Messages

I agree with CB. If I was in your situation, I would make a trip to the local hardware store for approximately three feet (one meter) of plastic pipe, conduit or wooden dowel. The exact length is not critical, nor is the diameter, around 1/2" or 12mm. Get some wet or dry sandpaper, either adhesive or regular. Either will work. With the regular w/d sandpaper, you will need some tape to secure it to the dowel or plastic pipe. Cut in three or four lengths to make "files". Sharpening your knife will go quickly.

Ken

ps Life is easier if you save these files and retouch your knife when it just starts to get dull.

Thank you Ken. That would let me sharpen at its current angle. If I wanted to choose the exact angle myself?

Gerald.

Hi, all.
I have a VERY concave carpet/lino knife which I have been trying, without much success, to sharpen on the rounded wheel of my T7. It appears to me that with the T2 I could simply draw the blade through keeping it perpendicular to the wheel at the point of contact.  Is this correct?
TIA,
Gerald.

Probably not... the guide on the T2 just draws the blade across the flat of the wheel.

Thanks, CB. I've ordered one anyway so I'll report back when it comes 😀.

Hi, all.
I have a VERY concave carpet/lino knife which I have been trying, without much success, to sharpen on the rounded wheel of my T7. It appears to me that with the T2 I could simply draw the blade through keeping it perpendicular to the wheel at the point of contact.  Is this correct?
TIA,
Gerald.

Steve,
  I'm no expert at all in this field.  However, a grinding wheel 1/8" out of true and a honing wheel 1/8" out of true on the opposite side bespeaks a shaft out of true to me.  Are the two high spots at 180 degrees to each other on the shaft?
G.

Herman,
  yes, and I've read somewhere here that knives get scratched too.  As one of my over-the-top ideas I thought perhaps a ptfe coated plate under the knife?  Other things I was thinking of were:
1.  Obviously, whatever the diameter of the grinding wheel the centre of the arc in your wood will be positioned over the exact centre of the wheel and then move up and down to compensate for the diameter change.
2.  I would then see a lower plate sliding out over the arc to form a pivot for...
3.  Either the knife itself or, more likely, a second plate which would pivot to our edge angle and slide down close to the grinding wheel with its angle set by a couple of sprung thumbscrews.  (This second plate would avoid the thumbscrews' scratching the knife).  This would allow you to set the edge angle and also the edge depth, preparatory to adjusting the jig for a secondary bevel.
  I see that the initial maximum opening width for Clay's new version is 4mm, not enough for some of the sharpeners.  I assume your max. opening will be constrained by the tendency of the upper screw to bend when the lower screws are opening the lower gap.  Have you ascertained yet what your maximum will be?
Oh, and I thought perhaps that "Frankensangle" may trip off the tongue better.  What do you think?
All the best,
Gerald.

Herman,
  I hadn't seen the video before now.  It's the mutt's nuts.  It seems to do all we need it to.  Whence the idea for the wooden version with the arc following the curve of the grinding stone?  I have been applying my thoughts in my spare time over the last couple of days to producing a version which would let me set the precise angle and length of bevel, which would then let me apply a precise angle and length of a secondary bevel for my kitchen knives.  Looking at this, however, and applying the k.i.s.s principle, what more do we need than this prototype version?
Regards,
Gerald.

Ken,
  once again a thread I hadn't seen bubbles back to life after a couple of years. (Note to self:  Spend a weekend reading EVERYTHING here ).  I find myself saying "Jeez, Gerald.  This is going to be you in n years time" until I realise that, at 56, I'm older than most of the posters! )
G.

Herman,
  what I meant was meaning was, when using the HK-50 do you just use your hands or do you use a jig too.  I then immediately thought that a jig would get in the way and dismissed the idea.  It does seem that Tormek are in the game mostly for turning tool sharpening rather than knives.  For me it is the other way round, with knives' being the priority.  i will occasionally sharpen axes and chisels for my father in law.
  I am very interested in the HK-50.  I have been doing some work with the geometry/trigonometry of it.  As I have no woodworking skills (at school the best I managed to fashion was a stick) I am thinking of using a 3D printer in ABS.  At least it will give me a good excuse to buy one   If I can come up with some general principles for production I'll get back to you.
All the best,
Gerald.

Welcome, Gerald.

The Brits are easy to spot. They all seem to be named Rob or Robin (although one Kenny snuck in). The real giveaway is that they all seem to have uncles named Bob.
Ken

Lol!  In fact, you are not quite right.  It is not we who have the uncles, it's you (those whom we advise).  As in "and finally, just wash that slurry from your water bath somewhere other than down the sink and Bob's your uncle".  In extremis, may be stretched to "and Bob's your dad's brother".

G.

Rob,
  you are right about the search function here.  I saw your post earlier and decided to reply now.  Took me ages to find it again.
Yes, ceramic hones are great.  As long as you use them gently and at an angle slightly greater than the sharpened angle you can put a micro bevel back several times before needing to touch up with the Normek.
Gerald.

I know that Herman!  I just think that Tormek should adopt and distribute it   Btw, do you then sharpen freehand or do you still use a knife jig?
G.

This happens to me too.  It is galling, as the manual (p.54) says that the earlier design had a locking screw but the new design is self-locking, without saying how it self-locks.
G.

Hi Ken,
  I'm grateful that this topic has come back to light as I hadn't seen it before.  I'd just like any Brit newbies to know that I just placed my order on amazon.co.uk for an Irwin Blue Chip Bevel Edge 3/4" chisel and a selection of Sharpie chisel edge and fine permanent markers.  All here tomorrow!
All the best,
Gerald.

Hi grepper, thanks for diving in!  Ironically this is one of the videos which convinced me to buy the Tormek.  I do see what you mean now, though.  Jeff has his thumb behind the jig and his fingers applying the pressure.  I recall feeling the jig rising above the control bar a couple of times while I tried to control the tip.  I'll try to copy Jeff's slight lift with a small rearward rotation of the handle.
Fortunately the only surface irregularities are the chunks I've taken from the edge of the wheel   If I could only work out how to embed an image I'd show you!
Thanks again,
Gerald.

Thanks again Stig.  When it happens again I'll trust your method....

** Update **

I trued my wheel today.  That's a millimetre of wheel I won't see again   I then used the stone to round off the last of the ding.  The manual says to traverse the wheel surface in 90 seconds.  All very well, but I had to go like a road-runner to cover those last 5mm!
  Then I did it again.  Dug in a chef's knife and carved another dint.  The knife went skyward...  It's because I'm trying to control the sharpening of the tip.  Lifting the handle seems to make the jig pull away from the bar.  I think I'll just sharpen away from Japanese edges until I'm more experienced.