Messages

I would not send a break down of your costs again. The buyer does not want to hear your problems and it makes you look bad.

Oh, I don't think it makes me "look bad" (and I'm too old to care much, anyway)  I made it very clear to the buyer that it wasn't his fault and not his responsibility to fix or even worry about.  And I wished him good luck with the machine and reminded him again of the valuable resources of this forum and his almost-neighbor, Steve (he lives in Parma).  I saw the breakdown more as a warning or caution about the ever-increasing costs of selling on eBay and the ridiculous inaccuracy of its shipping calculators (in this case, 50% low)

I would however, just out of spite, block that bidder/ buyer so that he can never take advantage of you again.

I don't think the guy took advantage of me; I think eBay, PayPal & (maybe, depending upon whether they set up the embedded calculator) UPS took advantage of me.

They buyer's poor behavior, IMHO, was lack of communication.  I see more and more of this lack of courtesy and, frankly, common sense, as the years and decades go by.  It is at its very worst among millennials (wherever, exactly they fit), who tend to be totally unable to pull their attention away from their gadgets to focus on a human, four feet away, attempting to interact with them.  Yesterday, I dealt with a 20-something retail clerk who just couldn't "stay with me" because he was constantly checking his smart phone and texting quick replies.  He never excused himself; he was clearly engaged in what, for him and his contemporaries, is normal behavior.  The purchase in question amounted to about $5K.

I'm afraid we've created a virtual world and raised at least one generation of people who live there more than they do in the world of rocks and trees, bricks and mortar, other humans in the flesh.  And we're rapidly raising yet another.  My wife teaches elementary school (thankfully, not for much longer).  She tells me that the kids are reluctant to go outside to play, or for almost any other reason.  They beg to be allowed to stay inside and play computer games at recess.

As for eBay itself, the reason I have so few transactions under my current account is that I closed my first one several years ago, after doing thousands of deals, almost since the beginning of the site.  It was becoming increasingly clear that it was no accident that they were treating small sellers more badly every few months; it's part and parcel of a deliberate strategy.  Since the rude interruption to my sharpening plans arose, I thought I'd try once again -- I had already opened a new account and done a few small deals to get a feel for the new environment.  Never again.

  ~Doug

Hi, folks.

I just wanted to pop back in to tell you a bit about selling my T7 on eBay.

First: thanks, Ken, for your support!

The auction bidding, for T7, knife jigs, scissors jig, all the stuff that comes in the box, rotating base, work mat, two universal support bars, a copy of Steve B's book and video course, etc. closed at $801.00.  I wasn't unhappy with that.

Then, PayPal deducted $26-something, eBay charged me $85, and UPS charged twice the shipping charge that showed on the embedded calculator on the eBay site when I listed (I had already packaged the stuff and accurately measured and weighed the package).

So lumping everything together, I netted $219.00 less than the buyer deposited to my PayPal account.

To add insult to injury, the buyer, although he paid promptly, never made any attempt at communication or acknowledgment of my communication (I was able to ship the same day the auction ended).  A little annoyed, I sent him a final message breaking down the details of the transaction, although I assured him that I understood it wasn't his problem and that I wished him the best of luck with his new T7.  He hasn't bothered to respond to that, either.

Why share all of this with you?  To let you know that the "eBay experience" has become expensive and unpleasant for sellers and that, among other things, you can't trust their shipping calculators, probably especially for relatively heavy items that won't fit in flat-rate USPS boxes.

Best to all of you.

  ~Doug

Hi, folks.

I was only active here, briefly, as I prepared to begin a "retirement sharpening business" with my Tormek as the main tool in my collection.  All of you were wonderfully helpful and courteous.

As it turns out, health issues are going to derail my plans (not so unusual as we grow older, unfortunately) and, as part of closing this (very short) chapter, I wanted to remember to come here and say thanks!

So, it's time to take inventory and head off to eBay and Craigslist and Goodwill to disperse the tools and zillions of books and all the other stuff (where did it all come from ?!?) that isn't going to fit the new "lifestyle" I didn't know I was going to be adopting.

One last comment:  Tormek makes absolutely brilliant products.  I've very seldom been so impressed with a tool's quality and ingenious design.  I'll be telling that to every prospective user I meet.

Regards.

  ~Doug

Considering I have most of the tools (or variants), already and am not planning on buying spares of those or going into business, I hope you do consider either just selling the dvd, or a package with the book and dvd.

I understand this request and it seems a reasonable one, although I have no idea whether or not it fits Steve's marketing plan for his package.  However, I want to pop in and say that, for most people considering a sharpening business, the current list price would be a bargain whether all, some or none of the possible discounts are used.  Steve has produced a very informative video, with an enormous amount of information packed into a modest running time.

I've learned a lot from the video and I've been sharpening edges for a long time.  I already had Steve's book, from an earlier investigation into a possible retirement business.  I did need to buy new and additional equipment, and the discounts were valuable, but the video would have been a $150 bargain even without them.

Earlier, Ken said something like "beginners should buy the sharpening school video before buying tools."  Good advice.  Buying it after buying tools, even after sharpening for decades, is good advice, too.

  ~Doug

I suppose your jig enables to hone/grind keeping the blade flat = horizontal, also.

It sure looks like it, doesn't it?  Another simple, elegant solution.

Yes, thanks for sharing.

The use of the BGM-100 pieces is very interesting and solves one of the problems I've been having with a jig idea.

Good work!

~Doug

Excellent work, folks!   When I saw Herman's question/comment about adjusting the platform angle, I thought "must draw or find others' drawings to explain."  Then I discovered that Ken and Jan (and maybe Steve in the sharpening school video) have already done all the 'splainin' required.

Herman, this approach to measuring and setting the bevel angle, based upon a blade held "level" (cross-section midlines parallel with the base plane of the grinder), is the one I've always found easiest to internalize.  Once I really got it, I realized that I could actually grind acceptable primary bevels freehand on many kitchen knives.

I had to refresh my memory of high school geometry and trigonometry (my math(s) is/are not as fresh as Jan's) to make sure I actually understood the procedure, but it feels at least as natural and intuitive as the AngleMaster.  ;^) 

  ~Doug

   Steve's original post (video) was largely in regard to "grinding off the edge to create a larger exit bur". I missed his opening statement the first few times I watched the video. "When we want absolutely precise and good looking bevels, we use the Tormek and use the knife jig".

I think we all agree.

The focus of this whole platform-jig/grinding-off-the-edge/little-help-from-the-laser group experiment has been rapid, preparation of working edges for kitchen knives in a setting like a farmers market.  I think the approach looks promising for meeting working-knife quality requirements, with practice and assuming a careful operator (one who cares).  I don't think it's going to win many bevel beauty contests.

  However, Herman states "I find that the knife keeps lifting off the platform."  This was said in regard to grinding off the edge of the knife.

Herman's right. There is a tendency for the stone to lift and pull the edge of the knife a bit.  With the knife riding more or less flat on a platform jig and not all that much bevel surface to pull against, I'm not experiencing major forces to resist or overcome.

By the way, practice is still required to obtain "absolutely precise and good looking bevels".

That's the truth.  The Tormek jigs permit more than enough freedom of movement for humans to make a mess of a knife.  Experimental knives to mess up should be part of every new sharpener's initial purchase.

~Doug

The idea [elegance] may seem strange in technical disciplines, but on the contrary, it becomes essential in all fields.

Absolutely.  Certainly, craft without elegance is, at best, boring.

Your solution, here, passes the elegance test with flying colors*, Jan.

~Doug

*English idiom that probably derives from something like "coming into port with colors flying."

http://bzin1.weebly.com/uploads/3/2/1/6/3216195/5972502.jpg

First, I almost forgot to send in the registration for the T-7 I purchased recently in time to secure my promotional LED lamp and Tormek baseball cap.  Then I forgot all about the lamp until it arrived in yesterday's mail.

Pretty nice lamp!



The threads on the lamp I received were still a bit ragged.  A few minutes cleaning up and smoothing and and a hint of lubrication and everything screws together nicely and fingers should be safe.

The beam is even focusable within a useful range.



And it's bright!  And the screw-on magnet is a little monster.

~Doug

Yup. Great quote.

From the looks of things it won't be too long before:
http://forum.tormek.com/index.php?topic=2319.msg11271#msg11271

But we're getting laser assistance along with creative elegance like Jan's framing square  mount.  Definitely looks like best-of-class DIY culture to me.

Now, for a reservoir circulation, filtration and power-draining system using old aquarium components.  And/or a redesign of the water trough retention system.   

Brilliant, Jan.  A huge step toward a workable laserized version of Herman's platform knife jig.

And I just happen to have some spare steel squares.   

Easier and faster to use the Angle Master to repeatedly, individually, set the bevel angles of successive knives than to set the laser level (and/or a version of your platform jig) once for everything-at-18-degrees (or something like that -- most kitchen knives)?

I think we might have a disconnect here, cuz I don't understand how that could be.  What did I miss?   

I can set the platform to an 18 degree angle quickly and easily using the Angle Master. Once that's done I can sharpen as many knives as I want at an 18 degree bevel never again needing to measure anything.

Oh, I knew that, obviously.  Now I think I understand what you meant.

I'm not sure whether or not you can set the grinding point on the stone faster with the Angle Master than with a simple procedure (known or calculated position on circumference measured from TDC); or a template that does essentially the same thing (flexible strips marked in bevel angle degrees -- you can have several for varying stone diameter); or a bespoke Tormek grindstone protractor.  I doubt it, but it doesn't matter much, anyway, since it's only done once per bevel angle setting.

Doug, Ken, maybe I have a proposal for you, how to assemble height-adjustable version of Herman's tool rest knife jig. Use two wedges made of (hard)wood.

Good idea and good link, Jan.

To build the laser/platform jig combination I had in mind, we'd need some largish wedges. 



Not too large for practicality, though, I think.

  ~Doug