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Messages - Dan

#1
ALIEXPRESS
I just ordered this one here  ;D
#2
Quote from: cbwx34 on April 26, 2026, 05:38:55 PM...BTW, Thank you for the "review"... glad you like it.  8)...

For me, it is extremely clever and well designed. It is a fantastic tool which just works well. Intuitive to use and free!!!
I have used it for my sharpening for a few years now. I will find a way to support your work... ;D
Thanks, Danny
#3
General Tormek Questions / Re: Blackstone grading
April 26, 2026, 10:31:40 PM
Quote from: RickKrung on April 26, 2026, 04:53:41 PM
Quote from: Dan on April 26, 2026, 01:53:28 PM...snip...
Ideally, if you could get slightly longer diamond plates (maybe 5cm longer) that could stretch over one vertical and one horizontal USB, they can then be used for truing the wheel extremely accurately.
...snip...

I'd be concerned about concentrating the "wear" of the plate on the little bit it that would be the only part in contact with the grinding wheel.  I think relying on the truing tool for keeping it is square and the diamond plate (used over a large range of its area) would be quite effective.  But...  I use my diamond plate "freehand", not clamped in any jig. 
Yes, good point....
#4
General Tormek Questions / Re: Blackstone grading
April 26, 2026, 01:53:28 PM
I bought something like these on Aliexpress - very cheap and they work pretty well.

ALIEXPRESS

I bought 80 grit to roughen and 400 grit to smooth out the wheel on the advice of Wootz on this forum, I think.

Ideally, if you could get slightly longer diamond plates (maybe 5cm longer) that could stretch over one vertical and one horizontal USB, they can then be used for truing the wheel extremely accurately.

Just make sure they are rigid enough. The ones I bought were in steel about 1mm thick which is fine.

#5
OK thanks for the reply.
As I understand it, Calcapp is usable on all platforms as it is web browser based.

https://knifesharpeningcalculators.wordpress.com/

Danny
#6
Quote from: VijayDoshi on April 24, 2026, 09:59:10 PMHello Sharpeners,

I've built an app that calculates USB height or knife projection for Tormek-style sharpeners. Dial in bevel angles, wheel size, and machine geometry for repeatable edges.

Currently it's only available on apple (iOS) but if it gets some adoption I'll add additional platforms.

Try it out and LMK if you have any questions.

Link to App Store for Perfect Edge Angle Finder





Hello,
Very interesting.
Can I ask how it compares to (or how it differs from) Calcapp which I use?

For info, I do not have an iphone but use Calcapp on android which I find extremely useful and well thought out for knife sharpening and also chisel/plane sharpening.
One more question if you don't mind...
Why do you have a choice of grinding wheel setting as well as the current diameter setting? Not sure I understand??

Danny
#7
Quote from: Rossy66 on March 23, 2026, 12:19:57 PM...As I said in the beginning, my goal is not to offend or disrespect anyone and maybe I shouldn't have asked the same question multiple times as I have gotten some great information from this forum but, I feel a controlled honing system would out perform a freehand one, the guy's at Tormek even say so in their videos.

I hope this post is taken in the spirit of education on my part and as mentioned in my previous posts, a 250mm honing wheel would negate the need to remove the grinding wheel when using the KS-123 to set the same angle when honing using the US, this may only work with the diamond wheels as the do not change in diameter, not sure how that would work on the stone wheels as they get smaller. Thanks.
Pretty sure no one is offended or disrespected. You asked a similar question multiple times and got lots of answers.
It seems to me that you have or had unrealistic expectations. Machine 'X' should be like this and do this... and still you want a simplistic answer to an unrealistic suggestion "a 250mm honing wheel would negate the need to remove the grinding wheel when using the KS-123 to set the same angle when honing using the US'
It has already been explained why the honing wheel on the T8 is not 250mm. As has been suggested, if you want to, you can buy a 250mm honing wheel and mount it on the machine.
It is not going to change the fundamental problem that you have either. So why keep repeating the same thing?

You just appear to want the T8 to be something it is not.

In reality, sharpening is much more nuanced and complicated than you seem to want it to be. Especially on a machine which caters for a huge range of blades - from tools of all sorts, knives and others. The T8 is how it is and you either accept it how it is or do something about it instead if you don't like it.
There are heaps of other sharpening systems out there just made specifically for knives which are able to give excellent results if you don't want to use the T8.

I, and others, have given you concrete solutions to have a "controlled honing system" while using the T8 at specific exact angles and yet you don't seem to want to entertain these ideas.

Danny
#8
Quote from: Rossy66 on February 21, 2026, 03:10:09 AM
Quote from: Dan on February 20, 2026, 06:30:28 PM
Quote from: Rossy66 on February 20, 2026, 02:31:03 PMI did a search on the forum but didn't find any answers so I decided to ask here, I have honestly tried to hone free hand and not with any success, it gets frustrating to sharpen a knife with a great edge and then mess it up on the honing side. I have watched lots of videos bit I still seem to take the sharpness out of the knife but when I hone with the USB and KS-123, my results are perfect and I couldn't be happier. Obviously, I have to keep taking my wheel off to hone most of the knives so I was wondering if anyone has bought and tried a 10 inch honing wheel and the results. I have watched some videos from different YouTubers and I am impressed watching them move from sharpening to honing without removing any wheels.

Thanks

You have asked this quite a few times already. The main problem is that a larger honing wheel gets in the way of the grinding wheel for longer knives. It is not a problem for shorter knives but as soon as you want to grind a 6 inch or longer blade the honing wheel gets in the way. This is exactly why the honing wheel is a smaller diameter. There isn't really any way around this.
As Ken says, you can change the set up a little for honing. This is one possibility but I think you will still have a problem as this time the grinding wheel will get in the way of honing for longer knives!

This old discontinued model gets round this problem by having the wheels further apart. It was a special model designed specifically for knives
https://www.ricardo.ch/de/a/tormek-pr-250-mit-stein-sg-250-220-1220356278/

If you still want to use the USB support bar for honing then a better solution is to hone on another machine...

... Like I said to you previously. Here is the link again

https://forum.tormek.com/index.php?msg=40820

Danny


Sorry, I was hoping for a suggestion for a workaround. I will pay more attention to my posts going forward.
I gave you a workaround at the end of my comment - honing on a separate machine. Is that not of any interest?
There is no way to get around the problem of not enough room for longer knives if you use two 10 inch wheels on the one Tormek machine
#9
Quote from: Rossy66 on February 20, 2026, 02:31:03 PMI did a search on the forum but didn't find any answers so I decided to ask here, I have honestly tried to hone free hand and not with any success, it gets frustrating to sharpen a knife with a great edge and then mess it up on the honing side. I have watched lots of videos bit I still seem to take the sharpness out of the knife but when I hone with the USB and KS-123, my results are perfect and I couldn't be happier. Obviously, I have to keep taking my wheel off to hone most of the knives so I was wondering if anyone has bought and tried a 10 inch honing wheel and the results. I have watched some videos from different YouTubers and I am impressed watching them move from sharpening to honing without removing any wheels.

Thanks

You have asked this quite a few times already. The main problem is that a larger honing wheel gets in the way of the grinding wheel for longer knives. It is not a problem for shorter knives but as soon as you want to grind a 6 inch or longer blade the honing wheel gets in the way. This is exactly why the honing wheel is a smaller diameter. There isn't really any way around this.
As Ken says, you can change the set up a little for honing. This is one possibility but I think you will still have a problem as this time the grinding wheel will get in the way of honing for longer knives!

This old discontinued model gets round this problem by having the wheels further apart. It was a special model designed specifically for knives
https://www.ricardo.ch/de/a/tormek-pr-250-mit-stein-sg-250-220-1220356278/

If you still want to use the USB support bar for honing then a better solution is to hone on another machine...

... Like I said to you previously. Here is the link again

https://forum.tormek.com/index.php?msg=40820

Danny
#10
Knife Sharpening / Re: How to achieve less than 100 bess?
February 18, 2026, 08:07:15 PM
Quote from: John_B on February 18, 2026, 06:28:30 PMSorry typo. Weekly ads. We get them from local stores in the mail. They are printed on thin newsprint. Sharp knives glide through smoothly. Use feel and hearing to detect any burr along the edge.
I am relieved, thanks for the clarification  ;D
#11
Knife Sharpening / Re: How to achieve less than 100 bess?
February 18, 2026, 08:19:52 AM
Quote from: John_B on February 17, 2026, 09:13:53 PMThermal receipts and weekly ass printed on thin newsprint paper are also good indicators....
John, as a native English speaker I have no idea what "weekly ass" is  :o   ;)
I imagine it is lost on Andy and others whose first language is not English.
I am slightly intrigued but not sure I really want to know at the same time  ;D  ;D

Danny
#12
Knife Sharpening / Re: How to achieve less than 100 bess?
February 15, 2026, 07:04:25 PM
Quote from: Andy on February 15, 2026, 03:54:05 PM
Quote from: tgbto on February 12, 2026, 09:08:24 AM
Quote from: Andy on February 11, 2026, 09:01:18 PMIt must have been a good test. But I didn't understand anything. The translation must have been imperfect.

The translation to what language ? @3D Anvil's message makes perfect sense...
"I use the Uline catalogue" this is not clear and  "whittling hair"  ::)
 
The uline catalogue is an American company brochure.
A paper brochure like this
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/7sEAAOSwz79hM67K/s-l1600.jpg

"whittling" means cutting off or slicing off little pieces from something. Like in this picture.
https://www.familyhandyman.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/shutterstock_1324472411-carve.jpg

If you can whittle a hair, the knife must be very sharp!
#13
Knife Sharpening / Re: Toremk stone
January 07, 2026, 08:40:16 AM
I see one main difficulty with this. How does one measure the grit size precisely in this dynamic grit changing situation.
I think many of us here are used to the stone becoming smoother or rougher with either the stone grader or diamond plates (I have both) but measuring these figures seems pretty arbitrary really. We have no idea if the 250 or 1000 grit is actually accurate or not.
The stone seems to be the roughest just after using the diamond truing tool. It does not stay like that long though.
#14
Well, it may work OK.

This is not what you asked but just in case it is useful...

Quite a few people here use diamond coated plates of different grades to grade the stone. It has been discussed here a lot.
I bought 80 grit and 400 grit diamond plates from Aliexpress very cheaply which work well.

Something like these...

The ones I got are rigid enough to flatten the stone as well instead of using the Tormek truing tool. You may need some adaptation (or an imaginative idea) for keeping the stone round at the same time depending on the size of the diamond plate if you want to do this.
#15
Hello and welcome to the forum.
Is the blade worn something like this?
https://c8.alamy.com/comp/BPWKJC/an-old-chefs-knife-which-has-been-sharpened-until-the-blade-is-worn-BPWKJC.jpg
It would be useful to see a photo of your knife to be able to advise you better.
"A picture is worth a thousand words" as they say...

Danny