Bienvenido, Luis.
I am a Tormek sharpener, and more at home with chisels than knives. There are elements of using the Tormek which are generally not well understood by Tormek users and, frankly, not well explained by Tormek.
One element is grain size. I have found that the Tormek DC-250 (also the DWC-200) 360 grit diamond wheels cut more aggressively than the 220 grit SG wheels. The physical grain size may be smaller, however, I would guess the diamond grains are sharper.
I also tend to ignore the 220 and 1000 grit numbers assigned to the use of the stone grader with the SG wheel. I am not criticizing the stone grader; it is a core part of the Tormek sharpening method. I just think that Tormek chose to use the two numbers as a learning aid for users. I think in terms of just being more coarse and more fine. When I want my SG wheel to be coarse, I take a very light truing/dressing cut with the TR-50 truing tool. I have no idea what grit number is produced by using the stone grader coarse side. It does produce a coarser stone surface, just not as coarse as the truing tool.
Somewhere along the line, Tormek discovered that the stone grader can produce middle grits. (This has not been included in the handbook.) This is referred to as "600” grit. This surface is useful in sharpening knives and is produced by using the fine side of the stone grader only briefly. I think "mid grit" would be a more useful designation.
Out of curiosity, I tried using the fine side of the stone grader for a longer than recommended time. The stone surface was noticeably smoother. I am not certain whether the cutting grains are actually smoother or just less sharp, however, this does seem to lessen the grit gap between the SG and the leather honing wheel with compound.
I have not seen anything resembling a scientific test of the grit range of the Tormek PA-70 honing compound. Like some other compounds, the grit size breaks down (becomes finer) with use.How fine? I don't know. I have found that longer use time with the leather honing wheel and compound produces more polished edges and, with good technique, better BESS numbers.
I do not dispute the value of the 4000 grit SJ wheel for some specialized applications. I just don't think many of us are squeezing all the juice out of the standard SG wheel and leather honing wheel.
Ken
I am a Tormek sharpener, and more at home with chisels than knives. There are elements of using the Tormek which are generally not well understood by Tormek users and, frankly, not well explained by Tormek.
One element is grain size. I have found that the Tormek DC-250 (also the DWC-200) 360 grit diamond wheels cut more aggressively than the 220 grit SG wheels. The physical grain size may be smaller, however, I would guess the diamond grains are sharper.
I also tend to ignore the 220 and 1000 grit numbers assigned to the use of the stone grader with the SG wheel. I am not criticizing the stone grader; it is a core part of the Tormek sharpening method. I just think that Tormek chose to use the two numbers as a learning aid for users. I think in terms of just being more coarse and more fine. When I want my SG wheel to be coarse, I take a very light truing/dressing cut with the TR-50 truing tool. I have no idea what grit number is produced by using the stone grader coarse side. It does produce a coarser stone surface, just not as coarse as the truing tool.
Somewhere along the line, Tormek discovered that the stone grader can produce middle grits. (This has not been included in the handbook.) This is referred to as "600” grit. This surface is useful in sharpening knives and is produced by using the fine side of the stone grader only briefly. I think "mid grit" would be a more useful designation.
Out of curiosity, I tried using the fine side of the stone grader for a longer than recommended time. The stone surface was noticeably smoother. I am not certain whether the cutting grains are actually smoother or just less sharp, however, this does seem to lessen the grit gap between the SG and the leather honing wheel with compound.
I have not seen anything resembling a scientific test of the grit range of the Tormek PA-70 honing compound. Like some other compounds, the grit size breaks down (becomes finer) with use.How fine? I don't know. I have found that longer use time with the leather honing wheel and compound produces more polished edges and, with good technique, better BESS numbers.
I do not dispute the value of the 4000 grit SJ wheel for some specialized applications. I just don't think many of us are squeezing all the juice out of the standard SG wheel and leather honing wheel.
Ken