Messages

David,

Scissors generally are not made from hardened steel so an aggressive stone will wear away the metal quickly. And, you don't want to hone them.

I use the SG-250 on my Tormek to sharpen scissors for my wife.  I have not used the extra fine diamond grinding wheel (e.g., the EF-250); however I believe it would also work quite well.  The fine diamond grinding wheel (DF-250) may be too aggressive and leave too rough of a surface, but I am not positive of that.

As for jigs, the Tormek SC-60 scissors jig is my recommendation.  If you have the older, Tormek SVX-150 scissors jig, that works well also.

The Tormek videos

• Axes & scissors sharpening | Part 2 | Tormek Live Sharpening Class (https://www.youtube.com/live/QlScXCdisAo?si=b_6xTCoscNwjJZq-)
• Scissors sharpening with the SC-60 Scissors Jig | Part 28 | Tormek Live Sharpening Class (https://www.youtube.com/live/YXh-Gt2TT3s?si=SWj2X0hwBj00hpJp)

cover this well.  In the second video, Sébastien discusses sharpening scissors on the T-2 which uses a diamond grinding stone.

Kind regards,
Rich

David,

Ken is right that the Tormek classes on YouTube are a great place to start.  The playlists on their YouTube channel is available at https://www.youtube.com/@TormekSharpening/playlists.

Regarding books, there is a bit of difficulty answering your question directly.  Generally, the best book I recommend for woodworkers is The Complete Guide to Sharpening (1996), by Leonard Lee (of Lee Valley).  It is quite thorough and well done.

For other types of tools,  there are good sources, but I have found that the best books are for sharpening given tools and the books are usually tool-specific or at least category-specific.  For example, I have come to find these are some of the best books:

• For knives: "Concerning the Sharpness of Blades" (PDF, date unknown), by Tremonia Feterkurier and Knife Engineering: Steel, Heat Treating, and Geometry (2025), by Dr. Larrin Thomas.  The late Dr. Vadim Kraichuk of KnifeGrinders (http://knifegrinders.com.au) also published a number of really great articles on his web site.
• For twist drills: "Drill Bit Geometry" (an article from 1989), by Joseph Mazoff
• For metal lathe & milling machine tooling: Design and Use of Cutting Tools (1952), by Leo J. St. Clair.
• For handsaws, Set & File: A Practical Guide to Saw Sharpening (2024), by Matt Cianci
• For cold chisels, Use and Care of Hand Tools and Measuring Tools (2020), by the U.S. Department of Defense.  This is AKA: Air Force TO 32-1-101, Army TM 9-243, Navy M6290-AJ-MAN-1010, & Marine Corps 10209-10/1.

In the web-based Sharpening Handbook (https://sharpeninghandbook.info), I have attempted to compile the list of these resources two ways:

• as a composite list (https://sharpeninghandbook.info/indexBooksVideosWebSites.html), and
• by tool to be sharpened

If you take this as a journey to enjoy rather than a destination, you will find there is much to learn as we all do.  And you will find that new information is being released to update your knowledge (e.g., Knife Engineering: Steel, Heat Treating, and Geometry in 2025 by Dr. Larrin Thomas).

Kind regards,
Rich

And they keep surprising me with damage never thought possible.

Old sergeants and shop teachers are always the best at summarizing such activities:

What did you shave with, private? A bowl of milk and an angry cat?

• Unknown Sergeant

I will give you an A+ in this class if you SWEAR to me that you will NEVER take this class again.

• Unknown Shop Teacher

I've developed a simple, 3D-printed angle gauge which is available for anyone to print.

You can get the design at https://www.sharpeninghandbook.info/Jigs-AngleGauge.html.

Jake,

I re-designed the jig I make to be mostly 3D printed.  (https://sharpeninghandbook.info/Jigs-RotaryKnife.html)

It is currently setup for 60mm blades which have a 10mm bore, but I think it could be easily modified for 28 mm blades.  What is the bore size for those blades?

I received Dr. Thomas' book, and read the parts relevant to me.  It is really good, and worth having in your sharpening library.

This guy's web site is really interesting.

https://knifesteelnerds.com

I've ordered his book, but haven't read it yet. 

I've heard this request a few times now, so I've added pictures.

About the adjusting stone, what difference is that from a regular dual grit wetstone?

The SG grindstone can be graded with the two-sided stone grader to either a coarse or find grit. That grindstone alone is sufficient, especially for a beginner. I wouldn't invest in the SJ grindstone unless for some reason I found the SG unsatisfactory.

I sharpen all kinds of hand tools, mower blades, and kitchen knives. Been doing it for 23 years and have never had the need for anything other than the SG grindstone.

In my opinion it just doesn't pay to get a tool or a knife any sharper than what I get with the combination of the SG and the leather honing wheel. Not for my needs, anyway.

I love your by-line:

"Knowledge isn't free, you have to pay attention." R.P. Feynman

It could be that the alignment screws on the SE-77 are not set to provide you a square edge.  That is why I designed the SE-77 Alignment Jig (https://sharpeninghandbook.info/Jigs-SE-77-Alignment.html).  You can 3D print it and use it to ensure the SE-77 is aligned perfectly.

I've been thinking about this quite a bit since Yukon Jake posted the question 3 days ago.  

The rotary knife jig I designed (https://sharpeninghandbook.info/Jigs-RotaryKnife.html) was a modification of the SVD-18x jig, providing a handle to make it easier to rotate the blade for a consistent sharpening process.  It works; however I can no longer get the parts to make it as a stand-alone product.  It could possibly be re-designed so that it could be 3D printed with a few off-the-shelf parts, and that is what I've been mulling.

In contrast, the Tormek RBS-140 Round Blade Sharpening Attachment (https://tormek.com/en/products/culinary/culinary-accessories/rbs-140-round-blade-sharpening-attachment) uses a different approach (the video on the linked site shows it well).  I really like that approach; however it is noted on that page that this attachment only works on the T-2.  I don't know if anyone has tried it on the other Tormek grinders (e.g., the T-4 or T-8).  It looks like two of the parts are from the SVD-186-R, so I suspect it would work on the T-4 at least.

I think something with the same approach as the RBS-140 could also be designed for 3D printing.  But I wonder if it would be safe enough for heavy use.  

Thoughts from the community?

The T-1 is my recommendation.  My sister moved away and needed such a solution. She now has a T-1 and loves it.

I used to sharpen my sister's knives when she lived in the same area. Alas, she recently moved far away and has not had sharpened knives since. She asked me about the equipment I use for sharpening knives, looking to get the same for herself. I didn't want to recommend the T-8 with the jigs as she just wants to sharpen her kitchen knives. Instead, I recommended she get the T-1.

She ordered one and received it late last week. I asked her what she thought about it: She replied, "Very easy to use!"

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Ken,

The usability features noted in the video seem great.  I already have the SVX-150 jig (which works well enough), but those features persuaded me and I ordered the new jig yesterday.

I haven't considered the platform yet ....

Rich

It will ALWAYS be too tempting...