Tormke t-4 vs 'other makes'?

[pe2dave]

Tormek isn't green (should it be?) but
a) has all the 'extras'
b) Has pretty good all round reviews.
c) Has a good warranty.

Seems to ring a green bell?

Is it worth the 'extra' money? Any views please.
For kitchen knives and flat chisels, totted up to around £600 which had me wincing.
If not Tormek then which make is equal / good enough please?

 

[Derek Cohen (Perth Oz)]

Tormek is the original. It is well built to a high standard and reliable. All others are copies and the build qualities are variable to indifferent.

Green is the colour from around 2000. Blue is a recent colour.

Personally, I would spend the difference on a real Tormek, or (preferably) a half-speed bench grinder plus 180 grit CBN wheel.

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[johnnyb]

I've got a jet and its been good but tormek are noticeably better. I'm a big fan of water cooled despite its very obvious issues. Anything dry needs decent extraction imho(spark proof) the belt grinder style grindrrs are high quality and for your 2 stated application work well.

 

[BearTricks]

I was looking at some of the record power equivalents and the reviews aren’t good. Water pooling on top and potentially getting in the electrics seems like a big design flaw. Some cheap and nasty plastic components.

I’m going to modify a cheap bench grinder to turn it in to a belt grinder. Once I have time for a big project I think I might build. 2”x72” belt grinder and reuse the wheels I buy for this one.

 

[recipio]

I bought the Scheppach version with a jig mainly to sharpen my planer knives. www.fine-tools.de carry range of Japanese water wheels and it's worth investing an a finer grit than the standard. However I found the blades had reduced so much in width from repeated sharpenings I had to buy a new set after all. They are a good machines to have on standby and saving time and money for planer knives. There are probably more efficient systems for chisels and blades.

 

[pe2dave]

I bought the Scheppach version with a jig mainly to sharpen my planer knives. www.fine-tools.de carry range of Japanese water wheels and it's worth investing an a finer grit than the standard. However I found the blades had reduced so much in width from repeated sharpenings I had to buy a new set after all. They are a good machines to have on standby and saving time and money for planer knives. There are probably more efficient systems for chisels and blades.

'Blades' had reduced in width? Not clear what this means?
'Depth' (front to back) - wear through sharpening?
No longer have a P/T so not a worry for me.
Tks @recipio

 

[recipio]

'Blades' had reduced in width? Not clear what this means?
'Depth' (front to back) - wear through sharpening?
No longer have a P/T so not a worry for me.
Tks @recipio

Correct. I should have said depth rather than width. I tried to sharpen the blades initially and found they would not touch the stone. Measuring confirmed they had reduced down from 19 mm to 13 mm from repeated commercial sharpenings. Can't believe I didn't actually notice . . I now just keep a new set sharpened and watch out for too much wear.

 

[pe2dave]

Correct. I should have said depth rather than width. I tried to sharpen the blades initially and found they would not touch the stone. Measuring confirmed they had reduced down from 19 mm to 13 mm from repeated commercial sharpenings. Can't believe I didn't notice actually notice . . I now just keep a new set sharpened and watch out for too much wear.

Does make me wonder if you were too aggressive 'honing' the blades? 6mm in how many times?

 

[Hornbeam]

I have had one of the green supergrind versions from new and have only had to change the plastic bushes
They are quite slow but are excellent for bench tools. I havent tried the CBN wheel but I am sur ethe wheel will last another 20 years
Being wet also works with my waterstones. I never leave the wheel sitting in water between uses
If I was looking for turning I would go with a dry half speed grinder

 

[recipio]

Does make me wonder if you were too aggressive 'honing' the blades? 6mm in how many times?

Not me, a local small business and probably about 3-4 sharpenings. They were taking off about a mm at a time. I have two old Scheppach P/T s so not much chance to change the blocks out for a disposable system.

 

[johnnyb]

The jet has the larger(10 inch) wheel with a speed control this helps speed stuff up a bit. The small wheels are a bit painful. I would forget about very fine wheels(OK for kitchen knives maybe) but I like everything as coarse as possible to speed the process a bit. And I agree they aren't good for turning tools as they groove the wheel.

 

[John Hall]

I’d go for a 10” T7or T8…obviously more expensive but more powerful motor..
I’ve just bought a second hand T8, like new with hand tool set for £600…only used a couple of times…
They are usually between £500-600 second hand for what I’ve just bought…new price is £900
If you’re in no rush just keep looking on here and EBay etc

 

[Woody Alan]

Not me, a local small business and probably about 3-4 sharpenings

This is a bugbear of mine, over aggressive sharpening commercially. I have had sawblade come back after one sharpening and they are already into the plate material. Should be able to get many more sharpens.

 

[pe2dave]

Pulled the trigger on t-4.
So far so good. Wheel needed trueing.

 

[bourbon]

https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/clarke-cws200b-200mm-whetstone-sharpener-230v/

 

[John Hall]

Get yourself a CBN wheel…you won’t regret it

 

[pe2dave]

Get yourself a CBN wheel…you won’t regret it

Already bought t-4 tks. Alt wheels can wait a bit!