your ideal sharpening setup

[brofessor]

I'm looking into a better sharpening system. Thinking about getting the lee valley grinder jig with cool white grinding wheel for establishing a bevel and a tormek t7 for sharpening. Is there a better system for me? I have dmt with the mk ii

[Admiral]

Can't beat a Tormek, bite the bullet, as it's expensive, but you only cry once.

[Derek Cohen]

The Tormek is a great grinder but makes a poor sharpener. Look into a CBN wheel for an 8" grinder (180 grit), and a set of stones (depends on the steel you use).

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/WoodworkTec...SetUp.html

Regards from Perth

[Mike Brady]

I use two of these :

One to hone on and one to sit on.

[Doug_H]

bro

I use the Veritas tool rest and a white 80 grit stone to change a bevel or repair a damaged tool. It's very acceptable. The sliding tenon feature does not work well in my experience so I don't use it very often.

I hone with sandpaper ("scary sharp") and a Veritas MKII jig. My main issue is repeat-ability. Despite claims for the MKII I can't just slap a tool in the jig and refresh an edge. It is usually easier to do it freehand.

I had a 12" wet grinder until recently that I liked a lot, especially for turning gouges. I had a Veritas tool rest on it also. I think often about the Tormek but so far I can't justify the price. Maybe someday.

Doug

[brofessor]

Definitely an interesting read Derek, I may go that route. I'm just trying to get somewhat quick and repeatable results. I use dmt stones now with the mk ii but that definitely takes some time. And I'm going to cry twice a bit as I bought the grizzly 10" wet grinder and can't get easy repeatable results with that. So a cbn wheel and freehand might be the better option. Not too bad for price

[Peter Tremblay]

Mine is a very coarse grinding wheel on a regular grinder.

And then an old hand cranked grinder with a stropping wheel attached.

I go from hollow grinding (when needed) to the stropping wheel and my tools are razor sharp in a few seconds.

The stropping wheel also is great for touching up the edges when it is needed. I also have a flat strop that I use for really quick touch ups on my blades.

[bartsf]

Peter, you wrote "And then an old hand cranked grinder with a stropping wheel attached." Do you use a hard felt or leather stropping wheel and what kind of compound- green? white? please tell us more.

[Admiral]

Peter Tremblay said:

---

Mine is a very coarse grinding wheel on a regular grinder.

And then an old hand cranked grinder with a stropping wheel attached.

I go from hollow grinding (when needed) to the stropping wheel and my tools are razor sharp in a few seconds.

The stropping wheel also is great for touching up the edges when it is needed. I also have a flat strop that I use for really quick touch ups on my blades.

---

That's essentially what a Tormek does, but on a budget.

[Peter Tremblay]

Oh sorry.

The power grinder was given to me by someone who didn't want it any more. Even a cheap Harbor Freight grinder works well enough for rough grinding of tools.

My hand cranked grinder has a 10" MDF wheel on it with a flat leather piece on the side.

I spin the grinder in reverse and I can look down the side of the leather wheel and watch the bevel of the tool touch the leather. It helps me not round over edges and it is very easy to see what you are doing.

I prefer "face" stropping on the leather sided wheel because I can easily see the bevel touch the leather. The hand cranked grinder can be spun at whatever speed I like and then avoid burning the tool.

I started with green rouge but now I'm using .5 micron diamond paste from eBay. I think a slightly more coarse diamond paste would be even faster and still get a really sharp edge because the diamonds get "tucked" down into the leather and really only polish the steel. It doesn't really matter too much.







This will get you an ultimate edge with no mess and very fast from a rough grind to incredibly sharp.

The diamond paste is nice because I can also hone carbide with it. The green rouge won't do that.

If I had to do it again I'd put a leather strip (belting) around the edge of the wheel and coat that with diamond paste too.

It's easier to sharpen a pocket knife on the edge than the face of this setup. But most woodworking tools work better IMHO on the face of the wheel.