To Tormek or not?

[shed9]

Looking at possibly getting a Tormek for aiding with sharpening.

Long story short, I'm slowly replacing hand tools and methods for something a little better than I already have. Got some decent planes and now looking at my sharpening options. I already have some water stones but they are not the best so I'm thinking of a Tormek system for initial grind and a couple of decent stones to finish off and to keep honed.

I'm looking to predominantly do straight blades such as plane iron, spoke shave, etc.

I've looked at some of the alternatives such as the Scheppach's, Triton's and Jet equivalents, but to be honest I'm not sure their respective jigs are not as good as the Tormek's plus when you factor in the added truing tools they price difference is not that big either, so I am convinced a Tormek is the better option for me at this point.

Any Tormek users on here who can offer advice. I assumed Tormek's were the mutts nutts but have seen some mixed reviews online.

 

[paulm]

Hi, I think it would be complete overkill to get a tormek to just put an initial grind on, and pretty slow too !

For those kind of tools you can put an initial grind on quickly and easily with any normal bench grinder, perhaps with a norton 3x stone to aid cool grinding but not really necessary, and then take to your finishing stones for honing.

The tormek is very slow, very wet and very messy, got shot of mine a while back

You can still use tormek jigs with a mounting bar designed for use with normal bench grinders if the jigs are the attraction.

Cheers, Paul

 

[shed9]

Thanks for this Paul, appreciate the response. I'm really confused by the Tormek as I've heard and seen some fantastic reviews but then I hear similar stories to your own.

Thing is, I'm ramping up my hand tool usage and want something that will keep me on top of sharpening. I've started to invest in decent hand tool kit and seeing the advantage already so don't mind overkill as such, just want the right thing.

They have a good price at the moment via Europe at around sub £400 for a T7. Hence my query.

Appreciate the input.

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

I've had a T7 for 6 years and they will give you a very keen edge indeed. They are versatile in that you can sharpen everything from your lawn mower blades, kitchen knives, scissors etc and of course bench tools if you've bought the right jigs

However, as Paul says, to remove a lot of steel takes a looooong time. Cut a long story short. Great for sharpening, awful for shaping. Also very expensive and Brilliantly marketed. Marketed to the point in fact where folk have an almost mystical view of their prowess! That mysticality tends to wane when you're re grinding the entire bevel of a severely damaged skew chisel for a finger hurting hour I can tell you!

If you want a tour of bench grinder, tormek and Sorby pro edge come to my gaff and I'll give you the lowdown live

 

[CHJ]

Looking at possibly getting a Tormek for aiding with sharpening.

....

Only ever had experience of a Tormek when doing a review of suitability to re-shape and sharpen turning tools myself, lets just say I've never been tempted to buy one for my needs.
Admittedly the ability to put a very acceptable edge on an existing matching bevel is attractive but in a cost over convenience against a couple of good stones or flat sheet abrasives does not compute for my needs or pocket.

If I were you, given your stated criteria, I would plump for the Sorby Pro edge, the availability of quick change to coarse grits for primary bevel forming or repair and then fine abrasives down at the Tormek level and beyond to prepare & polish the secondary bevel.

 

[shed9]

Thanks again everyone, input is great.

Bob, appreciate the offer for demo, if you were in my necks of the woods, I'd be there like a shot, especially with the ability to compare Tormek with a Sorby unit (forgot about that device). The advice on speed (or lack of) is good to know.

CHJ, again appreciate the input, it's all going in.

It's getting a little grey in regards to a Tormek though as Mrs Shed9 seems to think it's a good idea; I suspect, based on her own requirements as she is a ceramicist and uses all sorts of odd shaped cutters / tools.

 

[marcros]

I would go for the proedge.

 

[Beau]

Are you sold on a vertically mount grinder?

I have an old horizontal wet stone grinder. It's been truly brilliant over the years. You can do most blades freehand with a bit of practice and being flat it gives you the ability to flatten the backs of chisels and plane irons. Can't say I have used a Tormek but never felt the need to get one either.

 

[CHJ]

...It's getting a little grey in regards to a Tormek though as Mrs Shed9 seems to think it's a good idea; I suspect, based on her own requirements as she is a ceramicist and uses all sorts of odd shaped cutters / tools.

Odd shaped cutting tools normally require profiled slip stones to hone effectively, anything less than a nice straight flat cutting edge is going to play havoc with a soft wetstone grinder like a Tormek.

There are Turners that use a Tormek/wetstone grinder for touching up their gouges, but after a very few uses the wheel periphery although staying perfectly usable for some time for them will be just about useless for flat blade sharpening and have to be dressed flat and true again before use, so I think sharpening odd ball shaped/profiled tools would be at odds with wood working blades used for flatwork.

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

My bowl gouge dishes the T7 stone after about 15-20 grinds and that the silicon blackstone which is an upgrade to the regular grey stone especially for HSS so you would have to true before doing planes or chisels or you would miss grinding the centre.

A new Tormek stone costs around £110 ish. I have to say that since buying the Pro-edge I use almost nothing else.

 

[paulm]

That's what I found too Rob, I kept my tormek for about six or nine months after getting the pro-edge, thinking I would still use it for some stuff, but never did ! Decided to move it on to get back some bench space and before more people heard of the pro-edge and the bottom fell out of the tormek market :lol:

Cheers, Paul

 

[RobinBHM]

I made the mistake of buying a tormek for our joinery workshop. It certainly sharpens well and theres no danger of overheating, however it is very slow and nowhere near sufficiently robust to cope with half a dozen bench joiners. I bought an old Viceroy sharpedge grinder to replace it (from a forum member). Fantastic machine for flat grinding of chisels and plane iroms. Not really practical for a home workshop as it is the size of a washing machine.

I hear cbn diamond grindstone wheels are becoming popular for turners.

 

[fluffflinger]

I recently aquired a Worksharp 3000 from a fellow member. Appeal was mainly that I have used scary sharp for honing for a good while and have never found anything other method to be as easy and successful so I like abrasives.

Trust me the worksharp is brillant. I have made seperate MDF Discs and a final spin with honing compound leaves an edge that is very very very worksharp.

It's compact clean and with coarse paper it will re-grind very quickly when necessary. You can simply deal with the backs of tools and if you wish you can adapt to take the Tormek jigs. Cheaper than a Tormek and very adaptable. I have built a flat bed so I can use my honing jig with plane blades.

Just my 2p worth.

 

[woodpig]

Get a Sorby Pro-Edge and in a few days you'll wonder why you were even thinking of buying anything else.

 

[Inoffthered]

I recently aquired a Worksharp 3000 from a fellow member. Appeal was mainly that I have used scary sharp for honing for a good while and have never found anything other method to be as easy and successful so I like abrasives.

Trust me the worksharp is brillant. I have made seperate MDF Discs and a final spin with honing compound leaves an edge that is very very very worksharp.

It's compact clean and with coarse paper it will re-grind very quickly when necessary. You can simply deal with the backs of tools and if you wish you can adapt to take the Tormek jigs. Cheaper than a Tormek and very adaptable. I have built a flat bed so I can use my honing jig with plane blades.

Just my 2p worth.

I agree, I have recently bought a Workshop and am really pleased with it. Straight edge chisels and plane irons are a doddle to sharpen and get a mirror finish. Turning and carving tools are also easy to sharpen using tormek jigs or freehand using the vision wheel.

 

[deema]

Just to be different, I use two machines for 90% of my sharpening needs. I have a Cruesen for shaping and general sharpening that has a Jet bar to allow me to use all of the Tomak jigs (the Jet bar is the same diameter and size -completely interchangeable as are their respective jigs - as the Tomek bar but significantly cheaper circa £10 from Axminister) I have the 200mm version which has a grey Aluminium Oxide wheels, which are great for most general sharpening needs.

I then have a Tomak T7 for final sharpening, I have had it for over 6 years and the amount of wheel wear is negligible. I don't sharpen turning tools on it, they get used straight from the Cruesen. I do sharpen carving tools however this is very occasional use. The majority of the stuff is plane irons and chisels. I have a simple piece of wood with lines / bits of wood glued on that sets the length of straight tools so that I never have to adjust the bar (apart from once every blue moon as the stone wears a little). This makes sharpening very quick indeed. I have placed the Tomak in a metal baking tray to catch any water that gets away to stop any mess. For me it's far faster than using stones, and by moving the piece to be sharpened across (against the Tomak instructions) the stone I keep it flat and have only twice had to recut it to make it flat again.

So in summary, I think a Tomak T7 is a brilliant investment IF and only IF you intend to get a decent grinding wheel as well. It works really well for final sharpening / honing but is too slow for initial bevel shaping / correcting a ding in the blade.

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

I agree totally with that. As I said, great for sharpening useless for shaping.

 

[heimlaga]

I am a fan of slow running waterstone grinders. However I prefere natural sandstone wheens with coarser grit than the Tormec wheels. My main grinder is an Alimak. Probably from the 1960-ies. It is much larger and more powerful than a Tormek. I grind greehand and don't need any jigs. Geoprodukter make some pretty good grinders under the name Kirunaslipen.