Messages

Thanks for the replies.

I sharpen edge leading and have no problems, the platform and I get along just fine for sharpening.

I neglected to add I hone using an FVB on a T7 with felt and paper wheels, and/or a half speed grinder with paper wheels.

I'll give it another go in the next few days as time permits and get some photos.

Hello all

After coming across the problem of small knives that don't lend themselves to any of the Tormek jigs, I found Herman's posts about the platform he made. I made one for myself and it works a treat. Thanks to Herman and all the others that have had input into the platform.

What I can't figure out is honing after sharpening with the platform. I don't have the knack to hone (or sharpen) freehand, which is why I ended up with a T7 for my woodworking tools in the first place.

I tried a longer platform to get the blade where it needs to be on a felt or paper wheels, but my tiny brain can't make it work.

I was wondering what users of the platform like Herman's do honing wise.

I would appreciate any input the forum can give me.

Thanks for the replies fellas.

cbwx34 and there are quite a few details to get right. I am enjoying the journey though.

Rick

I meant grinding a concavity in one part of the edge. Typically in the third closest to the heel.

I don't grind back and forth, only in one direction, from heel to tip.

I make an effort not to dwell in one area. I fell in that hole early on sharpening chisels, plane irons and turning tools. That's not to say it isn't a contributing factor, but in my mind, I'm aware of it.

After I became aware that I was leaving the concavity, I observed my finger placement and where I was putting pressure as the edge traverses the wheel and I may have been putting pressure on the blade more in that area.

Seems to be lessening now I am aware of it. I was just wondered if the jaws of the jig not being parallel may have been a factor, and since there is no-one within a bulls roar of where I am that would have any clue, I turned to the brains trust here.

Greetings

I have gone completely down the sharpening rabbit hole. I can get a knife sharper than I have ever been able to, but.....

I discovered the over-grinding a portion of the edge problem. After reading a lot of posts, it seems to me that the best remedy is practice, although there are techniques to help. It's better than it was a week ago, but still there.

It seemed as I tried to correct the over-grinding, other issues appeared. Nothing specific, things just didn't seem to be going right, frustrations with the process I suppose. I was sitting at the computer trying to work out the over-grinding problem, looking at many posts, and I came across a post from some years ago that spoke about the jaws of the SVM-45 being parallel once the knife is clamped.

I said to myself, "Self, you have never checked that. Stupid boy!" So out to the shop and sure enough the jaws were not parallel. I corrected that and had a grind, and the other frustrations seemed to disappear, and even the over-grinding appears less.

My question is, if the jaws are not parallel, would that exacerbate the over-grinding and cause things to not go well, a general difficulty in sharpening?

My discovery came about in the same moment. The jig felt like it wanted to drag as I moved across the USB, and I thought about what I do on my wood lathe when the gouges seemed to drag on the tool rest. A thin coat of turning wax! The jig slides across the USB with ease now.

Combining the apparent improvement in the process with having the jaws parallel and no drag on the USB, the sharpening improved immediately.

Thanks for the knowledge, and occasional giggle in this forum. Much to absorb.

Thanks for the information and insight. I'm only early in the learning curve of knife sharpening on the Tormek.

There is much to take in and learn. I have found with wood working and turning, if you ask three people how something should be done and you'll get at least two different methods of getting to the same result. It boils down to what works best for you, with what you have and what you can afford to have.

What I know for sure is, even at this point, I have never been able to get a knife as sharp as I can now.

I have been using the Knife Grinders apps from the start.

I have bit of a plan on which way I want to go equipment wise, and the rest is just time and practice.

In due course, I'm going to give one of the roo shooters here a sharpened knife to see how my edge stands up in the real world.

Cheers

Rick, Vadim's video  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UckPmizllk0 is what I was referring to in relation to not changing the angle from grinding wheel to leather wheel. I've read/seen it elsewhere, but can't pinpoint where.

May be the SJ wheel is a point of difference. I don't know enough about it to speculate.

The knife in my first post was a non-descript knife with no makers name (if it was ever there, it's long gone) EDIT: Turns out it is a Victorinox knife. I was playing around in different light and you can barely make out the model number.

I think the steel quality is a factor. Better technique? Definitely, you don't get better at something by only doing it once in a blue moon. In my former life, we trained that about 2000 repetitions of an action is required before you do it without thinking about it.

Chance? I'm not sure. Last night and this morning I sharpened two more knives. A 10" Victorinox chefs knife and a Wiltshire kitchen knife. I got around 70 BESS with the Victorinox (more long knife practice required to build muscle memory) and 60 BESS with the Wiltshire. Using the technique described in my first post.

Considering how early in my Tormek knife sharpening journey I am, I'm very pleased with the results.

Thanks for the encouragement. Forums like this are a trove of useful information

Welcome to the forum.  It sounds like you are well on you way.  If you've discovered KG's YT videos, have you also studied material on the general website?  An immense treasure trove of info there, almost too muck, one could become lost in options/methods.

There is a lot to digest, that's for sure

112 BESS is pretty good, but the jump from 294 after deburring on the leather wheel to stropping on the tail seems huge.  I think you may want to focus a bit more on the "burr".  Creating it, removing it.  You didn't say what other grinding occurred prior to the diamond DE wheel.

There was no grinding prior to the DE wheel. There was a small burr prior to honing.

Vadim showed us through his work how the angle of honing is very important for deburring, whether on the stock honing wheels or other wheels such as paper and felt.  Have you read his book on deburring?  I have never been proficient at freehand honing; rather I find the angle control, increasing the angle slightly over the grinding angle to be superb at removing the burr.  How are you doing the deburring?

Yes,  I have his book. I used his FVB and applet to set and control the angles. I understood from what I have read, from a lot of sources, that if all you have for sharpening is a Tormek with grinding wheel and leather wheel, you should stick to the sharpening angle. Other wise, due to differences in the bevel going from 250mm wheel to 215, there is a real and present risk of either rolling the edge, or only honing the shoulder of the bevel, so on the leather wheel, i stuck to the grinding angle.

I find magnification of the apex to be extremely helpful.  I use a 60X hand microscope to eyeball the entire length of the apex, from both sides.  I'm not sure how your cheap USB camera does at extreme magnification, but if the images you attached are it, that would not be adequate for me.  I use a Kingmas 60X "currency detecting" microscope.  Do a search on the term "Kingmas" and you can read prior posts on this, including links of where to get them.  This hand microscope is an "essential" tool for me.

That's as good as mine gets, like I said it's very cheap. I've looked at the Kingmas, and have a few bits and pieces winging their to Australia, to hopefully help with the process.

Out of interest, my brother bought home most of a deer from a recent hunting trip. We processed it for freezing yesterday. Before we started, I sharpened a SWIBO boning knife and got two BESS readings in the low 70's, using the exact same approach as I detailed above.

Hello everyone. I thought I would do an introduction post and show my attempts at sharpening in one go.

I'm a farmer from Central NSW, Australia. I've always struggled to get a knife sharp.

I've owned a T7 Tormek for about 10 years that I use to sharpen turning tools, plane irons and chisels with a good degree of success.

About 18 months ago, while trying to work out how to use the knife jig, I stumbled across the Knife Grinders Youtube channel, which proved to be an excellent learning tool. Vadim was very giving with his time and advice. My sympathies to his family on his passing.

I got a couple of knives sharper than I had ever achieved before, but all the usual stuff got in the way, and I never really pursued it further, until now. I discovered this forum which has proved very helpful.

I know there is some controversy surrounding the BESS system, but for better or worse I have one.

Attached are pre and post cheap(very) USB microscope pictures of the knife I sharpened tonight with a 12° per side edge. The knife is nothing special. It doesn't even have a brand on it. Had it in the kitchen for years.

Prior to any sharpening, I got an average BESS reading of 749

After 5 passes each side on a Tormek very fine diamond wheel, and 3 passes each side on the Tormek leather wheel with Tormek honing paste, I got an average BESS reading of 294.

After 5 strokes per side on a plain Kangaroo tail strop, I got an average BESS reading of 112.

I'm very pleased with the result. All that is required now is to train SWMBO no to use the glass cutting board.

I'm sure I'll pick up some more tricks off the forum as time goes on.