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I often read about the unreliability of the BESS method. I want to write something about that.
In my previous work, I had to make or interpret many meteorological temperature measurements for the construction industry.

Comparing these temperatures is only possible if everyone uses the same measurement protocol. The most important ones for outdoor temperatures were:
- Measuring on a 10 x 10 meter lawn.
- The (calibrated) thermometer should be in a white ventilated hut, 1.5 m above the lawn and the door of the hut should face north.
Only then can you compare measurements with directly each other.

What meteorologists have done is to apply this measurement method worldwide as much as possible.

What I see with grinders in YT videos is to show that the BESS method is flawed because the results are always different. That is meaningless. So can meteorologists with their temperature measurements.

If you use the BESS method only for yourself, then how only to apply and interpret your own measurement protocol properly.

If you want to compare with others, you do need to know if "the others" are measuring in the same way. In fact, you have to indicate that in the presentation of your measurement results.

So do I. And when I change a stone, I also drain the stone well, in the water trough. Quite a lot of water still comes off there.

Waterlogging is a tricky little problem with the Tormek, though. Many have the Tormek rubber mat under it to catch the water.

I have that too. This rubber mat (RM-533) is on a wooden plate of 18mm plywood.

What I have done is the following:
1) the Tormek stands as far to the left as possible on this rubber mat
2) Under the plywood plate I put a piece of plywood of 3mm thickness on the left lath.

Now when water drips off the Tormek, it all flows to the right side of the rubber plate. I can easily reach that and dip it up with some kitchen paper.
I aim for a water drain on the right side, so that it immediately flows into a bucket.

That the Tormek is skewed 3 mm is not noticeable.

That's a good point Ken,

I might start by brushing off diamond wheel with an old toothbrush and see how much dirt comes out dry.

This morning read the answer at Tormek itself:

===
You can handwash your diamond wheel with washing up liquide and dry it.
I have done this and it works fine.
If you got some thing that sticks on the wheel you can use sort of glue remover/acteone(nail polish remover) to get it of the wheel.
Some persons have used erasers and say it works fine also.
The diamond sits in a coating very firm so the will not be affected.
Hope this answers your question and if you have any other question , just contact me.
==

https://faq.tormek.com/org/tormek/d/diamond-wheels-536c/

I've been absent for a while, due to busy work, but....

Do diamond wheels also need to be cleaned?
If so, what is a good and practical method?

Thanks in advance!

I have a small goniometer myself. I can get by pretty well with that. But for the wider knives, it was too small. I could only measure knives near the tip. I didn't think that was accurate enough for the larger knives.

In my search, I came to one that was designed slightly differently. The knife is now behind the large protractor and not between the laser lamp and the protractor (see photo).

I ordered this one and now use it regularly. I like it very much. This goniometer is also made in Germany. Below is the abbreviated link to the product. The goniometer is sold through Ebay.de. If you enter 'goniometer' as search term there. Then you will get there automatically.

https://ap.lc/MbDjm

I have a beautiful Stanley No. 5 plane from around 1960. Only the plane iron (lightly sharpened) was not ground accurately. I corrected that on the Tormek T8.

I chose a sharpening angle of 26 degrees. For that, I used the Tormek accessory TE-77 (photo 1). It's important to position the iron correctly in it. I don't use the two small adjustment knobs for corrections. I do it the old-fashioned way: a 90-degree pencil mark just below the cutting edge. This serves as a check to ensure I'm sharpening square. By the way, a good plane should have a bit of play when adjusting the iron (think of an angle of 89 degrees). However, it's important for the cutting edge of a plane iron to be perfectly straight.

I used the following Tormek diamond stones in this order: DC-250 (360 microns), DF-250 (600 microns), DE-250 (1200 microns), and finally the SJ-250 (4000 microns).

First, I sharpened the back of the blade (the flat side). It must be perfectly flat; otherwise, you won't achieve the desired sharpness and may also get scratches on the planed surface. I sharpened this flat on the sides of the Tormek stones mentioned above.

Next is the bevel of the plane iron. Plane irons are often sharpened in daily use because they tend to dull relatively quickly. Therefore, you don't remove more steel than necessary. You can see this on photo 2, on the right side of the bevel. The angle is correct at the bevel, but not at the top of the bevel. From our sharpening perspective, it may not look perfect, but it's not a problem for a carpenter's use. It will be corrected in the next sharpening session, resulting in a nice, crisp bevel.

I never sharpen a micro bevel on a plane iron. We don't know that in the Netherlands. I find the discussion about that more theoretical than practical.

After sharpening the bevel on all the stones, the iron looks sharp (photo 3). It easily cut the hair on my arm. The BESS score ranged from 81 to 99 (photo 4). It's not consistent, but more than sufficient for practical use, based on my 53 years of working and sharpening experience with carpentry tools.

However, I ran the plane iron over a leather wheel with 0.25 micron diamond paste. This resulted in a stable BESS score of 61. I'm very satisfied with this level of sharpness (photo 5).

Afterward, I need to slightly round the edges on both sides of the bevel, so as not to create a "groove" in the wood (photo 6). I do this freehand with the DF-250.

(I hope the translation is a bit clear)

Well, I was able to get a 52 Bess reading.  After honing with a leather wheel and chromium oxide, I went to a paper wheel with 1u spray and got the 52.  I'm happy with that.  Now I think I have a protocol for chisels.

I sharpened a chisel on the Tormek for the first time and removed the burr with the rockard felt wheel.
Then over a leather wheel, with 0.25 micron diamond polish.

But because this chisel got so short from grinding after 52 years, I had to do the deburring freehand. Grinding just barely went with the guide.
I got to BES 149.

Then I deburred with a Belgian whetstone and came up to 82 and 107.

I am not dissatisfied. But I will not reach the BESS 52 with this chisel.

Why do you choose 27°?  Is that due to the type of wood you use?


Until 1985, all chisels used by carpenters and furniture makers were made by "Nooitgedagt. Their market share was almost 80%. Only E.A. Berg still had a 15% share. All other brands were hardly available.

Nooitgedagt used Swedish steel. The same steel that was also used by E.A. Berg. That was very good steel.
Nooitgedagt determined based on their (steel) knowledge that for their chisels 27 degrees was the best. Because of Nooitgedagt's dominant market position, that became "the standard."

But we did learn that this was an average. For hardwood (such as oak, ash, beech) the advice was 30 degrees maximum and for softwood (such as pinewood), was het minimaal 25 graden.

No wood grows in Holland, to use for carpentry. All wood is imported and therefore expensive. By far the most commonly used wood here is pinewood. That is why most chisels were also sharpened at 27 degrees.

A question for you, Wim: in the US a popular sharpening technique uses micro bevels. These are very short bevels ground a few degrees more obtuse than the primary bevel. The theory is that only a small portion of the bevel needs to be resharpened, thus saving time. Is this method commonly used in Holland?

I have two thoughts on this. 1) Part of me thinks this is unnecessary, as the Tormek does the work. 2) If resharpening is done in the field away from the Tormek, instead of starting with a small micro bevel, why not start with no micro bevel, allowing the full range of the micro bevel to be used in the field? This could conceivably allow a couple extra field sharpenings.

Thoughts?

Ken

A micro bevel was totally unknown in the Netherlands when I was learning to be a carpenter. Even (old) carpenters I worked with at the time did not know it. We learned to grind on a large spinning sandstone, which rotated through a basin of water. Somewhat similar to a Tormek.
This had to be done freehand, because as a carpenter you also had to learn to work with a steady hand. "It is beyond the craftsman's honor to use a fixed guide", it was strictly said.
Then we used Belgian whetstones to remove the burr. I still use those.

Even in the field, perhaps only in an exceptional situation was a micro bevel applied quickly, but at the next sharpening, it disappeared again.

It was through the Internet that I was recently introduced to micro bevel and I still find it very strange. I also did not miss it and do not apply it now.

Based on Wootz's videos, I estimated the height because I also like to work sitting down. With experimentation, I have now reached a height I like. It may not be my final height yet, but now my top height is 34 cm.  This is where my Tormek stands. There is a relationship with your own length. I myself am small (167 cm).

That is a particularly beautiful result. My compliments.

I myself have been a carpenter for more than 50 years. I am also going to give it a try on my 52 year old 'Nooitgedagt' chisels.

For me, sharp is enough. That's because a wood chisel can quickly become blunt again. Especially when working on construction work. You are then not able to sharpen chisels properly.
For that, you have a whetstone in your toolbox and sharpen "by hand," while working. That's how we were taught in school.

This always results in the end that the cutting edge is no longer 27 degrees*), or a corner is out, or the angle becomes slightly rounded. And with the Tormek, I make the cutting edge exact again, as it should be.

So if you're ever going to sharpen for a carpenter, it's not about "as sharp as possible," it's about "sharp" and the right sharpening angle. And: a straight cutting edge, exactly at 90 degrees.

But your test I do enjoy reading.

*) In Holland we sharpen wood chisels at 27 degrees and not at 25 degrees

Perhaps that will be enough. It is a collection from an elderly couple who got it when they married 53 years ago. I think they are too dull now to cut anything.

You are right about flatware. The translation probably didn't go well.

The thoughts you have, I have as well.  Not grinding too sharp an angle and also being very careful with the surface, especially with clamping.

Thanks!