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To add to Ken's remark on overfilling I found that you want to keep the trough as low as possible only raising it when the stone decreases in diameter.

As far as maintenance is concerned I recommend that you true your wheel more often but base it on your usage. Delaying truing is a false economy as you will need to remove a great deal of stone if you go for extended periods without truing. Of course the frequency is directly related to your usage.

Many purists swear by natural stones claiming that they give a far more robust and sharper edge though much of this is probably perception rather than reality.

I personally find it quite ironic how people can discuss (and argue) about how various types of natural stones need to be used for sharpening a knife.

The same knife that came out of a factory that uses synthetic stones.

I've had knife sellers tell me how only specific brands of stones can be used with knives, and going on and on about this "special technique" that they couldn't describe to save their lives.

Most knives from the factory are fairly sharp but they can be made sharper using the standard stone and leather hone.

I have not seen any testing by a source that I trust. I have, however, seen buyer comments that the boards they purchased were stainless steel from China not titanium.

Typically I am the type that cannot resist buying extras for my activities. When I got the T-8 I lusted after the Japanese wheel and then the diamond and CBN wheels. I did break down and got a Front Vertical Base (FVB), an extra leather wheel for use with 1 micron diamonds and the longer support bar. I am now glad I did not invest further. I have not been asked to sharpen any super steel knives and with my setup I can return knives far sharper than they came from the factory. I find that I only use the extra honing wheel and diamonds for my own knives. I think my next purchase if I do make one will be a belt sander. Repairing and reprofiling knives with the standard stone is very time consuming for these tasks.

I occasionally use the edge of a piece of steel and any excess comes right off. If you have an old kife the spine will work.

I have not tested it but I think those that rarely true the stone have a false sense of economy as when they do finally true yjrt remove a lot of the stone.

Good videos, Ken Thanks for posting.

I try and true my stone in very small amounts more often rather than taking a lot off in one session.

Using the 430 gives me the option of leaving the standard support set up with a FVB on the honing wheel. Saves a lot of time when using FVB for precise honing.

I think it is a personal preference. I recall some Tormek demonstrators like to use more compound than I typically use. I do not oil my leather wheel beyond the initial conditioning. I find the occasional adding of some paste keeps it perfect. When I think it is not honing as effectively as it did I add a bit of paste. I used the software and FVB for honing before the new KS-123 was added to my setup.

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 If so is there a video on how to achieve this shape using the KS-123?
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Convexing an edge is done with the KJ-45, as seen here: 

https://www.youtube.com/live/JFHqQg5wZEg?si=HOQB8o3-sP6wyQOu&t=1996

Thanks CB. I haven't bought the KJ-45 which is probably why I hadn't seen the video. I can't see doing this on a knife that didn't come this way. Perhaps if it had been sharpened enough to need thinning it would leave a robust edge.

Ken do you mean creating two outward arcs that slope in and intersect at the edge. The edge of the knife would
resemble the slope of an airplane wing. If so is there a video on how to achieve this shape using the KS-123? I normally sharpen regular steels using a double angle. For most knives 15° for the main bevel and 16.5° for deburring bevel. I have never had anyone ask for a specific grind or sharpening angle. The most instruction I remember receiving is please make them as sharp as last time.

For me Paper Wheels used with diamond compounds completely solved the problem of sharpening ceramic knives to a very keen edge.
I only sharpen what i know to be good quality ceramic, and most ceramic edges i polish up to 6,0 micron diamond compound..
For an even keener edge i refine up to 1,0 micron diamond compound.

Some examples i did about 10 years ago:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4YGGHltloU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dP6fNB_obN4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dP6fNB_obN4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUkKfwGFogY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSkxPA9BK8E

How prone to chipping are ceramic knives that are made very sharp with your method?

And for those who can't/won't spend that much on BESS hardware, a simpler approach with a cheap microscope and nylon wire (fishing line) can be a good burr detector : mark a point along the edge with a sharpie, set the wire down on a board, align the wire and the sharpie mark, cut the wire using a downward-only (not rocking) movement, ideally not all the way through the wire, and check the spot under the microscope. A dent in the blade will be an excellent indicator of a burr remaining along the apex.

All for under 20 bucks. Easily made even better with a support that will hold the wire taunt an inch above the board while cutting.

Like the BESS tester this only gives you a sense of a burr for one spot. I find that slowly cutting a thermal receipt along the entire blade you can feel if there is a burr. I hold the handle with thumb and a finger for sensitivity. I have not had one customer that has not commented later on how sharp their knives were.

I think honing with a jig gives you a consistent angle over the entire blade. It also allows you to do 1.5° over the sharpening angle with regular steels. I think well practiced users can achieve good results handheld but I do not think it is consistently possible to get the angles needed for exceptional results.