Messages

With time, I realized I tend to clamp parallel to the flat, with the side of the jig shaft (the pivot point), roughly at the point where the belly of the knife is. So I'd say a mix of both pictures...

I find this allows for both minimal effort when grinding the flat of the blade, and best control along the curved part and in the tip area.

Hello !

Unlike the original FVB, the MB-102 does not have a solid block that will rest against the casing. So "constants" now vary.

If you want to use the calculator, I'd advise for measuring directly the Top-of-USB-to-wheel distance. It's a more direct measurement that removes intermediate measurements (and measurement errors) anyway.

I also find it easier to measure, as you don't have to aim for a particular place on the casing. Just use the left side of both your calipers' jaws.

In addition, the manual reads :

Your downward movement with the knife should be slow and deliberate. Try to find a seated
position with arms resting on the worktop for greater control and stability. If you can clearly see the
increase in force tick upward on the display either in 5 or 25 gram increments (depending on the
instrument you have purchased) then you know that you have taken the measurement correctly.

So if you "quickly cut against the wire", you're not measuring sharpness.

Very nice work, congrats !

You guys should upgrade to the TBT-1000... Much smoother cap at the just the right hardness for sub-micronic edge feeling and a patented extra-fine edge tester that will conveniently double as a pocket holder. Only 19.99 apiece 

During this weekend's sharpening session, I noticed something that either wasn't happening before, or that I had failed to notice : when moving the USB up, the KS-123 wouldn't move in a continuous fashion, but rather by small increments. Which led me to suspect that the static friction coefficient at the middle reference leg was too high.

I did some testing, and noticed that if I moved the needle by hand, with the KS-123 still snapped to the USB and the three contact points on the wheel, I could get it to give readings that could vary by almost 1.5dps.

So I ended up taking the KS-123 apart, and lubricating the contact area between the black plastic cylinder and its metal housing. It improved the situation.

Hey guys,

I was curious how many regular knife sharpeners felt like they had to buy the US-430. So here goes, thanks !

Ken,

Two additional jigs might be an additional expense, but at least people would get to choose. And out of curiosity, can you find receipts or emails so we can compare how much cheaper the SVM-45 were compared to the SVM-100 when the shaft was shortened ?

As for modifying a KJ, I don't feel like machining plastic, and I fear the risks (like not ending up with a smooth shaft) make it not worth the trouble.

Wrt the US-430 I respectfully disagree with the statement that

This jig is useful only to knife sharpeners who sharpeners who work with longer knives, a small part of the Tormek users

as it allows for much more leeway in terms of clamping position. So it is also very useful for knives with a pronounced curvature, or when wanting to adjust for the sweetest lifting/pivoting movement.
I'd be curious to know how many readers of the "knife sharpening" forum don't own the US-430. Keeping in mind that the Knife forum represents about 70% of all posts among the specialty forums, and more than six times the number of posts of the wood turning forum, I think this is a significant part of the Tormek user base.

I could not agree more with the need for an adjustable stop. The self centering feature is good... for about one knife out of the 20+ I use on a regular basis.

I'd trade the bottom stop any time for the adjustability (the adjustability range can easily be made so that it would allow sharpening weeding sickles, as well as much narrower blades). I use the SVMs much more than the KJ, but more often than not, the bottom stop catches when I switch sides, and I passionately hate that. Sure, it would probably go away if I used it more, but it's a PITA to me still.

The way I do things now with the KS-123 : I set my knives up in the jigs the way I did  before, so they all have the same protrusion distance, then I set up my VUSB and FUSB with the KS-123, and off I go.

I never added oil except as per the instructions when the honing wheel was brand new. It is now pitch black, completely smooth and I never scrape it.

When sharpening the first knife of a new session, I only add a bit of compound, by applying the tip of the tube and barely squeezing while moving the tube sideways. It leaves a tiny bit of paste wrapped twice or three times around the wheel.

I then hone for two to thre passes, then (yuck) remove whatever paste is left on the blade with a finger and rub it back onto the wheel. Makes for a dirty fingertip, but the wheel always feels the same.

In my experience, there is also some kind of a visual cue, with tiny black debris that start lifting off the wheel when deburring is efficient.

Or ... use a calculator 

John, those drums are beautiful. You must be very proud.

Having said all this ... I am not sure if you ever file a warranty claim, they would have an easy way to know that you have used a wheel on an extension shaft.

All Tormek wheels are either exclusively for wet grinding (SB/SG/SJ), or wet grinding is very strongly advised (DC/DF/DE).

There is only a water trough on one side of the machine, so the other one would have to run dry with standard issue Tormek hardware.

Therefore I don't see how they would support using it in a way that would only help 3rd parties sell wheels.