Messages

Rami,

Congratulations on your upgrade!  Did you keep the T-3 also?

When reshaping a tool, it really depends on the metals

• If it is HSS, I will often use a bench grinder and the Tormek BGM-100, but
• It it is high carbon steel (such as many of the tools I inherited or bought second-hand), I find the SG-250 works quite well.

When sharpening the tool, again, it depends on the metal:

• For HSS, I like to use the DF-250 as it's consistent diameter makes a lot of things easier, and
• For high carbon steel, I will usually use the SG-250. If it needs a very smooth surface, I will then follow the SG-250 with the SJ-250.

For honing turning tools, I find the Tormek CW composite wheel works well.

I hope that helps.

Kind regards,
Rich

That is great!  Thank you for sharing.

[Bad news:]

David,

Bad news:  you need to add the stone grader (SP-650), and also the stone truing tool (TT-50).

Good news:  you will probably never need to replace these two.  My stone grader is 20+ years old and still working strongly.  I upgraded to the TT-50 truing tool, but re-used the diamond tip which came with my machine in 2003.

I know that this all adds up to a lot of money; however, I would challenge you to find another machine that is this well made at a better cost.  One similar type of machine was made by Accu-Finish (though it no longer is).  You were lucky to be able to get one 5 years ago for less than $3,000.  And it too required a lot of add-on pieces, so $4,000 - $5,000 was not an unusual investment.


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I had a low-end metal lathe which seemed like a good deal at the time.  I learned a lot about how it worked as it was often broken down.  I now have a nice Jet lathe for metal.

When I purchased my Tormek SuperGrind 2000 in 2002, it cost $549.  Certainly, I've had to replace worn grinding wheels over the years just like one must replace brake pads or tires.  But I've only had to replace two parts on that machine, adding another $139 to the cost.  (I wish my pickup truck were so reliable.)
 
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Finally, I think it is also key for all of us to remember how Tormek supports what they make.  There have been some nice improvements made over the years (from my SuperGrind 2000 to my T-8), but all the jigs and parts work on both machines equally well.  I don't know any other companies which provide such backwards compatibility.


Please don't give up hope on your Tormek.  It will serve you well for a long time.

I was more asking how you restored the sides of the knife (i.e., did you use electrolysis or naval jelly)?

What process did you use to restore the blade?

Eric,

I have the predecessor products (the SVM-100 and SVM-140).  Both of them are the same way.  

When I use them, the ends "flex" out so that there is a consistent edge against the blade.

Rich

I prefer to use red Sharpies.  I find that the red stands out better.

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.