Messages

Neatsfoot oil is used on a lot of leather.  I use in it on my leather razor strop, but I used the mineral oil Jeff includes in his Tormek kit on my leather honing wheel.  Neatsfoot might work just as well but I stuck to the mineral oil.  Neatsfoot oil is still available at some sporting goods and shoe stores.  I think you can also get it from either ebay or amazon.

Congratulations on your purchase.  Tormeks are nice machines that last a very long time with a little care and maintenance. I got a SuperGrind 2000 several years ago and it's as good today as it was the day I bought it.  I'm not a heavy user but I'd used it enough years ago to consider it a good buy.  I wish I could say that about all my tools.

Read the manual and watch Jeff's video(s) on setup and using the jigs.  Learn to use the truing tool to keep the stone square to the universal support and use the stone grader to switch grades.  After that it's mostly about setting angles correctly and applying the right amount of pressure.  There's a learning curve, but the Tormek is a forgiving tool.  Through experience, watching the water flow over the cutting surface and listening to the sound of the stone provide good feedback.

I'd start with something simple like an old kitchen knife or chisel that you don't value a lot.  I practiced on an old block plane iron and kept with it until I got a sharp, square edge.  Sharp was easier than square.

Gary,

My DMT mini hone set arrived yesterday.  Nice tools!  They look like they will be useful for many small tasks.  They are well made; inexpensive ($20) for the set of three; take up almost no space. 

Thanks for the tip.

Ken

Great, I hope you find them as useful as I have.   
Gary

ionut,
Thanks for the response.  I couldn't remember if the shaft had anything on it or not.  I wasn't a heavy user and probably went about 2 years without doing any maintenance.  Now, I follow the maintenance procedure Jeff describes in his video twice a year.  I do this when I can change my smoke detector batteries and reset my clocks for daylight savings time.  I'll go real light with the grease and see what happens.
Gary

I have the older non-stainless shaft, which is developing a little rust.  I'd planned replacing it with the new stainless shaft but recently read on another forum that a periodic application of a light coat of wheel bearing grease would prevent rust.  I'm hesitate to do this until I hear from you guys.  I happy with my existing set up and my only concern its with the rust.  Will something bad happen if I use the wheel bearing grease?

I have the SuperGrind 2000 and it does have the wheel diameter reference sticker.  You need the reference when you use the AngleMaster WM-200.  You select a desired angle and set the appropriate wheel diameter from the sticker when using the AngleMaster.  I don't use it much because I usually reference of the existing bevel of my tool.  It's just a sticker and I'd say you probably could get a replacement.  The sticker must placed at the appropriate place in order to read the diameter correctly.  Jeff could tell you about possible replacement. 

If you want to see how the sticker is used, you can view the video Step 1 Regrind the Bevel under Demo Videos on Sharp Tools USA's home page. 

Looks good.  Thanks for the photos.
Gary

Ken,
Those hones are useful tools.  I have a 2 sets of the DMT mini hones and use them all the time from lawn tool touch-up to kitchen knife touch-up. (That's why I have 2 sets, wife won't let me touch-up steak knifes with same tool I use on my shovel and grass clippers.)  They certainly are no substitute for my Tormek but are great for things too small for Tormek and for light touch-up work.
Gary

Ken,
I hadn't noticed the back of my Henckel but I checked it out and it is pretty sharp.  It's never caused a problem but I see where it might.  Maybe someone can give you something better, but I would be inclined to just break the back with an extra-fine mini diamond hone. 
Gary

Steve,
I can tell by feel now that I've used the stone quite a bit.  But, if I just opened the box I don't think there's a good way to tell.  My tormek is always dressed and then stored with the 1000g grind because that's what I use most often.  I will touch it up with the grader prior to using it.
glh17

Thanks for the post.  I get a Lee-Valley newsletter (email), but don't remember seeing that screwdriver.  Good idea.  I suspect more than just a few people have stabbed their palms while trying to remove the cap iron screw with a standard screwdriver.  I try to follow Jim Kingshott's recommendation of placing the iron on a flat surface, but sometimes that's just not handy.

tooljunkie,
I'd like to see the burr on the iraqi's knife.  I guess the driver would have to take care of the other side or maybe put it in reverse.
glh17

I live in Colorado, I don't think I'll be seeing you boys anytime soon. That's funny, I didn't realie they had electricity in Canada.
Steve

You are right we don't. I had to take my bike apart and adapt the pedals on the Tormek in order to make it work but now I realized that's also the reason why I always end with the perfect edge on my tools.

Ionut

This guy ought to try a Tormek.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bx_PkNIfK4&feature=related

NotTheSharpest,
I haven't used the Tormek stone to sharpen my pocket knives but I do use the strop.  I've used a 1000g water stone followed by stropping and recently used a fine diamond stone followed by stropping.  The strop is great and saves a lot of time versus honing on finer stones. 

After you get your knife sharp, it's easy to maintain with the strop.  I've never had to repair a chip blade on a pocket knife but that's where I'd try it on the water wheel.

gary

Thanks guys, that's what I thought.  My Tormek's home is an unheated garage but temps usually don't fall below freezing inside the garage.  I always empty the water and bring it inside if I've used it within three or four days of freezing temps.  I didn't think the antifreeze would be good for the stone, but didn't really know.  No need to risk damaging an expensive stone.  I'll relay the opinion to the poster. 
Thanks Again,
gary