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I love my T7.  Use it all the time because I like to keep my blades razor sharp.

I also use a fine diamond coated honing rod between sharpenings in the home. 

Today I had a dull knife in the office.  I use it to cut fruit but it has gotten too dull. I was thinking about taking it home but then I also had a find sanding sponge from 3M.  I gave it a try.  The sanding sponge worked wonders. I'm no good with a sharpening stone but the sanding sponge got my knife sharp in no time.  I dare say it is better than the diamond coated honing rod.  Just sharing.  Has anyone else ever try this?

I want to sharpen a small knife as sharp as can be for showing off.  Just for fun.  It will be for show only.  I guess it would be for cutting paper, tomatoes and other demonstrations.  I won't use it on meat, bone and I won't let it cut an orange seed or an apple seed.

So just for the purpose of showing off, what angle should I use?  I suppose I can use a single bevel blade - like a Japanese knife and maybe 15 degree bevel on the bevel side.  So that would be a total of 15 degree angle at the cutting edge.

If anyone have a good suggestion for demonstrating sharpness - for showmanship, not for practical purposes like cutting wood or even food - please let me know.

Just having fun this summer.

Just got a $15 carbon steel paring knife from Sabatier. It has been many years since I've used a carbon steel knife. It is so sharp and I can sharpen it so easily.  There is something to be said about a knife that is easy to sharpen.  A few strokes on the diamond honing stick is all that is needed to sharpen it to my taste.  The blade is already stained from cutting apples and oranges yesterday.

Next year, I'm buying a whole new set of carbon knives for myself. My wife can use the stainless steel set.

I guess my days of dishwashing knives are over.

Problem is that with some knives which are already quite thick (distance from the sharp edge to the blunt edge), the universal tool rest is not long enough to set the proper angle.  For example, a big cleaver would have that problem.

So I was thinking of a way to make the universal tool rest longer.

I just got my SVD-110 - the flat tool rest.

If I mount the Torlock with the rest flipped all the way up, it raises the universal tool rest maybe 3 inches.  If that is not wide enough for you, attach a cheap wood ruler with 2 c-clamps.  Now, you have a tool rest (the ruler) that is 3 inches above the universal tool rest. You have effectively made the tool rest 3 inches taller for almost no money - assuming you own the SVD-110 already.

I am thinking about buying the woodturning kit.  I can also buy the individual components over time as I need it.  It seems like all of the individual components can be purchased separately and the discount for buying all at once is not a lot. 

I don't turn wood but I want to play with the tool rest, profiled honing wheel, and I can find use for the cover and the other stuff except for the specialized tool for gouges.

Any thoughts or suggestions?  Are there any non-woodturning people out there who have the kit?

Thanks.

I sharpen with the stone rolling away from me.  I put the knife at a 45 degree angle to the stone.

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I can determine the angle by how far the knife back lifts from the back of the stone.

Then I slide the knife back and forth from the handle to the tip.  The inside of the stone wears down first so I dress it flat whenever it is needed.  I don't use the outside of the stone at all.

Please comment and critique.  This is the way I figured out on my own and I just can't imagine doing it any other way but I am open to suggestions. I am not boasting - just not aware of another method.

There is not a whole lot of discussions on the web on how to sharpen on a rolling grindstone.  If there is a video to this, I would greatly appreciate it.

Over the holidays, I have been practicing scissor sharpening.  I sharpened two pairs.  One was a $5 dollar scissor - elementary school supply quality.  The other was a $40 sewing scissors. 
I note that in both cases, one blade of the scissor has a 60 degree angle and the other blade of the same scissor has a much higher angle, like 70 or more degrees. The thickness of the steel was too thin so I could not measure the angle accurately.

Is there some theory I should know about scissors?  Can I sharpen both blades to the same angle (60 degree for example) to save time and effort?  What is the benefit of having one blade at 60 degree and one blade at 70 degrees?  I understand, of course, the major risk is my wife would get upset.  Am I damaging the scissors by sharpening them both blades of one scissor at the same angle?

Thanks

I have a bulk paper cutter blade.  Little less than half inch thick, 14 inches long, 3.5 inches wide.  Single bevel.  It has a few nicks.  It can cut a 2 inch stack of paper.

My question is if anyone have sharpen one of this type of blade and if there is any advice out there.  Do you know if it will fit the planer jig?  Just wondering if you have any suggestions.

I guess one advantage I have over the people who uses the planers is that I don't need a straight edge.  It cuts into a cutting board slicing paper in between the blade and the board.  I think I can sharpen it freehand almost.  As long as the edge is relatively sharp and straight, I should be OK.

For those of you who want details, it is a Come Industries 2700 Bulk Cutter.

Thanks for all your suggestions in the past.

After some practice, I am very happy with the tormek.  I think the instructions are a bit brief with regards to honing.

What is the goal of my honing?  Since the tool is already sharp by that stage, honing should be a short affair to slightly touch up each side?

What is the angle?  Should it be the same as the grinding angle?  Should it be more to remove blurs?  Is there a danger of too much honing?  I am guessing that honing should be short, a little bit on each side.

Thanks for your advice.  I enjoy the Tormek T7 very much.

I really enjoy the Tormek. 

Question 1

Say I want to bring all my kitchen knife set maybe 12 knives to razor sharpness to impress my wife and to justify the cost of the machine.

How would you go about it?

Set up paring knife in jig.
Set the angle.
Grade the stone for rough.
Grind.
Grade the stone for fine.
Grind.
Polish with the leather wheel.

Set up Chef's knife.
Set the angle.
Grade the stone for rough.
Grind.
Grade the stone for fine.
Grind.
Polish with the leather wheel.

As you can see, this can take all morning for a set of 12 kitchen knives of different sizes.  I have paring knives, carvers, boning knives, cleavers, chef's knives, and a few others.  It will take me a long time.

The alternative is to measure the angle and do all the knives with the rough stone.  Grade. Finish all the knives with the fine graded stone.  I guess I should try to clamp all the knifes at the same place so the angle of sharpening at the tip is about the same.  But this is less precise but I guess close enough.

So how would you go about it?  Or maybe with experience it will all go faster?

Question 2

I have two brands of knives.  Hinckel and Martha Stewart.  The Hinckel knives seem to take the edge better.  The Martha Stewarts I took out a lot of metal to establish the edge, but still the knives never seem quite as sharp.  and they dull fast Is this normal.  I thought I could use cheaper knives and put on a great edge since I have the ultimate grinder.  I thought the cheaper knives are cheaper because less money was spent in shaping the blades.  Now, it seems to me the steel is not as good for holding an edge.  I still need to have a good knife to be happy with the edge.

Thank you for your help.  Much appreciated

I bought the Tormek to sharpen kitchen knives.  It worked beautifully.  I put a 20 degree grind on each side (40 degrees total) and the knives feel so sharp.  At first they don't feel as sharp because my previous method leaves micro-serations which feels sharper.  So I was very concerned because I spent a lot of money (for me).  But once the knife is used on food, I can really feel the difference and I am glad I paid.

I also reshaped my 12 inch chef's knife to 11.5 inches to remove a big chip I broke off trying to chop a lobster.  It worked all the time except for the last time, when I was chopping a 10 pound lobster.  Yes, I own cleavers, I was just playing - and I plan to buy another 12 inch chef's knife if I ever fancy such an idea.

The leather wheel fits both ways but after some careful analysis, I figured out the correct way.  The new stone mounting nut was confusing because no instructions came with it. I know, of course how to screw it in but the directions talk about washers and not torquing the nut for fear of bending the axle. Instead, I should hammer on the wrench instead.  Of course, with the new nut, I was afraid to torque the stone for fear of bending the axle too.  And I was afraid because there were no washers so I did not know if I was missing a part or two parts.  I don't want to break the machine.  Things could have been more clear.

But I got the email about the upgrades and so all is OK now.

The stone required slight grading the first time for a very minor out of round.  After grinding 20 knives and reshaping a chef's knife, it did not appear to have worn much.

As for the Grizzly and the Jet.  I don't have them and never played with them but I have read the reviews.  I have the resources but not the time to build jigs to fix any and all deficiencies of these machines, tighten up the motors, get new bearings etc.  However, by the time I get the machine, build jigs to correct the defects, align the guides and everything, and test grind some blades, I would have wasted a lot of time and saved not so much money to get a funny looking end product that imitate something I could buy.  And then if I have to bring my grinder to visit a friend and relatives, I have to bring all these jigs.

My time is better spent making stuff you cannot buy.  That's the whole point of having a hobby - at least according to me.  I am not a manufacturer of off the shelf grinders for a little less money.


Question 1:
I do have a few questions, for things like a 12 inch chef's knife and boning knives, where should I clamp the knife jig to get the right angle on the curved part near the tip?  Right in the middle, or a specific number of inches from the curved tip?  I guess there is really no guide for sharpening a curved tip, it is really hand sharpening the curved tip using the jig as a rough guide. 

Also, for small knifes with a sharp point, like a triangular blade, I clamp the knife so that the cutting edge is parallel to the tool.  I figure this is correct because I want to align the cutting edge to the stone.

Any tip would be appreciated - please assume I know nothing.


Question 2.  I got the new water trough with the extension and the quick stone mount.  It seems the instructions state that the water trough can move up and down to adjust the water level?  I can't figure this out.  This is no big deal since I just pour in water and pour out water to adjust the level.  But, if the new trough is able to be moved up and down, please let me know and I will investigate.