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Maybe, instead of mold, the white fluff is efflorescence?

That is interesting, we have a water softener here and it's possible that it's related. 

This gets my vote.

It might just be salt then. Have you tasted it?

I'm joking but you can smear/crush a bit between your fingers, if it turns into chalky dust it is probably just salt/mineral build up.

Hi,

I seem to have some mold growing in and on the wheel, thinking I need to run a solution of hydrogen peroxide through the wheel to kill all of it.  Any idea whether this will harm the wheel?  Seems like a vitrified bond abrasive which should be chemically invincible I'd imagine.

I don't know the cause, but my wheel does the same.  Occasionally I don't use my SG for a couple weeks.  As it starts to dry it grows a little white fuzz.  It hasn't seem to make any difference.

Unlike yourself, I started with a belt grinder.  I use mine quite frequently for different needs when sharpening.  I have a 1x30 variable speed Rikon, but there are a ton of different units out there.  They can be pretty inexpensive and would quickly deal with that particular issue you're having.
If you're just sharpening your own knives it may be overkill , but you will find other uses as well.

I have encountered a similar issue about keeping the blade flat on the stone. The blade holder keeps hitting the post of the threaded part of the universal support bar. I am unable to slide the blade holder smoothly along the bar. What should I do to avoid this?

I believe I have been experiencing the same issue (occasionally) as you.  I believe the root cause is the KJ-45 jig.  Is that what you're using?
The collar on that style jig is a tad more than 90° to the USB.  It is flared out a bit causing that.
Someone had a similar issue and just filed off the area it was bumping on the USB support bar.  I will be doing mine in the morning.

My son printed my one a couple years ago, prior to that I made one out of wood ( both designs can be found on hackaday.com.
Recently I bought a cheap one off Amazon.  All of them work about the same.  Good enough.
Good luck with your design though.  I use a goniometer often and believe they are a staple in my tiny little shop.

In looking close, the issue is mostly caused by the design of the KJ-45.  In the standard jig the collar is flat.  On the KJ-45 it flares out slightly.  As Sir Amwell mentioned, a file solved his issue.  I think a little work on the threads at the top of the leg should solve my issue as well.
Thank you!

And for what it's worth, I think the 430 as the standard makes sense... to me, a knife sharpener.

Wim,
1) I sharpen the cheap stuff at 20 degrees.  I sharpened a cheap knife at 15 degrees and could see the apex flexing as I ran a fingernail along it.  Another cheapie dented when I tested it with a BESS tester at 15 degrees.  My thought process is quality knives can withstand a 15 or even a 12 degree angle in the kitchen due to hardness and the physical makeup of the steel, but cheap steel is more apt to crush or deform at 15 degrees.
I grind Quality kitchen knives to 15 degrees or whatever the manufacturer recommends. (Shun 16 degrees). I never change profiles without discussing it with the customer first.
2) Workflow.  If I have a batch I'm working on the first thing I do is repair any shape issues.  Bellies, broken tips, bolsters etc.  I usually work from the smallest/cheapest to the longest high quality.  I put as many knives in jigs as I have.  As I approach each knife I determine the grit or types of stones and grind different stones in batches. I use an 80, 400 and 1000 diamond plates to change the grit on the stone as needed but try to leave it in some mid-range grit.
Use a light touch alternating sides keeping the knife moving slowly.
After I'm 100% positive I've raised a burr I move on to Honing.  I make as few passes on the honing wheel as possible at a slightly higher angle than you ground. (different steels behave differently). You can stop honing as soon as the burr is gone the entire length. (I check by shining a BRIGHT flashlight from the back of the blade and feel) You can hone more to increase sharpness with a very light touch but the more you hone, the more you smooth out the teeth.  On high quality kitchen knives I follow the Tormek honing wheel with a 1 mu TDT diamond coated honing wheel at the exact angle.  Finally, on most knives I make one pass on a 1x30 leather belt with no compound for the final cleanup.(a hanging strop works well but takes practice).  With any luck your blade will be under 200 BESS.  If you've done everything perfectly, under 100 BESS.  If not under 170 or so double check for a burr.

Other tips: take notes of everything, light pressure, practice, read, watch videos, practice, light pressure, practice, read, light pressure, practice...

You can create crazy sharp apexes with very little extra equipment. It's all about having a good knowledge base and practice.  The single piece of equipment I purchased ( other than the T8) that shortened my journey was a BESS sharpness tester.  I can quantify my results.  No more guessing if it's razor sharp or not.  Does 5, 10 or 20 passes on a strop improve sharpness?, what emulsion performs the way you want?  Without something to quantify your results you'll be shaving your arm and cutting paper to guess how sharp it is.  Depends on what you want to focus on.
You'll want something to see the apex, a loupe, magnifying glass and or a microscope.  If you are going to be setting any angles to a specific angle you'll need either the KS-123 or a quality set of long calipers or both.  The KS-123 does work.  I get about a one degree variance using the KS-123.  For everyday knives it works fine and easily produces edges under 200.  For high end knives I still measure.

Read "Knife Deburring".

I run a very small business and spend a lot of time on the knives I sharpen.  I do not do "volume" sharpening. Depending on what your plans are, maybe a volume sharpener or farmer's market sharpener would share their workflow.

Have fun on your journey.

I believe that is part of the journey.  I started belt sanders/sharpeners.  With those you aren't fighting the "facets" that are created on the bevel by uneven grinding in most cases.  As you learn to read "the bump" and grind without excessive pressure your bevels will clean up and you'll be generating the nice shiny even bevels that the machine is capable of and we all love.  The Tormek is more "artsy" than belt grinders in my humble opinion and it takes most folks practice to become proficient.  Honestly, I've been working on this style machine for several years and am still learning new and improved techniques.
One other comment... light is your friend.  I have my Tormek area lit up like road show.  Nothing gets by without me seeing it.  The shadow under my blade shows me if I'm laying my blade on the stone flat.

As I pull the jig along the Tormek Universal support, when the jig gets to the support, the collar of the jig bumps the support leaving a corresponding bump on my bevel.  This is just an issue on longer knives.
Does anyone have a technique, modification or different jig that alleviates this?

How to maintain a 13.5 degree angle for honing? By hand?
Muscle memory?

Andy,
I sharpen knives on a Tormek T8 when it's the best option. I love the machine and the results it can produce.  To start, I measure carefully and use software to set the desired edge angle for grinding.   To achieve a clean, crisp apex I use that same procedure on the honing wheel.  I do increase the angle a bit to help get rid of the burr, the amount depends on the steel and past results.
Alternatively, a 1x30 or KO with a leather or whatever KO's strop is made from, will get it done.  If you are attempting to create a toothy grind, belts can be a negative.  That's when the honing wheel will shine.
In my humble opinion...

Al

Hi, how are you? I can't find it. I saw a link to a knife sharpness chart here on the forum. It looks like a test. How to check the sharpness of a knife when you don't have a device. I remember there being mention of cash register tape -?Bess and cigarette paper- ?Bess .....
Thanks.
Merry Christmas everyone!
Peaceful skies.

The chart you seek can be found in Vadim's book, "Knife Deburring".  Amazing and informative book.

Again, nice work!
I have been attempting to do more restoration.  Just getting started down that road but,  I aspire to get results like that.
Thanks for posting,
Al

The knife is now almost done.
The blade surface was refined with 800 grit wet & dry and some WD40.
The new convex edge apex measures ~30 degrees inclusive and needs to have it's tiny burr removed later, after which the sheath will receive a few coats of warm Granger's wax.

Beautiful work!
I would also like to know how to restore a handle like that.
Thanks,
Al

As I am sure you are aware Japanese knives are made with several styles of bevel. Single bevel, Western double bevel and a double bevel with each side at a unique angle. They may also come with smaller bevel angle than many western knives. Being left handed I have stuck with western style double bevel with my Japanese knives. Also try and develop a light touch with the diamond wheel as it cuts quicker than the SG-250. I also like to use a jeweler's loupe to inspect the entire knife edge. You will often find areas that were missed in your initial passes due to prior poor sharpening practices.

I maintain a small concierge sharpening business with limited customers as I don't want it to turn into a job. One thing I have done is create a notebook with a section for each customers knives. I include sharpening angle, jig projection length for next time and any reprofiling or repair that I need to do.

My situation is very similar.  Notebook with grind grits, bevel angle, projection length and target USB height.  I include the same honing information and sharpening results as measured by a BESS. Makes the next time a tad easier.  One of these days I need to convert this to a data sheet for easy access.

Dan,
A couple things...
My daughter owns a set of the Shan Zu knives.  The one I'm looking at is 10Cr15Mov damascus.  They sharpen like a powdered steel.  First one sharpened came out at 70 with out any extra effort.  They did dull fairly easily though, after one cookout they were very dull. 
I have seen this brand tested in a very lengthy review on YouTube.  His test was expensive Japanese style knives vs. Cheap ones.  He included an objective opinion, "How they were to use".  After the test he ranked the Shun Zu #1, overall best, it did test at 62 hardness. He did test Wusthoff, these were better in his test, being harder and food didn't stick to the blade when using.
 
Secondly, I own a set of Shun's that have a core of VG-Max... similar to VG-10.  They hold an Edge much better as you would hope, for the price.

Maybe buy 1 before you buy a set and see if you like it.