Messages

Yes, Although it only turns slowly it needs good concentration to watch what's going on. I have to admit I touched the bolster of my knife on the stone, not a disaster (at least not on a ten quid knife), but not what you want. It happened when using my left hand on the handle, I find it much harder to develop muscle memory on my left.

I've just sharpened another Marples chisel, the same size as the last (3/4"), but in much better condition, with only slight chipping to the edge.. A good rub with the coarse grading stone (don't think I used it enough on my first attempt, I should have felt the stone), and gave the tool a couple of passes, which damned near cleaned the metal off. I fined down the stone, realising I probably didn't need to have used the coarse, and polished it up. I got rather hypnotised by the action, but ended up with a very shiny bevel. Gave it a go on the leather, which I've finally got how I like my strops, and it cuts really nicely. I did notice a very slight convex edge, but square if that makes sense. Maybe the slight curving is lifting on the return stroke across the wheel.? I was wondering if it is worth a beginner like me using a drill stop on the USB to stop the jig travelling too far- I admit to coming off the stone on my first attempt, and my concentration can lapse!

I'm afraid I'm one for running before I can walk, and after my chisel success I couldn't resist trying a knife. I found a 4" cheap lock knife of an easy steel and set it a 20°. I elected to work with the wheel going away from me,as  I'd heard it was more forgiving, if slower. I continued with the fine stone, as the existing edge wasn't that bad. I soon worked out how to keep the jig against the rail, and concentrated on lifting, not pulling, the handle as I approached the bend of the tip. I had been lucky in positioning the blade in the jig as the edge was perfectly even- using my Lansky I invariably end up with a much smaller angle on the tip. I worked the burr over a couple of times, nice and light the last time, made easy by the away wheel. I really enjoyed honing it on the leather, very therapeutic, what with the sound of running water by my ear! It ended up paper sharp, which is about as far as you want to go with cheap Chinese stainless. I will use the stone towards me next time, as the rest of my practice blades will need a good going at.

Sorry for the waffle,, I suppose the last part should have been in the knife section.

Thanks Ken, I will try coarsening the stone up with a faster pass with the truing wheel. Also, I'm wondering if I was applying enough pressure, for long enough, with the grading stone.
I'm going to take the time to read the advice in the appropriate sections here, already I've realised I had too much of my chisel protruding from the jig-(probably 80mm), which may account for the edge ending up very slightly out of square- that and the fact it was a very beat up tool, judging from the paint on the handle it had been used for opening tins. (not guilty!!)
It's all too easy to watch all the videos and think you know it all, if I can get my tablet unstuck off my boat (where I use it for navigation) I will take john.jcb's advice and take it to my machine, and watch it bit by bit, as I work.

That tool looks the business, but I'm going to have to make do at the moment, and I'm thinking once I've restored everything around the place perhaps I won't need too much grinding. After you mentioned the diamond wheel I realised I would probably been better off with my 8x3 coarse diamond stone and honing guide, but that doesn't teach me the Tormek. To be honest I'm itching to get on with my knives, but I'll do another chisel first, I have a 1 1/2" Marples with only surface rust and minor edge knicks. Hopefully that will be 100% square- the first attempt was a half inch chisel, and I've read narrower chisels are harder to square- hence the micro-adjust knobs on the new jig?

Thanks, I couldn't see I was doing anything wrong, nice to know that sort of time is normal. I've got a crappy bench grinder which I could use to take off most of the metal, but I don't trust myself to keep the edge cool, certainly wouldn't try it on my knives.
I didn't see it with my eye but the chisel is also a smidgeon off square. Not enough to worry about, at least for me. I notice the new straight edge jigs have micro adjustment knobs, mine just clamps the tool.

Despite buying my used Tormek 2000 a couple of weeks ago I resisted the temptation to play with it until I had finished my workshop. Now it is firmly bolted down on a steel pedestal I found locally, so I soaked the wheel and proceeded to true the wheel. There was 245mm left on the wheel, but it needed nearly 1mm taken off to flatten it, but the t50 tool did a good job.
I found a bunch of old rusty chisels (not my fault, I rescued them from a skip), wire-wooled one and set it in the jig, then used the angle finder to set it at 25°.I used the grading stone to coarsen the wheel up and proceeded to grind away. The chisel's edge had a large chip in it, probably over 1/2mm, so I understand there was a lot of metal to take away, but I was surprised how long it took. I re-dressed the stone with the block every ten minutes, but it took me over half an hour before I was ready to polish it with the fine wheel. Is this normal? Should I be using the grading block more often, or applying a llttle more pressure to speed things up? I was pleased with the result, the chisel is now shaving sharp, though when I looked at the edge under my microscope I noticed tiny imperfections, which I realise are caused by the rust-pitting in the steel, no matter, it's just for practice.
I probably shouldn't have tried such a badly damaged tool, but need reassuring I'm doing things right.I certainly wouldn't have wanted to put that on a bench stone!

Thanks Ken , I have done as you suggest, and registered my machine, and downloaded the handbook.

That's a good idea John,it's surprisingly easy to miss a key part of technique, such as what direction to lift the handle as you approach the tip. Having the video right there will enable me to ensure I'm using the angle finder tool correctly, for instance.

According to Parcelforce I should get my machine tomorrow, but I won't get a chance to use it until Sunday. Meantime I'll read and watch

Thanks for the link, somehow I managed to miss his videos, amongst the mass that are out there. Having briefly watched the knife sharpening episode I've subscribed. My biggest problem will be my impatience, so I'm going to watch a few of his videos before I even unpack my machine, which is on its way.

Thanks, I've taken on board your advice, I'll start with some standard chisels, then try my kitchen knives, which are only Wusthof's steel. My outdoor knives are fairly ordinary too, I have deliberately avoided recurves etc, but one of my folders is s30v- will the standard 250 wheel do that, given time?
I will also heed your advice to think about what I need, rather than want, in terms of accessories. I'm the worse for getting carried away, and I'm not made of money! I'm also acutely aware that those with the right skills seem to be able to sharpen edges with the minimum of gear, though I don't listen to all those tales of how grandpa could sharpen anything on a cinderblock/sidewalk.

Hi, I've just joined the forum in the anticipation of needing the experience of its forumites, and who knows, I may be of use to someone else in the future, once I've learned a bit about the Tormek. I am currently awaiting delivery of what looks like quite a tidy Supergrind 2000, an eBay bargain at £120- or at least I hope so! The wheel looks fairly new, but I've invested in a TT-50 truing tool, and the US -105 universal support. The machine has a couple of jigs (se-77 and a unidentified piece), but I also found  the knife,axe and scissors jigs for £55 on Gumtree. Either I'm very lucky, or there's a lot of Tormeks out there, but I've also bought a really heavy duty steel Tormek pedestal stand from a closed engineering works near me, another bargain at £30.
So, I've got all the gear (assuming the machine works!) but no skills, though if the YouTube videos are true it won't take me too long to get acceptable working edges. Up until now I've used a Lansky system to re-bevel my blades, a bit time consuming, even with the diamond stones.Once I've got an even bevel I go on my waterstones to really refine the edge, and I like to think things have 'clicked' finally- I can feel, and hear, what's going on, and really enjoy using them. However, if presented with a seriously damaged edge I would struggle to reprofile the blade to my satisfaction on the stones, which is where the Tormek comes in. I thought of it as something of a safety net, even if I muck up an edge I'm thinking I can quickly sort it out on the machine. I also inherited my father's wood carving tools, and years after his death I'm feeling guilty they're boxed up, unused, so I'd like to have a go myself. As a retired builder I have plenty of woodworking tools demanding attention too, so I'm thinking the Tormek will be very useful. If it's sitting there,on its pedestal, I've no excuses!
I'm not too sure I'll be up to achieving the precision grinding I've read about here, I'm a builder,not an engineer- and it shows! However, if I can get good edges, reasonably quickly, I'll be really pleased. There's something innately satisfying about sharpening, even as a kid I loved rubbing up my cheap pen knife on a kerbstone so I could make spear points and arrows.
No doubt I'll be back here once I'm up and running, needing advice. I'm hoping you lot don't start recommending expensive additions, because I'm a sucker for tools 
Richard