Recent posts

#11

Knife Sharpening / Re: A new resource

Last post by Brock O Lee - Yesterday at 09:05:58 AM

This report was shared by the author and discussed in this thread on the forum

Thank you for the reference. 👍

#12

Knife Sharpening / Re: A new resource

Last post by tgbto - Yesterday at 08:54:19 AM

This report was shared by the author and discussed in this thread on the forum

#13

General Tormek Questions / Re: Good Light

Last post by tgbto - Yesterday at 08:49:48 AM

I was lucky to find this, it's classified as a reading light but it's led with three colors and flexible.  It's perfect for sharpening.

Wow, it looks very nice, not only for sharpening but also for having around the workshop. Care to share a link ?

#14

General Tormek Questions / Re: Burr removal.....the bane ...

Last post by Rossy66 - May 02, 2026, 02:48:03 AM

Thanks to everybody for all their suggestions I sat down yesterday for about 3 and 1/2 hours and worked on getting my burr removal down. I feel like I have made some large steps in freehanding and have noticed the difference with different knife steels. I feel like I'm getting there and it's nice not having to take off the diamond wheel every time I'm removing the burr of the knife. Thanks everyone I just have to work a little harder.

#15

General Tormek Questions / Re: Burr removal.....the bane ...

Last post by Royale - May 01, 2026, 04:24:09 PM

Once I raise a burr on my last grindstone used, I make a few light alternating passes on both sides of the blade to weaken the burr.

I use the composite wheel on most knives, and I strop at sharpening angle the majority of the time. I start with the burr side up, make about 10 passes, before flipping the knife to burr side down, and another 10 passes.

I put in about 20 passes each side before I start alternating passes for about 10 passes each side.

Finally, I'd raise the stropping angle by about 1 degree, do about 10 alternating passes on each side, and later clean up the edge with 99% IPA before doing any sort of inspection/testing.

I notice the composite wheel tends to leave a bit of material on the cutting edge, so sometimes the roughness I feel isn't the burr, but just rubber and aluminium oxide still stuck on.

#16

Knife Sharpening / Re: A new resource

Last post by Brock O Lee - May 01, 2026, 12:42:39 PM

Thanks for sharing!

Interesting reading, and much respect for the effort and financial commitment to produce this report. I filed it for future reference.

A few things caught my attention regarding the BESS results:
1. I am surprised that the sharpened blades did not achieve sub-100 BESS scores? Except for one outlier in the raw results.

2. The report mentions that sub-130 BESS indicates a fully deburred edge? I remember Wootz considered sub-100 BESS to be fully deburred. He routinely achieved much lower than that, using the deburring techniques mentioned in the report.

However, I am aware that BESS scores are dependent on test technique and test media (clips vs spool), so that might explain the differences.

I bring this up as hobbyist, and from my own experience, my 100+ BESS edges often have room for improvement. I find that 70-80 BESS scores are very achievable on a Tormek and Edge Pro (after deburring steps). I have even managed mid-50's on a few occasions, so the high BESS numbers in the report seems odd.

For context, this edge was from the Edge Pro, at 16 dps, finished on 1000 grit diamond, stropped on 1 micron diamond spray on basswood. The Spyderco Native Chief in CPM-REX-45 in the background had the same treatment and scored 58.

#17

Knife Sharpening / Re: How to achieve less than 1...

Last post by Brock O Lee - May 01, 2026, 12:18:22 AM

I have found that it is much easier to get low BESS scores when I sharpen at low angles (sub-15 dps). In my experience diamond stones tend to produce lower scores than the SG-250, and higher grit finishes (1000+) produce lower scores than lower grit finishes.

Just to make sure : when you talk about lower scores, do you mean lower BESS number or lower sharpness ?

I meant lower BESS scores.

To rephrase, I've noticed that the SE-250 (extra fine diamond wheel) gives me lower BESS scores (sharper edge) than the SG-250 (standard stone wheel), on the same kitchen knife (Spyderco MBS-26 steel similar to VG10), at the same angle, using the same technique.

I have not experimented enough to say this is definitive. At the moment I suspect it could be due to grit differences, or that one abrasive cuts a certain steel cleaner than the other, or something else?

That is going deep into the weeds... Take it as one data point from "a guy in his garage seeing a thing". 🙂

#18

Knife Sharpening / A new resource

Last post by Ken S - April 30, 2026, 07:30:11 PM

I like to encourage work by forum members, especially work which stays within the forum philosophy of being non commercial. Forum member, Eric Ho, has researched and produced a PDF which falls within these guidelines.

I had some initial reservations, namely that Eric does not sharpen presently with a Tormek. However, he does not write negatively about the Tormek. He also compares six different sharpeners and sharpening methods. One of these is our late, well respected member, Wootz  (Vadim Kriachuk of Knife Grinders Australia). Wootz was a longtime innovative Tormek user.

Eric included several prelated areas which I found interesting.  I was fascinated with his thoughts on CATRA testing, which tests longer sections of
a knife blade. He supports these thoughts with what I would consider a substantial investment in money,  test knives, and in actually sending these knives to CATRA for expensive testing.

I do not believe I will ever spend the money to actually send any knives to CATRA for testing, although Eric did a good job of explaining the testing procedure. I was glad to read about the testing.q

Eric discusses four factors in how long knives remain sharp, the most important being the bevel angle. His coverage seems fair and balanced, something I appreciate.

Eric's PDF is 29 pages, a very workable length. I have it loaded on my ipad and printed out. It is an interesting addition to my sharpening library.!     

Download link: https://be-sharp.io/2026/01/09/catra-testing-cutting-edge-retention-bess-knife-grinders-australia/

Ken

#19

General Tormek Questions / Re: Good Light

Last post by Rossy66 - April 30, 2026, 07:01:03 PM

I was lucky to find this, it's classified as a reading light but it's led with three colors and flexible.  It's perfect for sharpening.

#20

Knife Sharpening / Re: How to achieve less than 1...

Last post by tgbto - April 30, 2026, 02:49:17 PM

I have found that it is much easier to get low BESS scores when I sharpen at low angles (sub-15 dps). In my experience diamond stones tend to produce lower scores than the SG-250, and higher grit finishes (1000+) produce lower scores than lower grit finishes.

Just to make sure : when you talk about lower scores, do you mean lower BESS number or lower sharpness ?

I used to chase BESS scores initially. It is a good tool to measure progress while you develop a technique. After a while I got too lazy to fire up the BESS tester, but I still do occasionally. In my experience you quickly get a feel for a sharp burr-free edge by how effortlessly it glides through phone book or cigarette paper, you don't even need to test.

I wholeheartedly agree, once you get comfortable with the process, there is little need for systematic BESS testing. When I get a new, exotic steel I usually test it before/After.  Plus high BESS does not necessarily translate to higher edge retention, so I use it only as a reference to see if a given sharpening is consistent with the lot, if I have a doubt.

Although this may be the case in some instances, but for me, there have been times that I'm finishing off with the above numbers, but still running the knife through my microscope and it clearly shows no burr is present.

In my experience some steels never get under 130 BESS. I have a few french Sabatier knives that won't get under 150, 130 at the very best, no matter what. And they get back to a lofty 250 after a few uses in the kitchen. Those I don't trust to care for knives get to use them, but my 8 y.o. son uses my japanese knives.

Also, I've experienced some situations (edge leading with SJ-250, on soft steels) where there is still a layer of very soft steel at the apex of the edge. It is however invisible under a typical optical microscope.