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The logical, easy way to center bevel grinding is with the self centering KJ jigs. However, for someone who only sharpens one or two very thick hunting knives and who has only non auto centering SVM jigs, Wolfgang suggests another method.
He mentions it in the KJ knife jigs online class linked here, starting at just after 6:00:

https://www.youtube.com/live/JFHqQg5wZEg?si=P0SphynZhYKs7LEJ

Wolfgang also mentions another reference to this in earlier lectures, although I have not been able to locate these references. (If anyone can find them, please post a link.)

The correction is just to take extra grinding strokes on the fixed jaw side of the knife bevel until both sides match.

Ken

My knife sharpening needs have simplified over the years. Developing my kenjig and the method of using it, I have accumulated around a dozen knife jigs. These were primarily for setting up high volume sharpening. The highvolume sharpening aspect was strictly for the kenjig development; my personal sharpening has always been just for my own tools and knives.

With my changing needs and Tormek developments, I am reorganizing my Tormek storage. I happen to have a Tormek Work Station, although this organization should work with almost any work station.

In general, I tend to follow Tormek technique. As such, I am dedicating the third drawer (the first deeper drawer) to knife kit. This drawer will hold my KS-123; KJ-45; KJ-140; SVM-00; as well as a few Sharpies, and a small square. I am considering keeping my extended support bar and MB-102 in this drawer.

I do not plan to use my various SVM jigs. They are presently in a box on a nearby shelf. I will keep them nearby, but not in the work station. All of my knives, kitchen, pocket, and Moras work with my KS-123 and KJ-45.

This set up is for my present and projected needs. I post this only as a possible solution for those with similar needs to mine. I am fully aware that others will probably have different needs, and I welcome comments.

Ken

One of the things I find fascinating about the online classes is the way a useful tip in one area can benefit other areas. While demonstrating checking knife sharpness using his thumb nail, Wolfgang casually mentioned also using"an old credit card, which he did not have". As my thumb nails have ridges, the idea intrigued me. In this T2 online class, Johan demonstrates using the lid of the black marker to check knife deburring. I tried it, and am very pleased with the result. Here is a link, starting around 7:00.

https://youtu.be/JFSg_eUYc10?si=zeopFvbvvoiBESZu

While you are watching, Johan shows another good tip at around 5:00. After he has ground both bevels to a burr, he finishes with one very light pass on each bevel to remove most of the bevel.

Ken

Many years ago, one of our longtime members posted the suggestion of using a turkey baster to empty the Tormek water troughs. I purchased one at my local grocery store and have happily been using it ever since. Mine is certainly a low cost version. The one in the link strikes me as a good, longterm investment.

https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/shop/kitchen/kitchen-tools/meat-and-poultry/74738-dripless-baster

Ken

For a while we seemed to have a number of posts concerning the SVM vs KJ knife jigs. Like many of us, I have accumulated a number of knife jigs, including three KJ jigs. For those of us who are contemplating acquiring several knife jigs, here are some thoughts:

Consider the number of and the kind of knives you plan to sharpen. For the sharpener who basically sharpens his own half a dozen knives, just one regular jig will probably suffice. If you are concerned about self centering, make it the KJ-45.While the adjustable end stop of the SVM jigs may seem essential for high volume sharpening, it is hardly essential for just a few knives. If you actually sharpen flexible long fillet knives, you may also want a longer jig. In my case, my boning knife is too short for the 140mm jigs, but that's just me. Flexible knives are not thick knives, so self centering is not a big factor for them.For very small knives, a homemade small platform or SVM-00 may be useful.

Among my knife jigs are two modified with Woorz's milling idea (,5 and 1.0 mm). I believe the KJ-45 can easily handle thicker bushcraft knives in smaller volume; however, higher volume sharpeners who sharpen a lot of these knives might feel the modified SVM jigs more efficient.

For anyone sharpening a number of longer kitchen knives, I would recommend acquiring a US-430 before more jigs.

Ken

I have changed my thoughts about Tormek since purchasing my first T7 in 2009. I should also say that I believe Tormek has also changed, as have user expectations. Several factors have influenced these changed my thoughts, some directly related to Tormek and some not.

When I started, the US market was essentially only the larger machines, the T7 and older machines. Tormek began this change with the introduction of the T4, a professional quality smaller machine and the first machine to incorporate the higher precision machined cast zinc top now part of the T8. On a personal level, as a senior citizen I appreciate the lighter weight and compact size of the T4. The smaller machines are not for all users; however, I am pleased to see Tormek realizing that their users includes more than professional and heavy needs users.

I started using my Tormek with woodworking tools, the original purpose of Tormek machines. I was fortunate enough to be mentored by Steve Bottorff and Stig Reitan, who introduced me to knife sharpening. While I am still convinced that the high volume professional knife sharpener is best served by the T8 and older full size machines, I am pleased that Tormek has introduced the T2 and T1 specialty machines for lower volume professional and home users, a group which includes me. I do not have the constraint of having to sharpening one hundred knives on a Saturday morning or many neglected or abused knives. I believe there are many Tormek users like me who appreciate having a Tormek to maintain a high degree of sharpness on their family knives. Samuel's answer to my question during the T1 online class resonated with me. His T8 is in his garage and his T1 is in his kitchen. He uses the composite honing wheel on his T1 before every cooking session. His knives are always in optimum condition.

In Ohio where I live, many families have two vehicles. Often, "the second family car" is a truck. While they cross function, a car and a truck each have different areas of better performance. Most kitchens have both conventional and microwave ovens. Most workshops have several related but not identical tools. Why should we expect one Tormek to handle all sharpening situations equally well?

Some users will complain about the cost of purchasing a second Tormek unit. I understand this, although I am somewhat puzzled if the same users do not think twice about the cost of an SJ-250 Japanese grinding wheel.

I believe future Tormek users will continue to be more demanding and innovations will continue to be more specialized. I look forward optimistically.

Ken

This video is an interview with Thomas Ericcson, Head of Production at Morakniv and a descendant of one of the founders. He has a wealth of practical experience. I was especially fascinated with his thoughts on "factory bevel angles".
Here is the link:

https://youtu.be/8KOsljuoVBQ?si=9YcjgQXI5le85Ij_

Ken

One of my happy memories of visiting Tormek was meeting Sebastien. I was delighted to find him again on the Morakniv youtube channel. Tormek and Morakniv make a nice combination.

Ken

https://youtu.be/o2H7X2qQEZs?si=7DmviP1g8MZCck4V

I just received a notice from Sharpening Supplies that the present 10% sale on Tormek jigs and accessories has been extended until October 7.

Ken

Much praise has been posted about the benefits of superabrasive wheels, both diamond and CBN. The diameters do not decrease with wear and they never need truing. While these are indeed formidable advantages, the praise chorus often overlooks a notable constraint. These marvelous wheels are single grit. Standard advice given to new users is often to purchase three diamond wheels or four or more CBN wheels. We are starting to see conflicting advice given to new users who want to purchase only one wheel due to budgetary constraints. Purchasing a set of superabrasive wheels can easily double the investment in a T8. What to do?

Our late very innovative member, Wootz (Vadim of Knife Grinders), did the preliminary work on a solution. Tragically, his death cut short the development of his ideas. One of his most promising ideas was the use of diamond plates for grading the SG and SB grinding wheels. While still not universally known or accepted, we now know that the concept of using the stone grader to change the grit from 220 to 1000 (only) was an oversimplification. For years, the concept of "600 grit" has been gradually entering the conversation. "600 grit" is a grit somewhere between 220 and 1000, a medium grit somewhere between 220 and 1000, as opposed to an exact number.

Wootz also introduced the idea that using a 1000 grit diamond plate to grade the SG could produce a grit similar to 1500 grit.  Wootz also introduced using the 80 grit diamond plate to set the SB wheel to coarse without having some grains standing proud. Wootz left us some interesting ares to further develop.

I do not mean to minimize the importance of the stone grader. For the many years when the SG was the only available grinding wheel, the stone grader provided a way for the Super Grind (SG wheel) to also grind like the finer (smoother finish) discontinued natural sandstone grinding wheel.

My question for my fellow forum members is have we explored the limits of the grading potential of the SG and SB wheels? If, as Wootz said, a 1000 grit diamond plate will produce 1500 grit with the SG, will a 2000 grit plate produce an even finer grit? Or, is a 1000 grit the maximum for making the SG finer? What about varying grits with the SB or intermediate grits with either the SG or SB?

I recently ordered half a dozen diamond plates in various grits from 80 to 2000 from Amazon. At around $10 US each, they were not expensive. Three or four would provide the average Tormek home user with plenty of versatility at a fraction of the cost of a set of superabrasive wheels.

I welcome your thoughts.

Ken

I received this PM from Daniel Kraichuk, Vadim's son, this morning. Several people have inquired about purchasing KG products. Of the remaining two products, I purchased one of the 400 grit round corner CBN wheels from KG several years ago. I don't normally like to recommend third party products, however, Wootz (Vadim) was a friend and longtime faithful member who contributed much to this forum and to knife sharpening, so I will make an exception.

I purchased my 400 grit wheel as a versatile grit size for knife sharpening and for the radius corners to facilitate sharpening inside corners. The quality is impressive, which I expected from Wootz.

Anyone wishing to purchase either of these items should follow Daniel's requested order method.

Daniel is a fine, responsible young man. We wish him the very best in preparing for his engineering career. Wootz left him a fine life example to follow.

Ken

Good Afternoon Ken,
This is Daniel Kraichuk, Vadim's son from KnifeGrinders.

First of all, I highly thank you for your persistent gratitude towards my father's work on this Tormek forum as well as the condolences shared by you and other people from this community.

I am sending you a PM to hopefully have you share information to those interested in what we have left in our stock that I would like to sell the rest of quickly. This is because I am finishing high school in a couple weeks and am planning to pursue an engineering and/or product design course at university, maybe someday to continue my dad's legacy in the engineering field.

Regarding the items, all that we have left to sell are:
- #160 Dual-Fit CBN Wheels
- and a few #400 Round-Edge CBN Wheels
If needed, better to e-mail me as for many they can't be purchased through our website anymore (excluding eBooks and Softwares).

The reason that it is you particularly that I'm texting is because of your many contributions in helping people with our products and recognising Vadim's work; Also, because I am unsure of where, or to who I should share this information to.

It'd be great if you would be able to help us out on this matter, but if not, that is completely ok as we are in no serious rush.

Once again, thank you for your contributions.

If you are going to reply/respond to this PM, please do so through e-mail at daniel.kraichuk@gmail.com as it is easier for me to use.

Kindest Regards,
Daniel Vadimovich Kraichuk
KG

I remember recently watching a video where the presenter used the lid of an EM-15 edge marker instead of his thumb nail. I tried this, and it seemed to work well. My knife slid along smoothly until it hit a rough patch. I have never been comfortable using my thumb nail.

I held off posting this because I have not been able to find the source and post a link. I would be most appreciative if anyone remembered the source and would post a link. For that matter, I would welcome good information either supporting or disproving the marker top idea.

Thanks in advance.

Ken

I do not pretend that Tormek is infallible of the only source of good information.
I do believe that the Tormek technique and ideas are solid and based on fifty years experience. With that in mind, I will suggest that new users confine their studies to the handbook and the Tormek online classes. Also, I suggest foregoing purchases from third party vendors initially.

I can foresee some resistance to this idea, and extra explanation is needed. Probably the most prevalent other source of information isthe book and videos by our friend and member the late Vadim Kriachuk of Knife Grinders Australia, known to us by his forum name of Wootz. I hold Wootz in the highest fond regards and do not disagree with his methods. However, I believe his ideas are more appropriate for more advanced users.

Nor do I have any complaints with the present third party vendors of Tormek related products. Over the years, I have purchased products from most of them and have always found the service and products satisfactory. I include CBN wheels in this comment.

For new users, I recommend only the SG grinding wheel. I am not alone in this. This is the preferred grinding wheel of the Tormek instructors on the online classes, who have ready access to any of the Tormek wheels if they desire. The SG wheel is also recommended by several experienced forum members. No diamond or CBN wheels. No SJ or SB wheels or off brand wheels. The SG is rugged and can be graded to different grits.

Stick with the Tormek leather honing wheel and PA-70 honing compound. No third party felt or MDF wheels or other honing compounds, including diamond compounds.

I do not mean this to sound narrow minded. My point is to really master the basic traditional Tormek technique. Once you have this solid foundation, you can intelligently explore other options. If you start with CBN, diamond, or the SJ wheel prematurely, you will not master the basic technique. (Sharpening three knives does not qualify as a suitable apprenticeship period.)

The handbook and online classes are valuable learning references. I have read through the handbook several times over the years and am rewatching the online  the online classes regularly. I continue learning from them.

Ken

i like the videos by isharpen. This video, about truing his SG-250, seems very well done and thorough. Here is a link:

https://youtu.be/oiywoBwcctY?si=gloWPgJg6wrC2ek2

Part two is also well worth watching, also:

https://youtu.be/l8WQy6janV8?si=tDptYUCgjppA4iFG

Ken

In this video Thomas and Pär discuss some of the problems with early grinding wheels and steels. Also, Morakniv working with Tormek starting at 6:00.

https://youtu.be/H7DlqIbomjM?si=8bFdkGyivdvN5b6b

Ken

This video is about a knife sharpening master class using a Tormek with two Morakniv experts. It is definitely must see. If you prefer, itis also available in three shorter videos on the same channel.

https://youtu.be/iYsgxerFKHk?si=SQPi6eII9y80V_cy

Ken

I have heard the KJ-45 criticized because, unlike the earlier SVM-45, the end stop is not adjustable. While this is true, it is possible to minimize this. I have also heard that there may be too much play in the support bar. My suggestion may also minimize this, also.

In one of the online classes, Wolfgang states his preference for using the microadjust to raise the support bar instead of lowering it. Raising the support bar keeps the microadjust under constant, consistent tension. This is more controllable than having to tap the support bar when lowering the support bar.

My plan is to only adjust the height of the support bar in one direction, raising it with constant tension.

Let us take the hypothetical of half a dozen to a dozen knives of different widths to be sharpened. These knives are of various sizes, the key variable being the width of the knives. Lay out the knives from the narrowest width to the widest.


Place the narrowest knife in the KJ-45 and set it up with the KS-123. Sharpen the knife. Then set up to hone, either freehand or with a separate support bar and a FVB. Hone the knife before removing it from the jig.


Place the next widest knife in the jig. raise the support bar carefully until this knife is properly set, using one directional raising only. This procedure will insure minimum setting movement and maximum accuracy. Set up the honing support bar the same way.

Some thoughts:
This method works most efficiently if all the knives are ground to the same bevel angle. However, changing the bevel angles is certainly possible, with only a bit more work.

This procedure is based upon several ideas from both forum members and Tormek staff. I make no claim on originality. I also do not consider it a completed procedure. I welcome comments and suggestions. I realize that with the variety in knives that an ideal technique may vary for different kinds and sizes of knives. Included techniques may probably include different knife jigs and calculators. The volume of sharpening will also effect the choice of techniques.

Ken

We often see ACC (Tormek Anti Corrosion Concentrate) described as "expensive". Sometimes this is even listed as a con in pro and con descriptions of diamond wheels.ñ What I have not seen is "expensive" explained in actual usage costs. Nor have I seen the full benefits of ACC included in these criticisms.

Here are my questions for those of you using diamond wheels and ACC:

Every new diamond wheel includes one 150ml bottle of ACC. At the recommended dilution of 1:25, and the T8 water trough holding 125ml of water and 5ml of ACC, this included bottle should ideally provide thirty fresh sharpening sessions. This number will be influenced both by any spillage and how often the diluted solution is reused. The question is, have you used the ACC enough to require purchasing more?

Approximately how many knives or tools will one bottle of ACC last the way you sharpen? Related to this, for those who sharpen professionally, how much revenue will this number of knives or tools produce?

I hope this topic will provide a better definition of what "expensive" is.

Ken

I found this video interesting. Although the presenter uses two high speed dry grinders and both CBN and conventional grinding wheels, his thoughts could be applied to a Tormek and diamond and/or conventional grinding wheels.

He describes himself as an active hobbiest woodturner who does sell some bowls. For several years, he used his $120 eight inch dry grinder with the 80 and 120 grit supplied grinding wheels. He found this combination satisfactory for his needs. Then he upgraded to a one horsepower grinder with 80 and 600 grit CBN wheels. He basically had no complaints with the sharpening quality of his new thiusand dollar rig. It works as wel as his old one hundred twenty dollar rig. He did note that the old rig required a fifteen dollar diamond T truing and dressing tool.

His criticism of the new rig was that, for his essentially hobbiest use, he felt the much larger cost was overkill. In fairness, I must also state, that a set up with a couple diamond wheels could also be considered overkill for him.

There is nothing wrong with a fancy CBN or diamond rig, although for many years we made do with an SG-250 at most more modest cost. Since almost sharpening is restoring the existing bevel, the old combination still works for thrifty sharpeners. Here is a link:

https://youtu.be/4V1r1oFJa8c?si=zehFcYDltDbJs92y

Ken

EDIT: When I first posted this topic, I inadvertently typed "KS-123" instead of ?"KJ-45".

Now that we have had the chance to use the KJ-45 knife setting jig, I am curious to know your experiences with using it for convexing edges.

Have you used it to convex edges?

If so, did you use it once out of curiosity or has convexing become part of your regular sharpening program?

If convexing is now part of your regular sharpening program, which knives do you convex? (function and thickness)

For those of you who sharpen professionally, do your customers request convexing, and do you add a surcharge for it?

I have no hidden agenda pro or con, just curiosity to learn the wisdom and experience of the forum.

Ken