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To all the rock hard felt people, how much pressure do you use? I have the "proper" RHF and use the 1 micron spray...but for some reason I don't have the kind of results I read about on this forum. I use a very light pressure, basically just the weight of the knife itself. I have  BESS tested and usually see a decrease in sharpness. For information I might go from cbn 400 to 1000 and then debur on the 250 mm leather wheel from Hanns. Usually 1 degree higher. At that point I'm happy with the results. BUT if I decide to get sharper on the RGF...it's worse??

I have the Japanese stone and I rarely use it. It puts a very nice polish on, but I get the same or better results on a paper wheel.

To all...I sharpen edge leading, but also have the FVB and software. In general what are the pros and cons of each. I know there are lots of different opinions on this. I sharpen as a relaxing hobby for myself and friends and relatives. It's not unusual for me to piddle around on one knife for 30 minutes or more. It keeps me from having to trim the hedge or pull weeds. Btw I have the new CBN wheels and the Japanese 4000 along with half speed grinder and paper wheels and rock hard felt.

Turns out i did not get the edged apexed in the beginning. I started over and got below 200 easily

Thanks...that answered my question.

I sharpened a Henderer folder that had the original edge that measured 27 degrees on my laser protractor. I sharpened it at this angle using my normal system which will usually end up around 150-200 BESS no problem. It started a dull over 500, but the best I could get it was around 250. It's ok, but not great. BUT I usually use 18-20.  Is this a normal thing for that angle?
The reason I stayed with the original 27 dps is I didn't want to grind a larger bevel, for appearance reasons.

Thanks for the great replies. A constant learning process. Anyone else feel free to add your thoughts.

Hello Tormek pros. I sharpened a mid grade kitchen butcher knife today and had the following experience. The edge had been previously sharpened by me at 12 dps. It had dulled from normal use. I decided to use my new CBN wheels and they worked great. Apexed using a 400 then one pass on the 1000 cbn.
I then broke my normal protocol and finished on a new 4000 Tormek japanese stone. The JS250. I did it edge trailing using the frontal base and software, at the edge angle. It felt sharp on the thumbnail, but the BESS went to 900. WOW, not good. So i suspected a wire edge??
I then went to my 2 paper wheels at the edge angle 10 micron diamonds and then 5 micron diamond, went to rock hard felt with 1 micron diamond at 2 degrees higher. Now its 135 BESS. I went 2.5 degrees higher on the felt and it was a little better and ended on paper wheel at edge angle using green chromium oxide. 110 BESS, cuts paper super clean. So i stopped since its kind of a cheap knife. Any ideas on the super dull reading after the 4000 stone? Thanks for any ideas or input.

One option is buy a full rpm model, turn it on, then turn it off. It takes a long time for my half speed to slow down. Easily enough time to do a pass on each side.

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After grinding and setting my bevel on my T8 I debur on these 10 inch wheels. I use diamond paste at 10 micron and the other at 5 micron. My question is roughly how often should I add some diamond paste. Originally I dabbed a little on every spot between the slots. Also, should I ever clean them or just keep them loaded this way.

I use a T8 and the standard Tormek stone to grind and set the edge. I then debur on paper wheels with diamond paste. I get great results as shown on my BESS readings. However, the bevel is mirror polished and sometimes due to the blade finish I would prefer as little shine as possible. Any ideas on de burring without polishing the edge to a fine mirror finish ?  Or maybe remove the shine without dulling the edge?

I'm using a T8 with the standard stone and a half speed 8 inch grinder with 2 ten inch slotted paper wheels. Every time I get a knife really nice and sharp (105-150) on a BESS tester and then get the idea to finish up with a rock hard felt wheel used on the Tormek at slow speed with 1micron diamond spray my edge goes south really bad.  (280) BESS.
So I'm done with that thing forever.  Done finished.
I can bring the numbers back with the paper wheels. Anyone have an idea why the felt wheel dulls the edge? I like to know if possible what happens, even if I'll never use it again. I've tried exact angle and higher and lower.  Btw I use the knife grinders software with angle supports on the paper wheels and the frontal vertical base for the felt.
To add insult to injury the felt polished a "tiger stripe" into the mirror finish which the paper polished back out.

Has anyone else used their Wicked Edge for finding edge angles?  I started out with a WE, and still use it occasionally. Its great for determining the angles using a marker and fine stone. Its easy to dial in the angle and fine tune with the sharpie marker. I use a 1200 stone with light psi so i don't remove excess metal.

After about 6 months of practice and study and watching the knife grinders videos of how not to do it and reading the " Burr book" I finally got a really good edge. It's around 220 on my BESS tester. (started at a dull 600) But most important for me is the dimensions are perfect and it looks like the factory edge except much sharper. This is a semi custom Hinderer folder with 01 tool steel blade. Here are my takeaways. I used a T4 and I spent a lot of time getting it to the correct working height for me. I started on a too tall bench, then I tried a lower one. Finally I ordered a steel work table and got the perfect height. Then I used my wicked edge to determine original angle with a sharpie marker. Then I took my time. Results were perfect for me. Plenty sharp and looks new.