Thanks, really appreciate your videos, you have cleared up a number of issues I was battling with using my T4, first few attempts at sharpening were bad! Greetings from South Africa.
@@iSharpen I was following the examples in other videos, multiple passes on one side of the blade, heel to tip, which resulted in a dip in the blade’s edge towards the heel of the blade, I also appreciate lots of other practices you have picked up from experience that aren’t documented in the manuals or formal training videos.
It's true, I am quite handsome...lol 🤣 As long as I'm standing away from Chilli. If I'm standing with Chilli I'm a toad. But you know what? That comes in handy, keeps the women folk away = peaceful existence.
@@iSharpen Thank you again. The new jig makes it easier for me to get my angles a little more even, but it needs to have the adjustability of the old jig. Is there a reason you prefer the older jig? Do you ever experiment with micro bevels? Can I convex on the T-8? I just purchased the 50-Year Anneverssery T-8. Thank you
@@anthonysamra7777 Uneven angles on the old jig are largely a furphy. Unless the knife is gigantic and mega thick (over 5mm) you won't notice a difference. In the thousands of knives and hundreds of thrilled customers I've never noticed any difference and neither has anyone else. The new jig sucks. I have one and because they've left off the thumb cup it's dangerous to hold and I hate using it. Apparently if you use the new jig and move it up and down between the two plastic rests on the shaft you can sort of grind a convex edge but you can't move the knife while doing it from side to side so I can't see anything but a disaster of uneven facets and bevels. I place a small micro bevel on each knife every time I hone with chrome oxide. I show it in some videos. You're going to love your new T8. Try and hunt down an old jig. The experience is much better. The way they force you to hold the new jig is r e t a r d e d. Sometimes I have to wonder what Tormek is thinking. Then again, they don't sharpen knives all day every day like I do so can;t blame them for guessing that a new "innovation" will help. In this case their new "centering" jig is a swing and a miss. I will reconsider my position once they redesign it with a proper thumb cup. Tell me what you learned in this video so I can add more of that stuff in upcoming videos. Thanks for your feedback. I look forward to your comments and thanks for your subscription.
My dad has one of these, it was super dull so I brought some stones over and put a really nice edge on it. Went back the other day and found out he hid it in a drawer because he "didnt like it" and hid it so noone else could use it either haha xD On a side note, I dont think theres anything inherently wrong about sharpening on a belt, but like with everything theres good and bad work. I know a guy who exclusively sharpens on belts (1x30 or ken onion thingy depending on what it is) and gets really good results. Another guy I know bought a tormek and cant put a proper edge on a knife to save his life. Personally I feel like theres alot you can do better on belts thann a flat or round stone, scythes, lawn mower blades, recurves an axes (or anything heavily convexed) come to mind. Extremely easy to take off too much material or mess up the heat treat on a belt like that though.
@@kvernesdotten I agree. But most belt sanded knives I see are a mess. No angles just a large convex grind with usually scratches all over and burr still attached. Did your father hide it because it was "too sharp"?
@@iSharpen Haha honestly I dont know, I suspect he just got grumpy because I didnt want to cook with that knife (I usually cook for my family when I visit). Its actually something I hear often enough, if I offer to sharpen for someone their response (especially dudes) is often something like "oh you saying my knives are sh!t then?" or "you dont think I can do that myself?". And I mean... They could have just said no thanks? Im just offering to be nice, but oh well. The ego is such a weird and fragile thing.
Thank you very much Brilliant!, best video I have seen explaining the step by step process of sharpening a knife and using a Tormek. I love that you put the knife on the sander to get a flat edge and start from scratch, so many people start with and already formed bevel and fairly sharp knife when using a Tormek then go hey presto its sharp! The process on the Tormek is slower than many other methods but having seen how you do the sharpening it seems more satisfying with excellent results. I am considering buying a T4 as don't plan to set up a knife sharpening business or would you advise a T8.? Thank you once again for the video I really enjoyed it and have subscribed to iSharpen Keep up the good work. All the best Paul 😃
@@pauldenwood3506 thanks for the sub and kind words Paul. Definitely go with the T8. Then you'll know you have the emperor of machines. Look for a used one. They're all the same. Nothing breaks on them. It's a chance to own the best. Don't buy the Japanese wheel. Leave the CBN and diamond wheels alone and just master the SG wheel. Buy the 80 and 320 grit diamond plates like I have for grading. You'll never look back. It's not that slow. I make an average $100 to $200 an hour. How much faster do you need to go? The accuracy and precision is its own reward. I've done up to 11 knives in 50 minutes. Thats pretty fast.
Hi, I’m new. Most sharpening videos I’ve been trying to learn from advise sharpening on one side of the blade until you raise a burr completely. Here you always alternate sides with each pass. Is this something specific to Tormek sharpening? Can you expand on that a little?
@@ZillaCrew hi and welcome. I think if you focus on one side if the blade until you get a burr you'd end up with a lop sided edge. It makes more sense to bring each side gradually until you meet in the middle. I could be wrong but it makes more sense to do it the way I do it.
Hi, I buy my Tormek, I understand that I need practice. To help me and help people to reach a high level like you. Is it possible to show us the result on wax paper, telephone paper after the Tormek honing wheel and after the Kangaroo leather. This would help me to validate each of the steps. I have difficulty cutting the telephone paper. Tank you.
Hi Jonathan. Thanks for your views, comment and interest. I actually do this all the time. When you get a chance go over some of my longer videos and you'll see the before and after kangaroo tail in lots of my latest videos. Look for the "10X..." video. That goes into the kangaroo tail effects. I've never used wax paper. I use glossy magazine paper, telephone book paper and tally ho cigarette rolling paper (17gsm) for all my tests.
Hi Baz, thank you for the videos. I enjoy watching them and trying stuff out on my T-4. I got a lot of good info to get me started. I noticed with some larger chef knives I need to remove the grinding wheel to have enough space when honing on the smaller wheel. Maybe I am doing it wrong, not sure about that. Just a question on the green chromium oxide block and the kangaroo strops, where can you buy something like that? Haven't seen it in the Netherlands unfortunately.
Hi Vincent, welcome to the channel. I've never used a T4 but you're doing the right thing by removing the grinding wheel to hone in the correct direction which is the direction it was ground in. When honing you should (according to @outdoors55) hone in the same direction as you ground which means that in most cases the grinding wheel will get in the way because it's taller than the honing wheel most of the time. This is a hassle so I bought another machine just for honing so I could hone correctly. As for stropping, I'm still working on getting my export permit but the Australian government is tough (and woke af) so they frown on anyone making money off dead animals. They're not making it easy asking for all sorts of proof and receipts to prove where each animal was killed, processed tanned and sold. This is impossible information to provide as some of my tails are very old but I'm working on it and negotiating with them to convince them to give me an export permit because it's a $210,000 fine if I get caught trying to sell one outside of Australia. I'm not giving up though and should have some progress to report over the coming weeks. As for chrome oxide I use Veritas bars which I believe are freely available but the leather on my block is also kangaroo body leather (not tail) which is smoother and has no ridges but is very thin. The large block hone I'm using now is kangaroo tail leather.
@@iSharpen Hi Baz, thank you for taking the time to reply. I hope you get the permits sorted. I'll check the Veritas bars as well. They look handy and better than the honing paste I use now.
can you show your tool to measure the angle? the wm 200 as you told us in a previous video just sucks... the plastic starts to wears of even after 20 knifes
Mine used to wear off as well. I even made a video about getting just the pointer 3D printed...in titanium. But it's all 100% unnecessary when you use it properly as one of my awesome subscribers pointed out. My pointer never touches the wheel any more. I place it on the blade and pull it down. I used to place it on the wheel and move it up and had the exact same complaint as you. I have three worn out ones before I was told how to use it correctly. I think it's awesome. It gives you the angle in 3 seconds.
@@Steven-v6l no, I leave the wheel running and just grind that fucker right into the wheel...lol I buy a new one for every knife. Am I supposed to turn the machine off when checking? No wonder I keep wearing them out! 🤣
It doesn't really make any difference on kitchen knives. I hate using the new jig because they ruined the design of the thumb cup. I've sharpened very thick hunting knives in the old knife jig and never noticed any unevenness.
@@derekthered687 that's interesting. I sharpen hundreds of knives a month and haven't noticed a difference. But the stupid handle design makes it almost unusable to me. As long as we're both happy.
Jealous of your power tools again... So easy and fast to regrind the tip. When I was repairing that one knife (and almost done) I had it on the counter flat, checking for straightness. Lost my balance a bit, knocked the knife and it fell. Could do nothing but get out of the way of course. Hit handle first (yay) then bounced and stuck in to the floor tip first (crap)... Timber, plink! 4mm of tip gone... Took me a good half hour on a 140 diamond stone to reshape it. (hope I'm not retelling this story 😂) Curious since you have the machines and stones, would it be more economical to use multiple stones? Instead of regrading just have different stones at different grades? I don't imagine you lose a lot of stone each time, but who knows how that adds up over the life of the stone. Good video as usual
@@mikeboettcher9709 better a chip off the knife than a tip off your finger. The reason two stones isn't efficient is that I'd have to re-adjust the angle every time because the stones would be different diameters. If using CBN wheels that's not an issue but I'm not a fan yet. My only experience with CBN was disappointing. I like to use the same wheel because then if I do have to back to rough from smooth I can just regrade the wheel and jump straight back on. This has happened enough times for me to be happy with my current set up. Appreciate your encouragement as always.
@@mikeboettcher9709 actually, yes you can. Thats how you eat cake. You have it then you eat it. The real trick is "to eat your cake and have it to." Which is how the original saying goes. Everyone gets it wrong. "You can't eat your cake and have it too" and yes I believe everyone loves a smart arse.
@@iSharpen lol they mean the same thing though. "Wolde ye bothe eate your cake, and haue your cake?" is the first known record of the expression in the 1500s. It evolved over the centuries and the reversal of order has been around since the early 1800s and is the most common usage today. It may not be the most easily understood way to phrase it, but that's culture and language for ya. Often doesn't make much sense.
@@mikeboettcher9709 You watch what happens when you say it correctly though. You'll get smiles and surprise from others in the "correct club" and twisted faces of confusion from the normies.
You're doing a good enough job on the bevel, but that's not what I'd pay a professional for. Why don't you thin the blade? Cutting paper and shaving hair are all fine tricks, but the knife won't cut nearly as well as it could if it's still thick behind the edge.
Thanks for your comment. I get this criticism pretty regularly. I don't thin knives because I'm not paid to do it, the Tormek can't do it and I really don't think it makes that much of a difference in real life. Only knife nerds care about a few tenths of a mm. Real life cooks and chefs will not notice the difference because as long as a knife falls within the boundary of what's acceptable and normal for the thickness of an average knife not one single human can tell the difference between a few tenths of a mm. Paper and hair aren't "tricks". They're gauges of sharpness. They offer valuable feedback. Especially thin paper because it'll catch on any imperfection. I use thin paper for a reason. Not to show off. Showing off is for young people. I'm old. I don't care what people think other than my customers and they're getting knives back that are sharper than they've ever experienced. They're all stunned at how sharp their knives are when they get them back and all give me great feedback and not ever have I had one complaint. I just don't think it matters. Is there a difference? I guess they might be a tiny difference. Is it noticeable in real life? I don't think so. How much would you pay someone to thin your knife and sharpen it?
Thanks, really appreciate your videos, you have cleared up a number of issues I was battling with using my T4, first few attempts at sharpening were bad! Greetings from South Africa.
@@Ralphm64 cool! You're the viewer I had in mind. I'd love to know which bits helped you specifically.
@@iSharpen I was following the examples in other videos, multiple passes on one side of the blade, heel to tip, which resulted in a dip in the blade’s edge towards the heel of the blade,
I also appreciate lots of other practices you have picked up from experience that aren’t documented in the manuals or formal training videos.
@@Ralphm64 great feedback. Thanks.
Thanks Baz Your as handsome as you are modest !! Really appreciate your time sharing with us Thanks
It's true, I am quite handsome...lol 🤣 As long as I'm standing away from Chilli. If I'm standing with Chilli I'm a toad. But you know what? That comes in handy, keeps the women folk away = peaceful existence.
@@iSharpenyes, women folk are such a distraction.
This is such a GREAT video. I really appreciate the in-depth, step-by-step explanation. I learned some valuable things today! Thank you!!!
@@anthonysamra7777 cool! Then you're the one I made it for. What did you learn?
@@iSharpen Thank you again. The new jig makes it easier for me to get my angles a little more even, but it needs to have the adjustability of the old jig. Is there a reason you prefer the older jig? Do you ever experiment with micro bevels? Can I convex on the T-8? I just purchased the 50-Year Anneverssery T-8.
Thank you
@@anthonysamra7777 Uneven angles on the old jig are largely a furphy. Unless the knife is gigantic and mega thick (over 5mm) you won't notice a difference. In the thousands of knives and hundreds of thrilled customers I've never noticed any difference and neither has anyone else. The new jig sucks. I have one and because they've left off the thumb cup it's dangerous to hold and I hate using it.
Apparently if you use the new jig and move it up and down between the two plastic rests on the shaft you can sort of grind a convex edge but you can't move the knife while doing it from side to side so I can't see anything but a disaster of uneven facets and bevels.
I place a small micro bevel on each knife every time I hone with chrome oxide. I show it in some videos.
You're going to love your new T8. Try and hunt down an old jig. The experience is much better. The way they force you to hold the new jig is r e t a r d e d. Sometimes I have to wonder what Tormek is thinking. Then again, they don't sharpen knives all day every day like I do so can;t blame them for guessing that a new "innovation" will help. In this case their new "centering" jig is a swing and a miss. I will reconsider my position once they redesign it with a proper thumb cup.
Tell me what you learned in this video so I can add more of that stuff in upcoming videos.
Thanks for your feedback. I look forward to your comments and thanks for your subscription.
@@iSharpen❤
My dad has one of these, it was super dull so I brought some stones over and put a really nice edge on it. Went back the other day and found out he hid it in a drawer because he "didnt like it" and hid it so noone else could use it either haha xD
On a side note, I dont think theres anything inherently wrong about sharpening on a belt, but like with everything theres good and bad work. I know a guy who exclusively sharpens on belts (1x30 or ken onion thingy depending on what it is) and gets really good results. Another guy I know bought a tormek and cant put a proper edge on a knife to save his life. Personally I feel like theres alot you can do better on belts thann a flat or round stone, scythes, lawn mower blades, recurves an axes (or anything heavily convexed) come to mind. Extremely easy to take off too much material or mess up the heat treat on a belt like that though.
@@kvernesdotten I agree. But most belt sanded knives I see are a mess. No angles just a large convex grind with usually scratches all over and burr still attached.
Did your father hide it because it was "too sharp"?
@@iSharpen Haha honestly I dont know, I suspect he just got grumpy because I didnt want to cook with that knife (I usually cook for my family when I visit). Its actually something I hear often enough, if I offer to sharpen for someone their response (especially dudes) is often something like "oh you saying my knives are sh!t then?" or "you dont think I can do that myself?".
And I mean... They could have just said no thanks? Im just offering to be nice, but oh well. The ego is such a weird and fragile thing.
Nice video. Have been follow you for a while. Where do you buy the dimondplate?
@@jimmygardlund4845 hi Jimmy! Appreciate the views. Good to hear from you. Just off eBay. Get the ones with the thin black foam backing.
Great video! Thanks
Thank you very much Brilliant!, best video I have seen explaining the step by step process of sharpening a knife and using a Tormek.
I love that you put the knife on the sander to get a flat edge and start from scratch, so many people start with and already formed bevel and fairly sharp knife when using a Tormek then go hey presto its sharp!
The process on the Tormek is slower than many other methods but having seen how you do the sharpening it seems more satisfying with excellent results.
I am considering buying a T4 as don't plan to set up a knife sharpening business or would you advise a T8.?
Thank you once again for the video I really enjoyed it and have subscribed to iSharpen
Keep up the good work.
All the best
Paul
😃
@@pauldenwood3506 thanks for the sub and kind words Paul. Definitely go with the T8. Then you'll know you have the emperor of machines. Look for a used one. They're all the same. Nothing breaks on them. It's a chance to own the best. Don't buy the Japanese wheel. Leave the CBN and diamond wheels alone and just master the SG wheel. Buy the 80 and 320 grit diamond plates like I have for grading. You'll never look back.
It's not that slow. I make an average $100 to $200 an hour. How much faster do you need to go? The accuracy and precision is its own reward. I've done up to 11 knives in 50 minutes. Thats pretty fast.
Tank for your reply. Other little question. Why do not use a Tormek coumpond ?
@@jonathanleduc6807 sure. It's too expensive, too messy and too rough. Chrome oxide (green) is cheap, smoother and not messy.
Hi, I’m new. Most sharpening videos I’ve been trying to learn from advise sharpening on one side of the blade until you raise a burr completely. Here you always alternate sides with each pass. Is this something specific to Tormek sharpening? Can you expand on that a little?
@@ZillaCrew hi and welcome. I think if you focus on one side if the blade until you get a burr you'd end up with a lop sided edge. It makes more sense to bring each side gradually until you meet in the middle. I could be wrong but it makes more sense to do it the way I do it.
Hi, I buy my Tormek, I understand that I need practice. To help me and help people to reach a high level like you. Is it possible to show us the result on wax paper, telephone paper after the Tormek honing wheel and after the Kangaroo leather. This would help me to validate each of the steps. I have difficulty cutting the telephone paper. Tank you.
Hi Jonathan. Thanks for your views, comment and interest. I actually do this all the time. When you get a chance go over some of my longer videos and you'll see the before and after kangaroo tail in lots of my latest videos. Look for the "10X..." video. That goes into the kangaroo tail effects. I've never used wax paper. I use glossy magazine paper, telephone book paper and tally ho cigarette rolling paper (17gsm) for all my tests.
Hi Baz, thank you for the videos. I enjoy watching them and trying stuff out on my T-4. I got a lot of good info to get me started. I noticed with some larger chef knives I need to remove the grinding wheel to have enough space when honing on the smaller wheel. Maybe I am doing it wrong, not sure about that. Just a question on the green chromium oxide block and the kangaroo strops, where can you buy something like that? Haven't seen it in the Netherlands unfortunately.
Hi Vincent, welcome to the channel. I've never used a T4 but you're doing the right thing by removing the grinding wheel to hone in the correct direction which is the direction it was ground in. When honing you should (according to @outdoors55) hone in the same direction as you ground which means that in most cases the grinding wheel will get in the way because it's taller than the honing wheel most of the time. This is a hassle so I bought another machine just for honing so I could hone correctly.
As for stropping, I'm still working on getting my export permit but the Australian government is tough (and woke af) so they frown on anyone making money off dead animals. They're not making it easy asking for all sorts of proof and receipts to prove where each animal was killed, processed tanned and sold. This is impossible information to provide as some of my tails are very old but I'm working on it and negotiating with them to convince them to give me an export permit because it's a $210,000 fine if I get caught trying to sell one outside of Australia. I'm not giving up though and should have some progress to report over the coming weeks.
As for chrome oxide I use Veritas bars which I believe are freely available but the leather on my block is also kangaroo body leather (not tail) which is smoother and has no ridges but is very thin. The large block hone I'm using now is kangaroo tail leather.
@@iSharpen Hi Baz, thank you for taking the time to reply. I hope you get the permits sorted. I'll check the Veritas bars as well. They look handy and better than the honing paste I use now.
@@vincentschouten2606 paste is messy, expensive and in my view too coarse.
You say you condition the Tormek stone with an 80 and 320 diamond stones. What are the micron sizes of your 80 and 320 diamond stones ?
@@Steven-v6l don't know Steven. I just buy them off eBay.
can you show your tool to measure the angle? the wm 200 as you told us in a previous video just sucks... the plastic starts to wears of even after 20 knifes
Mine used to wear off as well. I even made a video about getting just the pointer 3D printed...in titanium. But it's all 100% unnecessary when you use it properly as one of my awesome subscribers pointed out. My pointer never touches the wheel any more. I place it on the blade and pull it down. I used to place it on the wheel and move it up and had the exact same complaint as you. I have three worn out ones before I was told how to use it correctly. I think it's awesome. It gives you the angle in 3 seconds.
You have the Tormek *off* when using the angle finder, right ??
I have used the same angle finder since 2001 and it shows no (zero) wear.
@@Steven-v6l no, I leave the wheel running and just grind that fucker right into the wheel...lol I buy a new one for every knife. Am I supposed to turn the machine off when checking? No wonder I keep wearing them out! 🤣
The uneven bevels could be coming from your knife jig. The upgraded to the kj-45 in order to center the knife in the jig better
It doesn't really make any difference on kitchen knives. I hate using the new jig because they ruined the design of the thumb cup. I've sharpened very thick hunting knives in the old knife jig and never noticed any unevenness.
@@iSharpen I understand about the thumb up for sure. I HAVE noticed a difference myself on both kitchen and hunting knives with the new jig though.
@@derekthered687 that's interesting. I sharpen hundreds of knives a month and haven't noticed a difference. But the stupid handle design makes it almost unusable to me. As long as we're both happy.
Jealous of your power tools again... So easy and fast to regrind the tip. When I was repairing that one knife (and almost done) I had it on the counter flat, checking for straightness. Lost my balance a bit, knocked the knife and it fell. Could do nothing but get out of the way of course. Hit handle first (yay) then bounced and stuck in to the floor tip first (crap)... Timber, plink! 4mm of tip gone...
Took me a good half hour on a 140 diamond stone to reshape it. (hope I'm not retelling this story 😂)
Curious since you have the machines and stones, would it be more economical to use multiple stones? Instead of regrading just have different stones at different grades? I don't imagine you lose a lot of stone each time, but who knows how that adds up over the life of the stone.
Good video as usual
@@mikeboettcher9709 better a chip off the knife than a tip off your finger.
The reason two stones isn't efficient is that I'd have to re-adjust the angle every time because the stones would be different diameters. If using CBN wheels that's not an issue but I'm not a fan yet. My only experience with CBN was disappointing.
I like to use the same wheel because then if I do have to back to rough from smooth I can just regrade the wheel and jump straight back on. This has happened enough times for me to be happy with my current set up.
Appreciate your encouragement as always.
@@iSharpenAh ya, that makes sense. Solve one issue, create another. Isn't that usually the way. Can't have your cake and eat it too.
@@mikeboettcher9709 actually, yes you can. Thats how you eat cake. You have it then you eat it. The real trick is "to eat your cake and have it to." Which is how the original saying goes. Everyone gets it wrong.
"You can't eat your cake and have it too" and yes I believe everyone loves a smart arse.
@@iSharpen lol they mean the same thing though. "Wolde ye bothe eate your cake, and haue your cake?" is the first known record of the expression in the 1500s. It evolved over the centuries and the reversal of order has been around since the early 1800s and is the most common usage today. It may not be the most easily understood way to phrase it, but that's culture and language for ya. Often doesn't make much sense.
@@mikeboettcher9709 You watch what happens when you say it correctly though. You'll get smiles and surprise from others in the "correct club" and twisted faces of confusion from the normies.
You're doing a good enough job on the bevel, but that's not what I'd pay a professional for. Why don't you thin the blade? Cutting paper and shaving hair are all fine tricks, but the knife won't cut nearly as well as it could if it's still thick behind the edge.
Thanks for your comment. I get this criticism pretty regularly. I don't thin knives because I'm not paid to do it, the Tormek can't do it and I really don't think it makes that much of a difference in real life. Only knife nerds care about a few tenths of a mm. Real life cooks and chefs will not notice the difference because as long as a knife falls within the boundary of what's acceptable and normal for the thickness of an average knife not one single human can tell the difference between a few tenths of a mm.
Paper and hair aren't "tricks". They're gauges of sharpness. They offer valuable feedback. Especially thin paper because it'll catch on any imperfection. I use thin paper for a reason. Not to show off. Showing off is for young people. I'm old. I don't care what people think other than my customers and they're getting knives back that are sharper than they've ever experienced. They're all stunned at how sharp their knives are when they get them back and all give me great feedback and not ever have I had one complaint.
I just don't think it matters. Is there a difference? I guess they might be a tiny difference. Is it noticeable in real life? I don't think so. How much would you pay someone to thin your knife and sharpen it?