Messages

Since I'm sharpening chef knives for couple of  bars and restaurants, they have a Victorinox knives mainly  and when I introduced a Boker  knives them and gave some basic models to try ( Forge Wood series ) they keep me telling, that Boker holds edge better then Victorinox ... Originally Boker Wood series has 15+15 angle. Victorinox, if I'm not mistaken, has 18+18 angle ( for stiffer knives )

You are right .. pretty hard to explain, what does " feels sharp " means .  That Eka slices paper pretty good, but not straight down but sideways, I think, that the blade thickness is decisive .. I don't know... same time I have a RAT I, Ontario .. that blade is pretty thick too,  I have 20+20 edge on that RAT I and I can cut newspaper straight down ..
I've heard from other hunters, that when they got brand new Swingblade, it did cut pretty good and long time  ( pretty relative term   ) and after, when blade gets dull, they used original EKA firesharp, but after sharpening, it wasn't so sharp, like brand new..  Well, I'll try to find brand new Swingblade from huntingstore and see, what angle does it have.

That does help a bit.  You're right "feels sharp" does have different meanings... I guess what I'm looking for, is what type of test, and what you're expecting.  For example, some consider an edge sharp when it shaves, others like a more aggressive edge that slices well, etc.

One thing you can try... instead of resharpening the blade to 17°... is just set the sharpening angle to 17° per side... but don't go all the way to the edge.  (Commonly referred to as "thinning behind the edge").  You can make just a 1/2 dozen passes per side (give or take)... enough that you can see the bevel getting a bit wider, but not so much that you're reaching the edge... then test the sharpness, and see if you see an improvement... in other words, you can test your theory without grinding away a whole bunch of metal.  (Hope this makes sense).

To answer your other question, the steel should hold up at a lower angle if you sharpened at 17°... you could also add a slight microbevel if needed... depending of course on what is being cut.  (But I'd just try the above suggestion first... since it's easier and doesn't remove as much metal).

How you finish the edge can also make a difference... on lower end steels, honing at a slightly higher angle (2-4° higher) for a pass or two can improve the edge quite a bit.... might give that a try too.

Ok, thank you for suggestions, I'll try as you suggested and will play with blade a little bit. Like I said, what confuses me most, that this Swingblade has Sandvik 12c27 steel and I have Boker Outdoorsman fixed blade with same steel. On Outdoorsman I have 20+20 angle .. after honing with Tormek and the diamond paste I can cut newspaper from top to bottom very easy .. but can't do the same with Swingblade, although on Swingblade I have same angle.

I had not heatd of a Swingblage G3, so I did an online search. This was the first item which popped up and has a number of photos:

https://www.knivesandtools.com/en/pt/-eka-swingblade-g3-black.htm

I have never sharpened that kind of blade, however, the photos at least show what it is.

Ken

Hi Ken

Yup, it is pretty popular in here, Estonia ..  First, when they started to sell them in here, the price was pretty high .. around 100 USD, then suddenly, prices went down and then Switchblade costs around 60 USD .. From beginning, the blade edge kept pretty good , hunters were pretty happy, but then, when resharpen was needed, most experienced people, who making living with sharpening service, stumbled with such problem, that after sharpening, those cutting edges didn't hold for long .. 

I guess you'd have to define "feels sharp" for me to understand this, and to tell whether or not a lower angle would make a difference, so...how are  you testing/checking for sharpness?

Sharpie does 2 things... allows you to match an angle, and also helps tell if you've properly apexed the edge.  Since you've been sharpening 2 years, I'll assume that you can tell if an edge is properly apexed?

A lower angle will usually improve cutting performance... but even a 20° per side edge should pass most tests for sharpness... so guess I need to understand what you're looking for here.

[/quote]

You are right .. pretty hard to explain, what does " feels sharp " means .  That Eka slices paper pretty good, but not straight down but sideways, I think, that the blade thickness is decisive .. I don't know... same time I have a RAT I, Ontario .. that blade is pretty thick too,  I have 20+20 edge on that RAT I and I can cut newspaper straight down ..
I've heard from other hunters, that when they got brand new Swingblade, it did cut pretty good and long time  ( pretty relative term   ) and after, when blade gets dull, they used original EKA firesharp, but after sharpening, it wasn't so sharp, like brand new..  Well, I'll try to find brand new Swingblade from huntingstore and see, what angle does it have.

Hello
Looking for wisdom to make a Swingblade  again sharp like from factory .. Tried 20 per side.. feels dull, was looking on internet, which angle does Swingblade has.. no luck.
Does anybody here had luck to make it sharp like brand new ?
Thanks everybody, who are willing to answer.

20° per side should not "feel dull"... so I usually suggest "back to the basics"... mark the edge with a Sharpie type marker to match the angle (or set at 20° if desired), make sure you apex the edge on both sides (easiest way to check is to raise a burr on each side), then a couple of light alternating passes to remove the majority of the burr, then hone on leather wheel (or whatever method you use to debur and refine the edge).

I wouldn't bother trying to find out what it's sharpened at (seldom are knives even sharpened at the angle they claim)... you can get a pretty good idea what it's sharpened at by using the Sharpie method.

This is a quick reply... can expand if needed.  You might include more specifics on how you're sharpening and refining the edge (and how you're testing and/or what your expectation is), if you need more info.

Morning .. well.. that "Sharpie " method does not work, because somebody already tried to sharpen it .. when I got this knife, I measured sharpening angles both sides, and somebody sharpened one side about 23 and other side 17. I put both sides 20 , but .. it doesn't feel sharp .. I have other hunting knives with 20 each side and somehow those knives feels sharper.
Unfortunately I do not have access to brand new Swingblade .. that would be easier of course .
I'm in sharpening business for over a 2 years from now, but never before I haven't experienced something like that. I thought, may be 17 degrees per side makes more sense ? Does Sandvik will hold it longer ?

Hello
Looking for wisdom to make a Swingblade  again sharp like from factory .. Tried 20 per side.. feels dull, was looking on internet, which angle does Swingblade has.. no luck.
Does anybody here had luck to make it sharp like brand new ?
Thanks everybody, who are willing to answer.

Hi everyone, looks like warranty replacement going flawlessly. Sent all e-mail exchange between me and Sweden , to company , where I bought that Tormek.  No question asked.
As to free trip to Sweden, would be nice too, for example Tormek manufactory . I would definitely accepting that offer ..  but I do accept a new SG-250 too, instead of free trip to Sverige,  at least, I can start to sharpen knives again. I'm considering also buying some Kings grinding wheel too, I'd like to try them.
Thank you guys for support, you are GREAT !

Everything worked out, I had e-mail from Stig ( Sweden, Tormek customer service ) and tomorrow I'll go to company( Estonian company ), where I bought that Tormek and for a new stone on warranty. I'll do this tomorrow and will keep posted, how it goes.

If the stone is new I would definitely not accept to true it.

At first that is not a work a customer has to do and second who guarantees that the defect does not reach deeper down in the structure of the stone.

For me Tormeks answer is totally customer unfriendly and not legal in Germany. (The whole EU?)

Rolf

Rolf, I would be not so harsh on Tormek customer service .. I do understand them too.. They have to figure out somehow, is it manufacturing fault or customer. I would give some time and I'm sure we can find the middle way or replacement solution. Probably I have to go to Estonian company, who sold it to me, but I'll wait the answer from Sweden. I feel pretty positively right now.

Having had the chance to meet with Stig on several occasions, I trust him to do right by you.

A new replacement grinding wheel would seem the ideal solution to me. That said, it may not be the only desirable option for you. I would have faith. Grinding wheels, like brake shoes, areconsumables. They are very useful, but not precious.

Grind away the defect. Use the wheel; it should have plenty of life remaining. Compensation in some way may well be worth more than a few millimeters of grinding wheel.

Keep us posted.

Ken

Ken, I have no doubt, that this issue will be solved. Definitely ! Tormek has a good reputation. Every company could have some faulty parts, no big deal, important is that it will be solved .

REM ... That what actually I hoped too, but ok, I'll grind it down until  that hole disappears ( it is actually gets bigger, when using grinding wheel for sharpening and trueing, in near future I can't use this stone anymore, may be just for trueing only   ), but for some reason I think, the SG-250 will look after that like a donuts ring .. It shrinked already from 250  to about 243 .. with using some sharpening and then trueing and trueing and trueing

Ok, here is the suggestion from Sweden.
Hi,
Sorry for this, It should disappear after you true it sometimes but it's not supposed to be like this.
My suggestion is that you measure the stones diameter, and true it down until the hole is gone.
Measure it again and let me know how much you had to remove. I will compensate you in some way for this.

Best Regards,
Stig Reitan

Let us know what you hear from Sweden.

Keep in mind that, unlike some of us insomniac forum fanatics, the support people have a family life on the weekends. I would consider a response by Monday excellent service.

Ken

Yeah, since I live in Estonia, I know, that in Friday evening usually people in Nordic countries trying to go to home as fast as possible and forget all work related duties

Kolekoll,

Please do not misunderstand me. We welcome your questions and are pleased to help. Whenever there is a possible defective component, Tormek in Sweden is your best path.

Do not hesitate to post.

Ken

Ken, everything is allright . I do appreciate all of your respond ! I already sent a question to Tormek support in Sweden. I'll see, what they answer .

Have you reported this to Tormek support? On the forum we can offer our thoughts and experiences. Tormek support can correct the situation if it is a warranty issue.

support@tormek.se

Ken

Thank you Ken for advise. I was planning to do that, but thought, I'm asking before from this forum members.