- Joined
- Jul 16, 2007
- Messages
- 1,102
I got the chance to try out the TSProf Pioneer in my shop this evening. Unfortunately most of my pics didn't turn out, the LED lighting in my shop doesn't play nice with the camera in my phone.
I had a hunting type knife left for me and I figured this would be ideal to test out. The first little snag I ran into was that the TSProf Quick Clamps do fit the machine, but with the knife clamped they're long enough that the "mast" or vertical rod that holds the stone arm doesn't have enough height to work. Bummer! I think they'll probably work well if you have the upgraded TSProf Height Adjuster and Extended Guide rod. The guide rod of the Pioneer is really really short. At the end of the stroke I had it fall out a couple of times before I hunted up a rod stop. This will likely impose a hard limit on the length of knife you can do.
My next issue is that the clamp wouldn't hold the stones. True, it worked fine on the TSProf diamond stones but the Edge Pro Matrix would slide completely out of the holder after five or six strokes. Luckily the inner end of the stone holder has an Allen screw that allows it to be moved. It only took about 1/8" to 1/4" inch to get it to where all my stones worked perfectly. This was probably a fluke but it does highlight a strength of the design, that it can be adjusted. I think you could move it down to where you could clamp 4" stones but I didn't have any to try.
I went to work setting the bevel and the machine is silky smooth! There's absolutely no play whatsoever in the turnstile mechanism, it locks up like a bank vault! Very impressive! The stock clamps that come with the Pioneer actually work superbly well. They're easy to adjust albeit needing an Allen key/wrench. There was no movement or wobble at all, the clamps are designed very well.
I ran into one last problem when I went to switch stones. When I reached to slide the little rubber stone adjuster ring the entire mast collapsed down! This required me to go through the angle setting process all over again with a Sharpie. The knob that tightens down the mast is just really small, there's not much to get a hold of. This is the case with many of the knobs including the ones on the stone arm. Once I became aware of this I was able to tighten it down a little better and I didn't have any more issues but it was frustrating, especially given how precise and overbuild most of the machine is. I expect that the upgraded height adjuster would eliminate any potential issues.
From here on out the sharpening went as expected and yield a truly razor sharp edge. I stopped around the 950 grit range, not wanting too much polish for a hunting knife.
Overall the Pioneer works very very well! Some of the minor issues I had can be attributed to just needing to learn how to use the machine. Others were more failures of my expectations (such as not taking into account the size difference of the clamps). Once I got the hang of using the Pioneer it performed wonderfully!
What's my verdict? Well, I need to test it more but I like it! I will be adding the upgraded height adjuster soon as I think that will elevate the machine to "professional" level. Bear in mind I own and operate a sharpening shop so am looking at a different set of criteria than some. Anyone wanting to use a guided system in a commercial capacity would probably be better served by the Kadet or even K4 if budget allows. But the Pioneer was designed to be more portable and affordable while still offering a high level of performance. I think they achieved that goal! I'll update my review as I use it more and again once I get the upgraded height adjuster. But so far I'm impressed!
I had a hunting type knife left for me and I figured this would be ideal to test out. The first little snag I ran into was that the TSProf Quick Clamps do fit the machine, but with the knife clamped they're long enough that the "mast" or vertical rod that holds the stone arm doesn't have enough height to work. Bummer! I think they'll probably work well if you have the upgraded TSProf Height Adjuster and Extended Guide rod. The guide rod of the Pioneer is really really short. At the end of the stroke I had it fall out a couple of times before I hunted up a rod stop. This will likely impose a hard limit on the length of knife you can do.
My next issue is that the clamp wouldn't hold the stones. True, it worked fine on the TSProf diamond stones but the Edge Pro Matrix would slide completely out of the holder after five or six strokes. Luckily the inner end of the stone holder has an Allen screw that allows it to be moved. It only took about 1/8" to 1/4" inch to get it to where all my stones worked perfectly. This was probably a fluke but it does highlight a strength of the design, that it can be adjusted. I think you could move it down to where you could clamp 4" stones but I didn't have any to try.
I went to work setting the bevel and the machine is silky smooth! There's absolutely no play whatsoever in the turnstile mechanism, it locks up like a bank vault! Very impressive! The stock clamps that come with the Pioneer actually work superbly well. They're easy to adjust albeit needing an Allen key/wrench. There was no movement or wobble at all, the clamps are designed very well.
I ran into one last problem when I went to switch stones. When I reached to slide the little rubber stone adjuster ring the entire mast collapsed down! This required me to go through the angle setting process all over again with a Sharpie. The knob that tightens down the mast is just really small, there's not much to get a hold of. This is the case with many of the knobs including the ones on the stone arm. Once I became aware of this I was able to tighten it down a little better and I didn't have any more issues but it was frustrating, especially given how precise and overbuild most of the machine is. I expect that the upgraded height adjuster would eliminate any potential issues.
From here on out the sharpening went as expected and yield a truly razor sharp edge. I stopped around the 950 grit range, not wanting too much polish for a hunting knife.
Overall the Pioneer works very very well! Some of the minor issues I had can be attributed to just needing to learn how to use the machine. Others were more failures of my expectations (such as not taking into account the size difference of the clamps). Once I got the hang of using the Pioneer it performed wonderfully!
What's my verdict? Well, I need to test it more but I like it! I will be adding the upgraded height adjuster soon as I think that will elevate the machine to "professional" level. Bear in mind I own and operate a sharpening shop so am looking at a different set of criteria than some. Anyone wanting to use a guided system in a commercial capacity would probably be better served by the Kadet or even K4 if budget allows. But the Pioneer was designed to be more portable and affordable while still offering a high level of performance. I think they achieved that goal! I'll update my review as I use it more and again once I get the upgraded height adjuster. But so far I'm impressed!