# Anyone use the tormek for sharpening?



## Cody Killgore (Jul 23, 2014)

So, my dad bought a tormek t7 years ago when he was into turning. He has since stopped turning and so it does not get much use. My grandfather still turns (but only pens) and refuses to sharpen the roughing gouge he uses. Every time it needs sharpening, I get a call and I drive over there and sharpen it on the tormek.

I have been sharpening my knives by hand on some Japanese waterstones, and I have had the idea of using the tormek to sharpen my knives for a while. Problem was... the stone that is on it is a little coarser than I would want my knives to be at. Recently, I found out that tormek released a 4000 grit japanese waterstone for their machine. I thought this would be perfect. The problem is that stone is super expensive. Brought the tormek to my house and finally took the plunge and bought the stone. As I wait for it to arrive, I am wondering if anyone else uses this system and what they think of it?

Personally, I love the fact that it is water-cooled. There is no way you can overheat your tool this way. There is a lot of debate over the topic but when you are dry-grinding on a piece of steel to make an edge, you can overheat the last few microns of the edge and not realize it. This would make your edge wear down much quicker. Personally, I think that any way you sharpen should have some type of coolant but whatever works, works...

This thread would be bland without at least one photo. Here is mine. If you didn't know what I was talking about, you can see it here. It has a 10" rotating grindstone that dips into a trough of water. The other side has a leather honing wheel along with some other leather strops for getting in gouges and whatnot. There is a ridiculous number of jigs and attachments to sharpen just about anything your heart desires..

tl;dr Do you use this system, what do you think of it?

(sorry for bad lighting)


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## Mike Jones (Jul 24, 2014)

This is a Jet brand Tormek* knock off that I have used for sharpening turning tools with a Wolverine jig for gouges.
It is approximately 220grit....much finer than the AO wheels used by many turners. But, the only way that I can seem to get a knife really sharp is with a diamond card file followed by the leather strop.


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## Cody Killgore (Jul 24, 2014)

Cool. I'm sure the JET also comes with a grading stone to fracture the grit up to, what they call, 1000 grit. In my experience, it is much finer than the 220 but not near 1000 grit. I will say, I have been impressed with the sharpness off of this rough grit though. It certainly shaves right off the machine. It could definitely be a lot sharper. I'm hoping the real 4000 grit stone will accomplish that for me.


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## Cody Killgore (Jul 24, 2014)

I was thinking more people would have these type of sharpeners as they seem to be marketed towards woodworkers. I guess most people just use a regular bench grinder?

4000 grit stone just came in and, I must say, it puts an impressive edge on my knives. Very happy with it thus far.


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## NYWoodturner (Jul 24, 2014)

I have the Tormek T-7 and have used it for several years now. What it saves me in the cost of gouges is worth it. I sharpen my chisels often and was using up a detail gouge a year on my old grinder. I have the Japanese water stone and don't find it cost effective for turning tools. There is a stone that comes with the Tormek that has two different grits, one on each side. You use it to re-surface your black wheel to get a coarse or fine grit. I find this fills all requirements for turning gouges. For carving chisels and for knife sharpening the water stone is extremely useful. Its a once in a lifetime investment. You will never wear one out. 
If I had a choice now of getting all my money back and a brand new traditional grinder for free or keeping my Tormek, I would not hesitate in keeping the Tormek. The range of angles you can grind encompasses all turning needs, where you would have to purchase several other jigs to get the same variety on a traditional grinder. I give it three thumbs up!

Reactions: Way Cool 1


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