just watched jeff on youtube

[tomboyd]

He gets that knife razor sharp, mine get sharp but not like that.  Will i become a jedi sharpener with time?  It can get frustrating i guess practice makes perfect

[grepper]

Useless late night reply:

Not to worry.  The force is with you.  It's a little like Zen... You just have to awaken to the fact that you are already there.

[Herman Trivilino]

It does take time and practice. Good light and magnification are essential.

[Rob]

and sharpening an already incredibly sharp knife helps too :-)

[Stickan]

I would say that everybody can get their knives sharp on a Tormek. I have met many users saying they have problems doing it but they don't sharpen enough so they can feel the burr with the fingertips. When that is done, sharpen next side and hone with or without the jig as described in the handbook.
Stig

[Herman Trivilino]

and sharpening an already incredibly sharp knife helps too :-)

Oh, Rob, you cynic! Don't you know that if you sharpen something incorrectly you can make it dull?

[Herman Trivilino]

I have met many users saying they have problems doing it but they don't sharpen enough so they can feel the burr with the fingertips.

In some cases I've found that it's easy to feel that burr. In others it's difficult. And in still other cases I've found it impossible.

The same is true when trying to see the burr under good light, although a practiced eye and a magnifier can help.

We were discussing this in another thread. What is it about the steel that makes the burr easier or harder to detect? Is it the hardness, or is it the grain size. I'd always assumed it was the hardness but recent experiences have led me to think that it's the grain size. it makes sense that if the grains are large the burr is going to be be more noticeable. It also seems that in the case of larger grains the knife won't slice through paper as easily.

[Stickan]

One easy way of finding burr is to use a cotton ball gliding on the edge, if there is burr there will be cotton.
But Herman, you are right, some brands are using really hard metal and that gives less burr. Really cheap knifes leaves a long burr that you hardly can hone away.
At the same time, some knifes needs a short burr, some butchers like that.
I often let the knife run over my thum nail, then I feel the burr directly. I do not recommend doing that to often though 
I do believe that we can be slightly too obsessed by this, many new knives does have a little burr left on them from the factory, even expensive brands. I came home with some Japanese knifes and after 5 days my wife found them dull. Now, she is spoiled by now so I had to check them, but after some honing they were as sharp as they were intended to be. At the same time, when you know how sharp you can get them on the Tormek, I find it nice to always have sharp knifes at home. I also find it relaxing to sharpen and with the result, it makes me happy 

[Herman Trivilino]

I do believe that we can be slightly too obsessed by this, many new knives does have a little burr left on them from the factory, even expensive brands.

What's frustrating is not being able to raise a burr when sharpening. The burr is the signal that the grind has been a success.

I also find it relaxing to sharpen and with the result, it makes me happy 

Me, too. The act of doing it is relaxing, and the reward is a great feeling of accomplishment. I like wood working for the same reasons.