01-12-2019, 07:06 AM
Luis,
I understand your preference for using three grits. I did the same with waterstones for many years and with oil stones for many years before that.
There is another technique, which I learned from Tormek. I first learned this with the Tormek SG grinding wheel. It is another advance which unfortunately has not been included in the handbook. Grinding pressure is an important element in Tormek sharpening. The SG grinding wheel can work with a wide range of grinding pressures. It works with a younger user in a hurry who really leans on it. It also works with an older user who may have some arthritis and can only use light pressure. Regardless of the initial grinding pressure, if the final passes (with the same grit) are made with very light pressure, the resulting scratch pattern is less pronounced. While this may not be identical to using a third grit, it may be a workable stand in. It is easy to do, requires almost no extra time (certainly less time than switching grinding wheels), and requires no extra cost for purchasng a third grinding wheel. I suggest that you try it.
Our member, Grepper, made some very informative edge photos of this technique with his USB microscope which really told the tale. I believe these photos were lost when photobucket changed.
Grepper, is there any chance that you could repost them?
400 grit to 8000 grit directly seems like a very big jump. During testing, I have gone directly from 80 or 180 grit CBN wheels to the leather honing wheel. To my surprise, these edges were not bad. They produced respectable, though not stellar BESS numbers. However, neither the visual results nor the BESS numbers were as good as the traditional Tormek three step technique.
My family just awoke. I must close.
Ken
I understand your preference for using three grits. I did the same with waterstones for many years and with oil stones for many years before that.
There is another technique, which I learned from Tormek. I first learned this with the Tormek SG grinding wheel. It is another advance which unfortunately has not been included in the handbook. Grinding pressure is an important element in Tormek sharpening. The SG grinding wheel can work with a wide range of grinding pressures. It works with a younger user in a hurry who really leans on it. It also works with an older user who may have some arthritis and can only use light pressure. Regardless of the initial grinding pressure, if the final passes (with the same grit) are made with very light pressure, the resulting scratch pattern is less pronounced. While this may not be identical to using a third grit, it may be a workable stand in. It is easy to do, requires almost no extra time (certainly less time than switching grinding wheels), and requires no extra cost for purchasng a third grinding wheel. I suggest that you try it.
Our member, Grepper, made some very informative edge photos of this technique with his USB microscope which really told the tale. I believe these photos were lost when photobucket changed.
Grepper, is there any chance that you could repost them?
400 grit to 8000 grit directly seems like a very big jump. During testing, I have gone directly from 80 or 180 grit CBN wheels to the leather honing wheel. To my surprise, these edges were not bad. They produced respectable, though not stellar BESS numbers. However, neither the visual results nor the BESS numbers were as good as the traditional Tormek three step technique.
My family just awoke. I must close.
Ken