3rd

Exactly, I grinded one of my screwdrivers specificly for slimslotted saw screws, it works wonderfully with the hollow!

Brian A, thank you for your sharing. Which Japanese stone do you recommend? Are there more than one option? What about the diamond stone, would you recommend the Japanese stone over it ?

@@organogardener9210 There is only one Japanese stone available. It is good for polishing after the bevel is already established. They have new diamond wheels but I am not familiar with them.

It’s pricey but not anywhere near that expensive. If you can do some resharpening for friends and charge a reasonable fee, you can recoup your investment fairly quickly. I find my Tormek invaluable.

Find a used machine, even the beat up looking examples have plenty of life left in them, just as long as there's plenty of wheel left. Here in the U.K you can get the smaller machine for around $200 used, and there's quite a few jigs on eBay too.

I have never used it. Most folks just replace drill bits because they buy cheap ones. I own good drill bits from Fisch, but they have special spur points that can't be sharpened on the Tormek.

Maybe I should make a video about that... Short answer: it depends on you. If you like hand sharpening, I prefer a diamond stone followed by a strop and paste. Use a grinder with a CBN wheel for when you have to repair or reshape a bevel (that would take a long time on a stone). If you like power, the Worksharp is an inexpensive option that may require some homemade modifications. The Tormek is more expensive, but also faster, more capable and will last a lifetime. There are pros and cons to everything.

@@StumpyNubs Thanks for taking the time to reply. And, yes, you should definitely make a video about it.

I usually just use the stropping wheel freehand to touch up the chisels. Hand plans I tend to let get a bit more dull, so those get a light sharpening on the stone.

No, there isn't a best way. It entirely depends upon whether you prefer to sharpen by hand or machine, how much you can afford, and the type of tools you most often sharpen.

Yes.

Tormek has a jig for moulding knives. Not sure if it will work with those tiny cutters, but it might.

@@StumpyNubs I'm enough of a metalsmith, I believe I could "whittle" something up that'd work - got a serious case of sharpener envy goin' on here!

I have recommended Worksharp as a less expensive alternative. I have one and still use it from time to time, especially when I have to do a lot of grinding on the back of a plane iron (you can use a coarse sandpaper and make quick work of it). I wish they still sold a Tormek bar for it so you could use the jigs, though.

@@StumpyNubs I bought the tormek bar and made own bracket to hold it to the side of my worksharp. I can send u a picture if you want, but it's basically some scraps of plywood and a pair of bolts and wing nuts.

haaaa! Gotta get that domino, that tormek and those lee valley planes!

The Tormek is a machine that drives a wheel. CBN is the type of wheel. Two different things. You can buy CBN wheels for the Tormek, and they come with the same advantages as using them with a grinder, with the addition of slower speeds and the jigs on the Tormek. You can also buy diamond wheels for the Tormek.

Thanks for the reply. I should have clarified that I did know the fundamental differences of the grinder based CBN and Tormek water stone or diamond wheels. I'm more wondering if CBN would handle at least chisel and plane blade sharpening just as well. Seemed like an economic option for the with a grinder already. But I was curious if there sharpening was more tedious and/or easy to mess up the temper as to make Tormek clearly superior and therefore possibly worth the investment from that standpoint in addition to the many hugs. I really enjoy how informative, concise and humorous your videos are!

Those are profiled wheels for carving and turning gouges.

I have one. I also have the new Tormek Diamond wheels. Love them.

Did not know you could use a CBN wheel on the Tormek, figured the slow turning speed would not be enough.

I just wish they would make them available for my T4. However I still love my tormek.

Yes, there is a diamond truing tool they make for it. Of course, that only applies to the standard stone. They also make diamond stones which never need truing.

@@StumpyNubs how many rpms do those wheels do please. They seem very slow

@@davidharvey5672 They're slow so they don't generate heat. Rest assured they cut quick enough.

The water stays inside the trough when the wheel is turning - You have to add water a couple of times if the Stone has dried out, but once fully charged, the Stone rolls smoothly through the water without splashing... If you add too much water, it will discharge below the trough... ie The trough only holds 'so much'. There are Min/Max lines in the trough.

I really like the composite wheel.

@@StumpyNubs Thanks. Many others seem to feel the same. I'm ordering it today.

The machine is designed for sharpening in either position. In videos they usually sharpen from the top because they can stand behind the machine and let the camera have a better view. I prefer letting the wheel turn away from me so I draw out a burr from the edge, as that tells me when to stop sharpening.

@@StumpyNubs And that's why I like your channel & content - always well thought out and makes sense. Thank you for your advice and time. Stay well.

I love my Tormek. Yes, it can be slow if you have to grind away a lot of material, but you may be surprised how much you can speed it up by using the stone grader to rough up the stone surface. Then as you grind you can lift up on the end of the tool that's not on the stone, levering the cutting edge into the stone with greater force. It won't hurt the stone, and it speeds things up a lot... That said, a courser stone will be even faster. I have a CBN wheel and I also have the Tormek diamond wheels. Both are good choices. But try my tips above before investing in different wheels.

@@StumpyNubs what are your thoughts regarding Japanese stones over the Diamond wheels?

@@organogardener9210 The japanese stone produces the finest finish of any of their wheels. I love it for carving tools. Many people like it for very sharp knives as well. But I don't bother with it for regular woodworking tools.

@@StumpyNubs Thank you for that prompt reply. If you would to start over and knowing what you now know, which diamond wheel, if you can only pick one, would you pick?

A good way to change grits in the SG stone and keep your stone square/parallel with the universal support bar is with cheap diamond plates clamped in the square edge jig.

You can sharpen on either side. Some prefect to sharpen knives from above the stone because the direction of the grind pulls the burr away from the edge. I sharpen from the front because that's what I am used to.

Tormek is slow-speed, water cooled, wider wheel face, you can grind safely on the side of the wheel and most importantly, the jigs and micro-adjustable tool rest make it more accurate so you remove far less steel.

If you're on a tight budget, I recommend the smaller and less expensive T-4. It will do just about everything the T-8 will do for about half the price.

@@1DrBar I'm a bit late here but I just ordered the T-8. I was thinking of getting the stripped down T-8 and getting the Knife Grinders CBN wheels and their felt honing wheel. But I decided to just get the T-8 kit with the SG-250 stone and leather honing wheel. The reason why is because it isn't advisable to sharpen scissors or other similar cutting tools on diamond or cbn wheels because the angle is too steep and it would break off the diamonds or cbn crystals. Right now I'd like to be able to sharpen anything, with the SG stone I can. Later on I'll get the CBN wheels and felt honing wheel and use the SG wheel for scissors, etc....

I've never used the Toycen

Sometimes. I also have diamond wheels for it. Not sure which I like best yet.

Stumpy Nubs That’s cool. Did you get the diamond wheel from the same source as the CBN wheels?

@@ronh9384 - No, the Diamond wheels come from Tormek. The CBN wheels come from Woodturnerswonders.com

Many years.

No, I don't need razor sharp lawnmower blades. But you certainly could do it if you wanted to.

Yes, Wen is one in a long line of low-end manufacturers over the years that have tried to knock off the Tormek by producing a low quality machine that looks similar. But the imitators rarely even attempt to copy the jigs. They know they may be able to make a machine out of cheap parts that will at least spin for a while and fool a lot of customers. But if they applied their cheap materials and poor quality control to the jigs, they simply wouldn't work.

If you add the cost of what comes with a Tormek to the price of the Wen, the difference is not so significant. Don't get me wrong, I can't afford a Tormek either, but I did some checking when I thought about buying a cheaper knockoff version...

@@StumpyNubs I haven't used the wen machine, but I gather you don't like it?

I'm just saying there is a reason the Tormek isn't $150.

@@StumpyNubs yeah, I'm sure of that. It's a decent option for getting into the tormek system. if/when the thing goes out upgrading to a tormek would be a little easier having the jigs already.

I've wanted one a long time as well, and just got one last week. I'm not new to the high end sharpening market, I have a fully stocked Gen 2.5 Wicked Edge that I have been using and upgrading for 5 years, and I have full set of Japanese water stones and diamond lapping plates. But still $980 (T8 with handtool kit, with tax) was a big investment in a single jump, I've spent more on my WE, but that was spread over the years. But if you really want one, think of it as more of an investment. Talk to family and friends and see if they would want you to sharpen their kitchen knives for like $10 per to help pay for it, that right there can easily make you back $300+ in the first month. Also consider you can often buy stuff like this with a payment plan, for example with Amazon Prime you can get it on a 5 month plan, for less than $200 a month with no interest. If you have enough free time, and reach out actively for customers, you can make that with sharpening. I finally bought a T8 because it's supper fast, I will be able to keep up with my established customers while working my full time job, I can't do that with my Wicked Edge anymore. Also, I'm still early on in practice and testing, but it works amazingly well with the Wicked Edge, I can do all the stock removal with the T8, and then do the final polishing and detail work on the more accurate WE.

billy19461, apply for PayPal Credit, they will allow payments over two years time.

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Like?

You can, but most Japanese tool enthusiasts do not like a hollow grind that comes from the shape of a grinding wheel. They prefer to use flat stones.

@@StumpyNubs I just got my first set of japanese chisels but I suck at patience to hand sharpen, which is why I got a Tormek. I'll give it a try. Thank you.

the only draw to the thing for me is sharpening lathe tools... but a good slow speed grinder, and a wolverine jig combined cost less than the tormek

Buy a used machine with little risk, the build quality means they go on for years. Here in the UK they are approx. half the price of a new machine.

Tormek has a KZfaq channel full of detailed tutorials.

@@StumpyNubs thanks