Marking Knives

Guidelines shown below are for Included Angles (α).

Japanese marking knives are typically sharpened only one side. For those,

The Projection Calculator is available for calculating setup for Tormek knife jigs. This one is web-based and does not require Excel.) CB's USB Projection Calculator is also available for calculating setup for Tormek knife jigs.

General Guidelines
Type	α	Point Angle	Notes	Recommended Tormek Jigs
Marking Knife	25°	120°	When looking at the blade from the side, generally it has a 120° angle. Some chose to round off the pointed tip. A micro bevel is not usually used on this as the sharpened surface area is so small that this is not needed to make re-sharpening easier and faster. Setting a small nose radius of 0.007 in. (0.2 mm) is a good idea. If it is too pointy, the blade's tip can rip at the wood fibers. The Tormek SVM-45 Knife Jig works well for these, and the Tormek SVM-00 Small Knife Holder may be needed, depending on the blade and the blade's handle. Note: In the Tormek video. Part 18: Sharpen rare and specialized tools, the use of the side of the stone is recommended. To do this, the SVD-186-R and MB-100 are used.	KJ-45 SVM-45 SVM-00

Notes & Comments

Information regarding Grindstones

The shape of the grind used is a call best made by the tool's use, based on their own experience. Additional notes are available on separate web pages for:

• Grind Profiles, and
• Micro / Secondary Bevels.

Notes are also available on a different web page for Micro / Secondary Bevels.

Online Calculators that can be used for sharpening knives.

More Information

Books & Papers

• A great general reference is the U.S. War Department's TM 9-867 Maintenance and Care of Hand Tools.


• The Razor Edge Book of Sharpening (2000) by John Juranitch

Videos & Presentations

• Tom Bartlett (Sharpening Supplies)
• How To Sharpen A Scandi Grind (YouTube video) - This video Tom discusses less about how to sharpen a scandi grind than a lot of tips on sharping this grind profile.


• Steve Bottorff
• Using Tormek Knife Jigs (YouTube video)


• Jeff Farris
• Knife Sharpening with Tormek (YouTube video)


• Dave Jeske (Blue Spruce Toolworks)
• Dave Jeske Sharpens a Marking Knife (YouTube video). Dave Jeske, the founder of Blue Spruce Toolworks, shows the simple way to sharpen a spear-point marking knife. Plus, he shows two simple tricks you can do on the sharpening stone that will make you knife work even better.


• Dr. Vadim Kraichuk (Knife Grinders)
• Common Tormek mistakes in knife sharpening (YouTube video)


• How to mount the pin pivot collar on your knife jig (YouTube video)


• How We Sharpen Japanese Knives on Tormek (YouTube video)


• Sharpening knives with convex curves (YouTube video)


• Sharpening knives with concave curves (YouTube video)


• Why Felt for the Wire Edge (YouTube video). Dr. Vadim Kraichuk with KnifeGrinders has posted this video on why felt is best to remove the wire edge when honing a knife, and why they chose the hardness of felt that they sell.


• Tormek's Videos
• Tormek AngleMaster WM-200 (YouTube video)


• Tormek's Centering Knife Jigs KJ-45 & KJ-140 (YouTube video)


• Tormek Live Sharpening Class - Part 1. Knife sharpening (YouTube video). Wolfgang and Sèbastian from Tormek talk about different techniques for knife sharpening.


• Tormek Live Sharpening Class - Part 9 - Sharpen a flat bevel with Tormek MB-100 on a diamond wheel (YouTube video). In this episode we learn how to use the Tormek MB-100 Multi Base to sharpen a completely flat bevel ▼, on the side of Tormek's diamond wheels DC-250, DF-250 and DE-250. For some tools, such as 🎻 luthier knives,🔪 Kiridashi knives, v-tools, chip carving knives and Japanese plane irons, a completely flat surface on the bevel is preferred over a slightly concave, which you get when you sharpen on the rounded part of the grinding wheel. For some people this is more of a personal preference.

  Regardless of what might be the reason to want a flat bevel, Sèbastian and Wolfgang show how to achieve it with your Tormek wet sharpening system, They will also touch upon the differences between the different types of bevels.



• Tormek Live Sharpening Class - Part 10. Advanced knife sharpening (YouTube video). Wolfgang and Sèbastian from Tormek talk about advanced techniques for knife sharpening.


• Tormek Live Sharpening Class - Part 15. Repair a damaged knife (YouTube video). Wolfgang and Sèbastian from Tormek show you how you can repair damaged knife on your Tormek sharpening system If your knife has a chipped edge, a broken tip, or if it has started rusting, you can often repair the knife and make it as good as new.


• Tormek Knife Jig SVM-45 (YouTube video)


• Tormek Long Knife Jig SVM-140 (YouTube video)


• Tormek Small Knife Holder SVM-00 (YouTube video)


• Herman Trivilino
• Herman Trivilino showing the use of a platform jig (YouTube video)

Published Articles

• Research Articles, Other Information, and some Final Thoughts. Some key ones for this topic are below.



Click on either image for bigger size.
Images courtesy Todd Simpson
via Dr. Vadim Kraichuk of KnifeGrinders
• If you want to get truly sharp, Dr. Vadim Kraichuk with KnifeGrinders has a really good method and has adapted the Tormek system to these wheels. The KnifeGrinder method is one that is proven, and has great tools to assist with making it easy.


• It is a common, but quite bad, practice of drawing the newly sharpened knife edge through a piece of wood or some other media to "rip off" the remnants of the burr. When this is done, the ripped off metal builds up on the front of the slice, and you then drag the rest of the edge through this crud. This crud, together with breaking off of ledges of material along the edge, will roughen the edge and worsen sharpness.

  The scanning electron microscope (SEM) images to the right show the burr on a knife in the 1st image, that was then "ripped off" by cutting cross-grain into a piece of redwood in the 2nd image - loss of the sharp edge is obvious.

  Key take-away from these photos : don't skip the honing step.

Web Sites

• Jigs, Fixtures, & Modifications. One of the key ones for this topic is below.

Tormek is a copyrighted logo of Tormek AB. Its presentation on this site is used to help the user quickly understand when specific Tormek tools, jigs, or setting are being used. For specific information regarding Tormek AB, or its products, please refer to the www.Tormek.com.