thoughts on new Tormek live knife sharpening class

[Ken S]

I was very pleased with the live Tormek knife sharpening class. I will be posting comments and encourage other members to do so.

Ken

[Ken S]

I was very pleased with the new online live knife sharpening class. It is an excellent start. I hope, as Wolfgang and Sebastien stated, that it will be the first of many such classes. These classes are both the most effective learning tools and the most cost effective way for Tormek to help many customers, truly a win-win situation.

One listener comment was a complaint that there are "a ton of beginner videos". He wanted a more advanced video. I hope Tormek will make more advanced videos, like the stellar DBS-22 video that Alan Holtham made for them. While there may indeed be "a ton of beginner videos", in my opinion, there are very few good beginner videos. I highly recommend that all of us, both beginners and old hands, watch this video. I plan to study it seriously, and recommend that beginners do the same. There is much to be gained from mastering basic Tormek technique. By all means, feel free to follow your own path; just master the traditional method first.

While the emphasis was on basic knife sharpening, a lot of more subtle techniques were introduced. I will be spending much time studying the hand and blade positioning suggestions.

I would make a suggestion on the topic of taping knives to prevent scratching with the knife jig. I have been using the adhesive protection pads made by Boot Heel Customs and sold on ebay. The are simple, effective, and inexpensive. They solve the scratching problem and they are a one time fix.

I felt the complaint about the Tormek using electricity was trite. I am concerned about conservation and global warning, however, a 120 or 200 watt Tormek will not end life on our planet.

I did not think the questions about CBN wheels and Knife Grinders products were appropriate. I think both Wolfgang and Sebastian handled them professionally and diplomatically. For the record, I am a huge fan of both Tormek and the research and products of Vadim at Knife Grinders. Vadim has always behaved as a gentleman with Tormek. I am pleased to see that good behavior reciprocated. In both the present and in the long run, we will all benefit from both Tormek and Knife Grinders.

When I find an excellent learning resource like this, I study it intently several times and return to it later. I see this as spending time honing my knowledge and understanding. I am pleased that Tormek plans to make these videos available in at least four languages and look forward to enjoying more of them

Ken

[Roger M.]

The online class was excellent. Lots of good information even for experienced users of the Tormek.
For lots of folks, the angle setter can be confusing as to when you should use the full or partial angle ... and here it was explained quickly and precisely as to when you use each one.

Even small things, like the trick of spinning the micro-adjuster quickly by touching it to the leather wheel were new to me, and will most definitely be used by me in the future!

[chiamsi]

For me as a pre-beginner (get my T4 hopefully this weekend) this was a lot of useful information e.g. about rounding the corner of the stones, how to adjust the jigs etc.
The sharping technique however differs from the technique Wazz is teaching, but maybe I should get started step by step.

Regards
Ernst

[John_B]

For me as a pre-beginner (get my T4 hopefully this weekend) this was a lot of useful information e.g. about rounding the corner of the stones, how to adjust the jigs etc.
The sharping technique however differs from the technique Wazz is teaching, but maybe I should get started step by step.

Regards
Ernst

I recommend new owners start by mastering the techniques shown in today's video and on Tormek's cd before moving on to the more refined sharpening and honing methods. At the end of the video they demonstrated filleting a piece of paper. This take an edge that is borderline razor sharp. Knives this sharp are sharper than most new knives out of the box. Going even sharper is the next step but you need a solid base of skill to build on.

[jvh]

Hello,

I looked from the record. Really good initial lesson for beginners.

Unnamed fan club comments about CBN wheels, FVB etc. were IMHO beyond good behavior. Therefore, the final demonstration of the sharpness of the grinded knife was indeed a satisfaction. It shows that you can get razor sharp edge without any additional equipment. There is, of course, room for improvement, but it is good to first reach a certain level and then move on.

I hope that some of the other lessons will be devoted to questions and we will find some tips on e.g. clamping and centering of blades, because this is IMHO the biggest weakness of existing jigs SVM-45 and SVM-140.


jvh

[Ken S]

Good posts, John and JVH.

I found the q and a part of the class chaotic. My suggestion for future classes would be to provide an email address for submitting and a deadline. In the short time available, I would prefer a more focused agenda uninterrupted with other subjects. Let the presenters read over the submitted questions while preparing and only include those they felt followed the subject.

Ken

[Elden]

Very excellent presentation. This is something I can have my son watch since he sharpens our knives using my Tormek. It is difficult for me to do nowadays because of very restricted left arm useage. Am looking forward to future episodes. Also am glad that it is archived for future viewing. I missed the live presentation this morning here in central USA, but the YouTube archive works well.

[Hogdog6]

I have an old Super Grind 2000 that I've used for many years. Even though this video was very basic I'm so happy to see Tormek doing this. I work as a contractor for a company that manufactures high tech automotive equipment, part of my job is training how to use it properly and efficiently. My experience has proven that the better our customers know how to use our products the more new equipment we sell.  They are obviously much happier with their equipment when they know proper operation.
I believe the opportunity for Tormek to increase their business here is huge. Some of their jigs are very technical and expensive, I've held off on a few jigs because I haven't felt good about any of the YouTube videos showing how to use them. To have the manufacture trained reps do this helps insure that training being done showing is the way it was designed to be used.  I look forward to the more advanced techniques in the future but definitely was reminded of some bad habits I've acquired over the years. Thanks Tormek keep them coming.

[Ken S]

Very good posts, guys.

In my early days as a Bell System telephone man, I had aspirations of getting into marketing. I was a hot shot installer and selling a boatload of extensions, princess phones, etc. As part of my self training, I attended an evening sales class at the University of Akron. One of the concepts I learned was the importance of educating the customer. Once a customer understands what a product can do, what he can do with that product, and how it will benefit him, he will buy it. The live class is a giant leap forward for Tormek.

It has been possible to self educate with the Tormek. I am a frequent flyer with emails with support. Support is a real asset for Tormek. I attend woodworking shows whenever possible. I try to spend the day with the Tormek rep, observing when other customers are present and having essentially private tutoring during the slow periods. I have learned a lot this way, and developed several valued friendships. However, it seems an inefficient way of learning compared to well done videos.

I hope the live class will spark many in depth forum conversations. Tormek knowledge and technique has advanced in many ways since Torgny wrote the handbook. Unfortunately, most of that knowledge has remained at the factory in Sweden. Most of this knowledge is not proprietary secrets. One on one, support will gladly share it, however, one on one emails are not nearly as efficient or cost effective as you tubes. I doubt that the live class cost Tormek much more to reach a world audience with residual effects than the salary costs to answer my last dozen emails.

From a marketing standpoint, the problem with education is invisibility. At a show, the register tape at the end of the day tells the tale. In addition to posting, I have forty pages of PM questions from members. Many of these correspondences have resulted in sales, as have our forum posts. They help built our community. What they do not do is show up as source identified on the register tape. Neither will the live classes, however, I am convinced that they will be powerful tools, both for learning and sales.

Ken

[John_B]

I plan on watching the video again today. I am sure I did not get all the little things the first time.

I agree with you Ken on the questions. Saving them until the end or actually incorporating the answers in the demonstration where appropriate would work well. I liked the demonstration of sharpness showing new users what can be achieved with the stock equipment. THe sharpness they achieved in the video is better than most new knives out of the box.

I got the dates confused and I was in front of the computer one additional time before the actual show.

[Dakotapix]

I watched this yesterday, Ken, and fully agree with your comment. In future presentations I hope they'll save answering these questions until the end. I found it disruptive to interrupt the demonstrator while he was trying to show a process.

I found the q and a part of the class chaotic. My suggestion for future classes would be to provide an email address for submitting and a deadline. In the short time available, I would prefer a more focused agenda uninterrupted with other subjects. Let the presenters read over the submitted questions while preparing and only include those they felt followed the subject.

Ken

[Ken S]

Good point. I think they were trying to be "interactive", which can also be "interruptive". I would prefer a scripted presentation, like Alan Holtham did.

Ken

PS Are you following this, Wolfgang and Sebastian?

[Sebastien]

Hi everyone,

Thank you for all the feedback and thoughts regarding our first live session on Youtube. With the live format our idea is to be as interactive as possible with the viewers and off course it is a balance when to take questions and how many questions to take. A balance that we'll hope to master better and better for each episode. The next episode we'll probably be sometime next week and we'll do scissors and axes. Hope you will join us then.

Stay Safe until next week!

/Sébastien

[chiamsi]

after I got my T4 I sharpened several knifes and found it very useful to revisit the video again and again