Recent posts

#1

General Tormek Questions / Re: Some Questions about my ne...

Last post by John Hancock Sr - Today at 07:06:02 AM

Yes, it does sound like something is scraping. The shaft may be slightly bent. Check the body and wheel to see if you can see any wear marks where it could be scraping. Not sure that it will really do any damage but do check with Tormek.

#2

Knife Sharpening / Re: Cletus Spuckler on knife s...

Last post by Rossy66 - Yesterday at 11:44:58 PM

Painful to watch.

#3

General Tormek Questions / Re: Some Questions about my ne...

Last post by carlhanger - Yesterday at 10:03:21 PM

I was definitely using too much pressure! The knives I sharpened after keeping that in mind felt and looked way better than the first ones. The next challenge is avoiding an overgrind around the first third of the blade (coming from the handle). I am trying to counteract this by going slower on the other two-thirds, but it still feels a bit awkward. I am getting there, though.

Is the wheel on the machine the SG or the SJ? It is not clear from the photos. If it is the SJ then you will take forever to get a bevel. If it is the SG then do you have the grading stone to change the grit? You reshape the bevel with the coarse grade then finish with the fine grit and then if desired the SJ wheel.

I am using the SG and am really surprised with the sharpness I am getting just using it, the honing wheel with green compound, and a bare leather. Next, I will try using the Schleifjunkies honing wheels with 1 and 0.25 microns and a fixed angle. If the results improve just a bit with that setup, I don't see a need for the SJ.

Also, I am very happy that the SG isn't as slow as many people say. Yes, making big angle adjustments on a wide chisel or plane blade can be a bit tedious, but setting a new bevel on a kitchen knife doesn't take that long at all. Even on the very beat up and thick grocery store knives I have been practicing on. Instead of the grading stone, I am using diamond plates.

My old T7 was a bit noisy, did not worry me too much. Also if the honing wheel has a bump then it is perfectly fine. The leather is not always perfectly smooth. That will not impact the honing.

Did you clean and grease the shaft? The recommended is white lithium. It is water resistant and really sticky. Remove the shaft, clean it with a rag and re-grease the bearings. It pays to repeat this every few months, especially if you are using it a lot.
 

I'm not bothered by the overall volume of the mashine, but by a specific rhythmic noise that perfectly matches the bump I feel when honing. I made another video of the drive wheel and I am pretty sure that there is something wrong whith it:

I did clean and lubricate the shaft btw. Also, the wheel and the shaft both look straight when inspecting them separately. I am very happy for any suggestions as to what might be causing this.

Thank you all for taking the time to reply.

#4

Knife Sharpening / Re: Cletus Spuckler on knife s...

Last post by Ken S - Yesterday at 03:41:58 PM

Holy Molly.

That is so funny... "Well, if you manage to hold your steel real steady - like my friend over there is holding the camera"

I try to keep an open mind, and not always sound like a Tormek elitist. Building on TGB's post, as a lifelong photographer, I rarely feel comfortable without the six pound Leitz Tiltall tripod I purchased in 1979. I respect the cook's position that his sharpening technique may seem adequate for his needs. However; just like using my tripod, I believe a more refined approach to sharpening may produce longer lasting edges which are gentler on the knives. Whether maintaining my own knives or hiring a sharpener, I prefer the gentler approach.

Ken

#5

Knife Sharpening / Re: Cletus Spuckler on knife s...

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

Holy Molly.

That is so funny... "Well, if you manage to hold your steel real steady - like my friend over there is holding the camera - then your sheet of paper will yield after you apply no more than 50 pounds of force with your newly created bludgeon".

#6

Knife Sharpening / Re: Cletus Spuckler on knife s...

Last post by HaioPaio - February 02, 2026, 09:13:59 PM

Thanks for sharing. You made my day.

#7

Wood Turning / Re: well done extensive Glenn ...

Last post by FIGO - February 02, 2026, 05:58:18 PM

I am SUPER THANKFUL!

#8

Knife Sharpening / Cletus Spuckler on knife sharp...

Last post by kwakster - February 02, 2026, 05:14:43 PM

Cletus is a cook and that's what he does.

The clip showcases the amazing things one can do to a knife edge with a pull-through "sharpener".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMBD1Hhgdzo

Maybe i should sell my Tormek and buy one of these ?

#9

Wood Turning / Re: Need a Nose job

Last post by FIGO - February 02, 2026, 03:56:51 PM

Thank you.

#10

Knife Sharpening / Re: CATRA Lab Results: Knife G...

Last post by tgbto - February 02, 2026, 09:10:19 AM

Results Oriented - Not Equipment Nor Protocol Specific

The report shows (with the caveat below) good Cutting Edge Retention ("CER") is not equipment dependent - good CER values was achieved with three different pieces of equipment. Also, KnifeGrinder's protocols are not the only way to achieve good CER. That's why on page 25, under Conclusions, I stated, "Experiment"!

The caveat is that guided sharpening (knife clamped + guide bar) achieved much higher CER values than those that did not (sharpeners PB, WK, OA, and KH). In KGA Variation #1 (page 14), half a degree angle made a noticeable difference to CER values.

I'm not sure I understand your report properly but if I do, I read that what you call "KGA Variation #1" brings CER from 399 to 391. But the standard deviation of your (small) samples are 46 and 10 respectively. So your 8mm (2%) CER variation is well within standard deviation, which is not what I'd call "noticeable".

Plus you changed the honing edge angle AND removed a step. So who is to say the difference is due to the change in angle ?

I posted somewhere else last week that I helped a commercial fisherman get his knives from around 265 BESS to around 95 BESS by deburring at .5 degree higher than the 15º angle.

You mean you had a set of similarly sharpened knives, some of which you honed for a given amount of time at 15dps, the others for the same amount of time at 15.5dps, and mean BESS was 265 on the first set and 95 on the second set ? I'm having a hard time believing that.

I guess what I'm saying is that to quantify the influence of .5dps difference in honing edge angle is in itself a very ambitious endeavor : your K09-K18 sample already already comes out of the factory with initial BESS readings from 125 to 170. And how many BESS readings did you take per knife ? BESS scores vary between the flat part and the curved part of the blade because the angle changes due to the operator's combination of pivoting and lifting in the curved area, close to the tip.
You would also have to make sure that all knives come out of the sharpening step with consistent sets of BESS readings, and randomize the order in which you take them over the honing wheel to factor out potential wear of said wheel over a significant set of knives. Along with many other precautions to make sure the operator doesn't know if they are honing @15 or 15.5 dps. This would prove very costly in time and money, but I don't see many other ways to quantify the effect of the .5dps difference.

If just a small process difference proves that hard to evaluate, then the influence of an entire process is orders of magnitude harder, and in the end I think one has to take even Wootz' litterature as a very interesting informed experiment but not a rock-hard scientific conclusion. The influence of the operator in itself is tremendous.

Again, the only conclusion I risk making based on your report is that I'd rather have my knives sharpened by you and your equipment than by your fellow sharpener and their equipment. And you can't increase the significance of your results by "bunching up" results of completely different experiments because you don't control the variations.