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Tormek

Knife Sharpening

Learn how to sharpen knives like a pro - quick and easy!

Quick, easy, and precise sharpening

The Tormek knife jigs and angle guides enable you to restore your knife blade to its original and optimal edge angle - and sharper than when you got them! You'll get symmetrical, even, and clean bevels that meet up in a razor sharp apex. When you no longer get the sharpness you need by realigning the apex with a sharpening steel or honing rod, you can resharpen and reestablish the bevels to the intended angle for your knife with your Tormek machine.

A durable edge

With the Tormek knife jigs and angle guides, you are in full control and get a consistent bevel and angle along the entire knife blade. If you resharpen the knife to its original edge angle, you avoid removing an unnecessary amount of steel, making the sharpening very efficient. It also minimize wear on your knives and you will love the feeling of always working with a really sharp knife with the ideal edge angle.

You don't always have to resharpen your knife. Often it's enough just touching up the edge with your Tormek honing wheel, a sharpening steel, a honing rod, or manual whetstones. Just keep in mind that the edge angle will unintentionally increase a bit each time. After a few touch ups you need to restore and resharpen both the entire bevels to the intended edge angle.

From sharp to dull, to sharp again

  1. A sharp edge.
  2. The edge is worn and blunt.
  3. After honing on your Tormek honing wheel, a whetstone, or with a sharpening steel, the edge is sharp again, but with an increased edge angle.

4. After another period of use the edge is blunt again.
5. Another honing sharpens the edge to a still larger angle.
6. The edge is now re-ground with Tormek to its original shape and edge angle.

Knife sharpening angles - Manufacturer's recommendations

The recommended edge angle of your knife is often written on the knife's packaging. If you don’t find it there you can often find it on the manufacturer’s website. We have created a list where you find the angle recommendations from some “well-known” knife manufacturers.

-> Download the document of knife sharpening angles from knife manufacturers. Pdf, 47 kB, opens in new window.

Which Tormek for knife sharpening?

Are you curious as to which Tormek machine is best for your knife sharpening needs? Check out this buyer's guide where we let you know which Tormek is right for you!

Getting started with kitchen knives

Do you want to have razor sharp kitchen knives quick and easy, and nothing else? Check out this getting started-video for the Tormek T-1 Kitchen Knife Sharpener - the first real knife sharpener for the home chef!

Gentle on the steel

Due to the ability to set an exact sharpening angle, and the low rpm, Tormek machines remove a minimum amount of steel. This also ensures you never overheat and detemper the steel in your precious knives. On the Tormek water-cooled systems, the edge is also continuously cooled with water during sharpening. This is required when sharpening with grindstones and acts as a lubricant.

Superior sharpness

When resharpening a knife, something called a "burr" is created. It is residues of the metal you have ground away that collects at the new apex of your knife on the opposite side you last sharpened. To get a truly sharp knife with a durable edge you need to remove the burr, or "deburr" your knife, and polish your new bevels. Both deburring and polishing is easily done on the honing wheel, which provide the real razor sharpness if the previous step of sharpening has been done correctly. You'll get a very nice edge that will last longer.

Edge angles for different types of knives

The ideal edge angle is depending on the type of knife and the area of use. A knife for cutting meat should have a larger edge angle than a knife for cutting vegetables. A small edge angle of 24° will cut easily but it will also be more sensitive to wear and damage. A larger edge angle of 40° will give a stronger and more durable edge. Down below we suggest some edge angles for different types of knives.

Woodcarving Knives

Tormek slipvinkel täljknivar

Slicing, Filleting and Paring Knives

Tormek slipvinkel filekniv och grönsakskniv

Knives for Butchers, Chefs and Kitchens

Tormek slipvinkel slaktkniv och kökskniv

Hunting and Sporting Knives

Tormek slipvinkel jaktkniv och sportkniv

Sharpening long knives and cleavers

Sometimes your regular Universal Support just doesn't cut it. It might bee too short lengthwise or hightwise. With the US-430 Extended Universal Support you can sharpen both longer and taller blades, such as long knives, cleavers and machetes. Like our other Universal Supports, it has the Micro Adjust with a scale for precise setting of the angle.