reorganizing my knife sharpening jigs and tools

[Ken S]

My knife sharpening needs have simplified over the years. Developing my kenjig and the method of using it, I have accumulated around a dozen knife jigs. These were primarily for setting up high volume sharpening. The highvolume sharpening aspect was strictly for the kenjig development; my personal sharpening has always been just for my own tools and knives.

With my changing needs and Tormek developments, I am reorganizing my Tormek storage. I happen to have a Tormek Work Station, although this organization should work with almost any work station.

In general, I tend to follow Tormek technique. As such, I am dedicating the third drawer (the first deeper drawer) to knife kit. This drawer will hold my KS-123; KJ-45; KJ-140; SVM-00; as well as a few Sharpies, and a small square. I am considering keeping my extended support bar and MB-102 in this drawer.

I do not plan to use my various SVM jigs. They are presently in a box on a nearby shelf. I will keep them nearby, but not in the work station. All of my knives, kitchen, pocket, and Moras work with my KS-123 and KJ-45.

This set up is for my present and projected needs. I post this only as a possible solution for those with similar needs to mine. I am fully aware that others will probably have different needs, and I welcome comments.

Ken

[tgbto]

Ken,

That's interesting, I don't know the dimensions of the Tormek workstation drawers, my Tormek is on this kind of workstation.

I chose to put all knife jigs, current sharpie, current PA-70 tube, etc. in the topmost drawer. Granted, it's shallow at 60mm, but those jigs fit without issue. They are loose in the drawer, with a few separators so they don't move around too much. Even when sharpening a single knife, if it's standard thickness I tend to use my SVM rather than KG: I am used to it and the second stop of the KJ still gets in the way from time to time. So everything I need on a standard sharpening session is in this drawer, close at hand.

The second drawer holds spares and less-used tools: spare sharpies, spare paste tube, AngleMaster, stone truing tool, composite honing wheel, rust erasers, and a leather honing wheel with chromium oxide as per Wootz's idea.

Then comes the 90mm drawer which I lined with ShadowFoam and which holds my diamond plates for grading, the straight edge jig, DBS jig and related tooling, other woodworking jigs, Multibase, plus a 250mm honing wheel which I also use rather infrequently.

The other drawers are not Tormek-related : they hold various EdgePro/EdgeProLike parts for curved/serrated/awkwardly-shaped blades.

I guess your post lacks a key part information : which of your machines is standing atop it ? T7 ? T8 ? T8 black ?

[Ken S]

TGBTO,

I like your chosen work station. As with so many areas of sharpening, there are many good solutions.

Like you, I am more used to the SVM jigs than the new KJ jigs. That's one reason why I chose the KJ jigs, to broaden my skill areas.

Which Tormek sits atop my work station? In the long run,(not that distant), I will probably have only smaller and lighter Tormeks. I don't know if my Tormek Work Station will be in my future. For the present, T7, T8, or T8 Black? Frankly, any of the three will do. The round bottom of the T8 works with a smaller volume of ACC with diamond wheels. My T7 is a later one, so it has the EZYlock and the Advanced Water Trough. Both are nice to have, but not deal breakers.

Ken

[RichColvin]

Ken, I admire your actions.  I've only culled things from my chest of jigs when Tormek made something which obsoleted a jig I made.

[Ken S]

Rich, I still have my older jigs. The difference is that they are now in a box on a nearby shelf instead of in a drawer in my work station. This is as much to declutter my mind as to declutter my work area.

This is a continuing growth process.

Ken