freehand sharpening favors grinding away for safety. Guided sharpening can be either.

Ken

 Herman,

Let's be fair. Although not quite as fast, the new knife kit is capable of doing almost everything your homemade platform can do.

Ken

"And Torgny said, 'Let there be light'. Although I had studied the handbook, setting up my Tormek in good daylight for the first time in bright daylight instead of my poorly lit garage was quite a surprise.

Great idea about the headlights!

Ken

The adjustable water trough introduced with the T8 is a real innovation. However, it can also be prone to introducing noise. This is preventable and easily corrected. It is explained in the new Tormek video on cambering plane blades, starting at around 20 minutes. The problem is not related to cambering or any jig. I suggest watching this video, whether or not you sharpen plane blades. Here is a link:

https://youtu.be/TIicRhEh57E?si=csPW48Q1pxzo2T1Z

The problem is caused when the two forks which support the water trough get slightly bent. This can be prevented by using an inexpensive turkey baster from the grocery store to withdraw the water instead of just dumping it. Making this part of your sharpening routine should prevent the noise.

Ken

With some of the new jigs, I feel there are some substantial improvements and some which look good for marketing. In my opinion, the substantial improvement in the
KJ-45 jig is the self centering.

Ken

Good questions, Tom. Paul Sellers from the UK is certainly an excellent source. Another excellent resource person in the US is Ernie Conover. He can be emailed through conoverworkshops.com.  I have known Ernie for thirty years and have taken numerous classes with him, including his handplane restoration class. He is an excellent teacher.

The #1 plane is really a very collectable plane rather than a user. Approach any restoration carefully.

Ken

I was pleased to find this new video from Tormek about convexing sharpening a knife with a T4 Bushcraft. Granted, it could be just as easily done with a T7/8 or a regular T4; however, I have felt the T4 Bushcraft has not received much press.

The video was very well done, both informationally and technically. Here is a link:

https://youtu.be/zqqEyRU2SxY?si=-MOVJymKkkPCObaJ

Ken

Good post, John.

Ken

Hobbit,

Good question. Many years ago, my T7 was stolen during a break in while I was moving. I contacted a friend who was a former US importer for Tormek. He referred me to a large US dealer who also stocked spare parts. While there was no official "custom" program at the time, he sold me a stripped down version of the T7 at a fair price. Neither he nor I got rich on the deal.

I have no knowledge of UK dealers. I would suggest you contact the UK importer and several larger dealers. Include the dealer who sold you your present T4. Explain your situation and that you are looking for a second T4, either regular or Bushcraft (they are identical). Watch for sales and the second hand market.

Unlike the T8 Original, the T4 does not include any jigs in the original box. Essentially, you would end up with a spare SG-200, leather honing wheel, and marker, all of which you would probably end up using.

Ken

Two thoughts:

The actual cutting is only done by the very edge of the blade. I agree with the secondary bevel. I understand the desire for the entire bevel to be shiny; however, this shine is mostly for looks. Spending time with the leather honing wheel will help narrow the gap.

A possibility is purchasing a new SG-200. That will make the two wheel diameters much closer. Use your present SG-200 for tools which don't require the SJ-200.

Ken

Good point. I had forgotten about my 2024 post. The video can stand on its own merits.

Ken

This video features two knife experts using a Tormek. Oneof them is Thomas Ericksson, grandson of one of the founders of Morakniv.

https://youtu.be/iYsgxerFKHk?si=fDHKgjQ8N_4QRb_W

Ken

TGB,

Your points are well taken. It may surprise you; however, I agree with you. In my own sharpening, I use a set of three DMT diamond cards. Each is epoxied onto a piece of steel 2" x 8" x 1/16". This was a piece of 2' steel from my local hardware store cut into thirds. These are placed into older square edge jig (s).

I fully credit Wootz for conceiving the idea o using diamond plates to keep grinding wheels true and graded. I consider my minor modification a small improvement. Wootz' premature passing was tragic in many ways. Who knows what concepts Wootz would have developed with a longer life.
believe both truing and grading are developing concepts. I do not believe either Wootz' concept or my modification will prove to be the end all.

I often do not know the experience level of the members involved. Some members, like you, are obviously more skilled than the majority of the membership. I suspect most members are still using the stone grader, many using it very infrequently. For some, I believe these suggestions might be a step up in their technique. I encourage more advanced posts like yours. It will help us all grow.

Ken

This topic is an expansion of my TT-50 topic. The same concept of average cutting efficiency can be applied to the stonegrader. It works in both keeping the stone coarse and fine. Again, I recommend watching the Pressure online class linked here:

https://www.youtube.com/live/7laP_ysnMwo?si=FzjiYp79vs5zLKfS

Ken

I have posted before about my preferred TT-50 technique. I learned this by "resharpening" a turning skew. I set the jig according to the booklet recommendations and soon realized that the skew did not fit the standard specs. Instead of just resetting the skew to match the existing specs, I decided to regrind it to the Tormek jig specs. Bad move. It created a lot of time consuming work. The one bright spot was that I became fluent with my TT-50. I should have just shifted the skew gradually, correcting it over several sharpenings.

This experience helped me develop my mental bar graph of using the TT-50. Imagine a bar graph where the horizontal axis represents use time of the tool. The vertical axis represents the cutting efficiency (sharpness) of the tool. The tool begins with 0 time and 100% cutting efficiency. As the tool is used,  the cutting efficiency gradually decreases. Eventually, the TT-50 is used to restore the stone to 100% efficiency. Combining all the points lets us arrive at an average cutting efficiency.

If the TT-50 is used more often, the average cutting efficiency is improved. This principle is shown in the online class on Pressure. Done frequently, only a very light cut is needed, perhaps only half a number on the micro adjust. Wear on the grinding wheel in minisculs. For heavier or prolonged use, efficiency can be improved by leaving the TT-50 preset in a second support bar.

Here is a link to the Pressure online class. There is much good information in it.

https://www.youtube.com/live/7laP_ysnMwo?si=FzjiYp79vs5zLKfS

Ken