Recent posts

#1

General Tormek Questions / Re: LA-100 leather honing whee...

Last post by tgbto - Today at 08:58:14 AM

I agree with Rich. In my experience, the Tormek leather wheel + PA70 compound is the best efficiency / edge retention compromise.

I'm not sure what a high speed honing device would achieve that the leather wheel cannot, plus the risk of overheating or messing up the edge seems not worth the hassle.

#2

General Tormek Questions / Re: LA-100 leather honing whee...

Last post by RichColvin - Today at 03:55:14 AM

If you want to do high speed honing, use paper wheels.  But, I've found that the leather wheel at Tormek speed works better for me. 

#3

General Tormek Questions / Re: 50Hz vs 60Hz Tormek motors

Last post by MikeK - Yesterday at 04:32:14 PM

Unfortunately, YouTube doesn't offer a way to block videos with AI-generated content.  As soon as I see the AI logo under the video title, I don't bother watching and click on the "Don't Recommend Channel" option.

#4

General Tormek Questions / Re: 50Hz vs 60Hz Tormek motors

Last post by tgbto - Yesterday at 11:53:06 AM

These AI-generated videos, in addition to being IMO auguries of our impending doom, are excruciating to watch.

The monotonous tone is incredibly boring, the images make my eye bleed and ... what happens when you plug in a 110V/60Hz charger in 220V/50Hz outlet is not primarily driven by the frequency mismatch.

#5

General Tormek Questions / 50Hz vs 60Hz Tormek motors

Last post by Ken S - Yesterday at 12:16:05 AM

We occasionally receive questions about 50 Hz and 60Hz motors. This video should answer all of our questions in this area.

Ken

https://youtu.be/7voH3cm2h1M?is=81WoHESvKKLtgNsk

#6

General Tormek Questions / Re: sharpening japanese carvin...

Last post by RickKrung - October 11, 2026, 06:28:44 PM

hello, I want to sharpen this carving knife:
https://www.dictum.com/en/marking-knife-kogatana-standard-double-bevel-blade-width-18-mm/710201
I read the instructions if I am not wrong the recommend using the SVD.186 R and MB-100 with one diamond stone. To me this is impossible to do. Too expensive. Isn't there another cheaper way to do it? I tried to do one free hand. I am not crazy about it, although there was an improvement compared to my previous method with waterstones.
Thanks Enrico

I believe I have dealt with a similar challenge recently, with sharpening very small, thin blades for woodworking marking knives. My blades are about 1mm (0.029") thick, 10mm wide (0.375") and 50mm (2") long.  Bevels are straight, primary at 10º and secondary 20-25º.  The secondary bevel is quite narrow. 
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I used the standard Tormek knife sharpening jigs, both SVM and KJ, but because the blades are so thin, narrow and short, had to hold them off to the side of the jig in order to get them in close enough to the grinding wheels, particularly to get the 10º primary bevel.  Keeping them level and square was also a challenge.  I had to be careful about getting the blade aligned square in the jig and the jig collar snug against the USB, all while carefully and slowly bringing the blade up to the grinding wheel. 
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It took some practice to get right and I'm not showing what some looked like, just those after I got it figured out better (except on of the six blades shown does show a bit of non-uniformity in the primary bevel).  I comment on this partly because it is just what had to be done to get the bevels right, but also because the secondary bevel on the OP's example Kogatana knife is not particularly even. 
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In both the SVM and KJ jigs, I had to use shims under the blades to be able to clamp them, because they are so thin.

The primary difficulty with this setup was keeping the blade/jig from rotating, both radially and axially.  This is what took practice and it ultimately came down to very controlled movements.  Also, I found it worked best when I used magnification (OptiVisor @ 5X) to get in close to view the placement while grinding. 

#7

General Tormek Questions / Re: sharpening japanese carvin...

Last post by Enricopg - October 11, 2026, 09:08:06 AM

Thanks John, I was thinking the same but wasnt sure! 👍

#8

General Tormek Questions / Re: LA-100 leather honing whee...

Last post by Andras - October 11, 2026, 04:19:12 AM

I took the leather honing wheel off my Tormek T-8 and mounted it on my Ryobi bench grinder, which runs at about 3000 RPM. I've used it that way for over two years. It spins away from me, of course. I treat it like any other wheel on a grinder: easy, light pressure.

I use Lee Valley Tools' green honing compound instead of the Tormek paste, because the Tormek paste flies all over the place even when it's rubbed into the leather. I apply the compound with the wheel stopped.

#9

General Tormek Questions / Re: sharpening japanese carvin...

Last post by John Hancock Sr - October 11, 2026, 02:46:05 AM

I would use the SVD-110 tool rest. Draw a line across the wheel with a square then align the edge with this. Once you are happy with the angle draw another line onto the tool rest to align the knife so that you can maintain the proper angle. It may take some fine tuning to get it excactly right

#10

General Tormek Questions / Re: Squareness

Last post by John Hancock Sr - October 11, 2026, 02:38:31 AM

As you sharpen, repeatedly check for squareness, and make adjustments as necessary.

Exactly. I use the small Tormek square, but I also have a small sliding bevel, 4" (150mm) which I can also use. It takes some practice but persistence and constantly checkin=ing until you are confident with the squareness is the key here.