Messages

I bought the T-2 on a lark and have 2 T-8s.  The diamond wheels are remarkable.  I cannot imagine the T-1 not quickly raising a burr on any steel.  I would just verify your angle.  Work at the 20deg setting first and go down from there.  It will raise a burr, guaranteed.

My sense is the steel is just so hard and brittle that the burr hangs on and makes it feel really dull.  I get that a lot with A2 steel.  Like John said I think the amount and manner of stropping is the culprit.

I agree with what the others have said.  IMO the diamond wheels cut way too fast for a beginner.  Both of those wheels are highly specialized.  The SG-250 is the jack of all trades.  It and the strop wheel are good for 95%+ of sharpening tasks the Tormek can handle.

I would buy the basic Tormek, be patient and get proficient with it.  So many beginners think they are going to get stunning results on the first try.  They try it once then list it for sale.  Give it some time and you will get incredible results.

In my experience, the SJ-250 and the honing wheel are mutually exclusive.  I use the SJ-250 for items with a larger single bevel (chisels and plane blades) and use the honing wheel to finish knives.  In my experience the softness of the honing wheel will roll the edge of a chisel a tiny but still visible bit, which is definitely a disadvantage especially on the back.

Also, the SJ-250 does not like knives as much due to the smaller registration surface of their thinner blades.  That makes digging into and damaging the softer stone a real possibility (ask me how I know).  I had to grade a ~1cm gash off of my SJ-250 due to a kitchen knife digging into it and stalling the machine.  It could have been a disaster if the knife had gotten away from me.

I owned multiple Tormek T-8s for a time.  If you had two of the DBS-22 jigs, you could have one setup for the main facet and one for the relief.  And then it would be pretty quick.  But I would not discount your time as the others have said. They are paying for time savings with the drill bits, so charge appropriately, hopefully enough to pay for the Capex of buying multiple jigs and thensome.

Edit:  one thing that occurred to me, if all of the jobber bits are the same length (should be), then have a 7mm rod/dowel cut to the length the jig requires.  Setup would be very quick.  YMMV.

120 BESS is still the best I've been able to pull off, and that isn't often. I've tried freehand honing, controlled angle honing, and higher angle honing using Vladim's book for reference. I have a Cuisinart knife from a kitchen set that I can't get past 150 BESS no matter how hard I try. I don't get it, I would have never dreamed it would be THIS hard with all the info and support from the sharpening community. I have a Victorinox knife that I got to 120 BESS, but can't get any lower. I'm honing with the Tormek compound on the leather wheel. I have a hanging leather strop that helps a little sometimes, sometimes not.  I don't remember the last time I was this frustrated.


Apologies if I missed it:  are you honing on the side opposite the burr first?

A question arises. Why do the Victory brand fish filleting knives use a softer steel? Is it to make sharpening on-the-go easier? Do they sacrifice hardness so they can get improved ease of sharpening, improved ability to stay sharp, improved ability to resist staining?

Maybe more flexibility?

Amazon boot mat FTW

Oh yes, I've seen way worse (saying for a friend).  Truing tool is your friend.

As long as you're being paid for your time and you're happy with the rate, go for it IMO.  On the other hand, if you're thinking of doing by the piece, make sure the backs have already been flattened.  That's 90% of the job in my experience.  I just ordered a diamond stone and MB-100 for that very reason.