Tormek T8

R

Ryansknives

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Nov 9, 2019
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I’ve got a good variety of Japanese whetstones. I just ordered a 140 grit a 600 grit and 1200 grit Atoma diamond plates. I also have a cheap 1x30 belt sander and an Edge Pro with a variety of stones.

The Edge Pro is a great system but I really don’t think I’ll ever regularly use it again. I’ve gotten really good with the belt sander. It’s a zillion times faster.

I’m thinking seriously about starting my knife sharpening gig again. If someone is good with a belt sander and good with whetstones does investing in something like a T8 have any real benefits?

I don’t think I’m gonna have very many customers with super expensive knives. Probably gonna be more like hey can you sharpen my pocket knife. I’m thinking the main benefit of a T8 would be when the customer shows up with a very expensive or unique knife I can’t replace. I would think it would be a lot faster than hand sharpening. I’ve read if you get the 4K grit stone you can put a nice reflective edge on the knives.

Anyway would a T8 be something cool to have or actually have a legitimate place in a small time knife and tool sharpening gig? I’m not gonna say a waste of money because it would be cool for a knife geek like me to own one.

On a side note any idea how long the regular grindstone and the Japanese whetstone lasts? They are expensive to replace. I’d think they would last thousands of knives. But I don’t know.
 
By the time you wear through a stone that large you'd have worn through an equal volume of similar bench stones. Those wheels have a lot of material in 'em.
 
R Ryansknives
I've had several Tormeks since the late 80's. Despite what some will say once you learn the basics you will be able to put a factory like edge on most any knife other than recurves. Last year I moved from a T2000 to a T8. I bought a CBN 600 grit wheel for the T8 which really improved the performance and finish of the grind. Pair the Tormek with a good 2x72 and you will be able to handle most any sharpening job. I wish you good fortune with your venture.
 
Ryansknives said:
I’ve got a good variety of Japanese whetstones. I just ordered a 140 grit a 600 grit and 1200 grit Atoma diamond plates. I also have a cheap 1x30 belt sander and an Edge Pro with a variety of stones.

The Edge Pro is a great system but I really don’t think I’ll ever regularly use it again. I’ve gotten really good with the belt sander. It’s a zillion times faster.

I’m thinking seriously about starting my knife sharpening gig again. If someone is good with a belt sander and good with whetstones does investing in something like a T8 have any real benefits?

I don’t think I’m gonna have very many customers with super expensive knives. Probably gonna be more like hey can you sharpen my pocket knife. I’m thinking the main benefit of a T8 would be when the customer shows up with a very expensive or unique knife I can’t replace. I would think it would be a lot faster than hand sharpening. I’ve read if you get the 4K grit stone you can put a nice reflective edge on the knives.

Anyway would a T8 be something cool to have or actually have a legitimate place in a small time knife and tool sharpening gig? I’m not gonna say a waste of money because it would be cool for a knife geek like me to own one.

On a side note any idea how long the regular grindstone and the Japanese whetstone lasts? They are expensive to replace. I’d think they would last thousands of knives. But I don’t know.
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Personally I'm not convinced a Tormek or other wet wheel system makes sense for commercial sharpening unless you are charging a premium.

My experience they are very slow compared to belt grinder, have a steep learning curve on anything with a belly, and all the usual limitations of other systems where the blade is clamped, compounded by the need to hold pretty precise contact point on the wheel. The hollow grind is not the best for woodworking tools compared to roughing on a belt and finishing freehand, or something like a Makita horizontal wet wheel system.

That said they make a very nice edge and it depends on your clientele whether it is worth the cost.
 
HeavyHanded said:
Personally I'm not convinced a Tormek or other wet wheel system makes sense for commercial sharpening unless you are charging a premium.

My experience they are very slow compared to belt grinder, have a steep learning curve on anything with a belly, and all the usual limitations of other systems where the blade is clamped, compounded by the need to hold pretty precise contact point on the wheel. The hollow grind is not the best for woodworking tools compared to roughing on a belt and finishing freehand, or something like a Makita horizontal wet wheel system.

That said they make a very nice edge and it depends on your clientele whether it is worth the cost.
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One may work at a 45° oblique to the wheel to eliminate most of the hollow effect and reduce the need for a consistent contact point.
 
HeavyHanded said:
Personally I'm not convinced a Tormek or other wet wheel system makes sense for commercial sharpening unless you are charging a premium.
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When you divide the cost of the T8 system by the vast number of knives it can sharpen the cost to the customer becomes very competitive.
HeavyHanded said:
My experience they are very slow compared to belt grinder,
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This where a CBN wheel really shines. I only use light pressure to get a very nice edge. Too much pressure and you can remove lots of material. When correcting edge damage a CBN wheel gets the job done faster than a stone wheel can. Using light pressure leaves a nice satin finish on the edge with little to no grind lines. A light touch on a 2x72 leather strop and you can get an even sweeter edge finish.
I often get, "Wow, this is better than it came from the factory" when a customer sees their finished edge.
 
WhitleyStu said:
When you divide the cost of the T8 system by the vast number of knives it can sharpen the cost to the customer becomes very competitive.

This where a CBN wheel really shines. I only use light pressure to get a very nice edge. Too much pressure and you can remove lots of material. When correcting edge damage a CBN wheel gets the job done faster than a stone wheel can. Using light pressure leaves a nice satin finish on the edge with little to no grind lines. A light touch on a 2x72 leather strop and you can get an even sweeter edge finish.
I often get, "Wow, this is better than it came from the factory" when a customer sees their finished edge.
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It def makes a very nice edge, but I'm dubious about the speed factor wirh any wheel. It also is very difficult if not impossible to rapidly change wheels and have them stay true. Additionally it leaves you using yet another piece of stand alone equipment to finish the edge.

Another consideration depending on clientele is ability to grind back the bolster on forged kitchen knives, or restore proper geometry to ones that have been abused by years of honing rod or pull through use.

I'm not sure what I'd have to charge just on ordinary kitchen knives, but it would be more than the $5-$7 I currently rate.

Depending on clientele it might make sense, as it does make a very nice edge. For most commercial work a belt grinder used well is going to be orders of magnitude faster, capable of doing regrinds, buffing, rapid corrections to abused chisels, plane irons, etc - activities the Tormek can't even begin to approach at all let alone economically in terms of working time. Can it have a place in a commercial environment? - Sure. Is it the ideal tool for a commercial environment? - highly dependent.
 
as Phil mentioned, Vadim claims 200 knives per shift with his Tormek setup. That's only 2 minutes per knife.

Knife Grinders

Precision Sharpening & Knife Rental - Scientific approach - An exceptional edge for the lowest possible price.
knifegrinders.com.au knifegrinders.com.au
 
Hum. So I am intending to save up and purchase a 2x72. Part of the reason I’m thinking about restarting this knife sharpening gig. I do have one 1x30 that I use for sharpening knives grinding bolsters ect. I’m intending on purchasing a second either 1x30 or 1x42. I’m really eyeing the Viel machines. I would leave the leather on one then use the other for the sanding belts.

For generic kitchen knives or restaurants old probably leave a 600grit trizact belt on one burr it up on both sides hit it with the leather. It’s what I do with my wife’s knives except I swap the belts. To ke their is no point in polishing regular kitchen knives to a high shine. I would however shine them up by customer request if it turned out to be a effective marketing thing. People see it and go ooooooo.

Just trying to decide if it would be worth the investment. Ultimately I want to get into knife making. If I could get the sharpening gig to kick off I could use it to buy the tools I need to do the knife stuff I want to.

Anyway thanks for the replies.
 
ToddS said:
as Phil mentioned, Vadim claims 200 knives per shift with his Tormek setup. That's only 2 minutes per knife.

Knife Grinders

Precision Sharpening & Knife Rental - Scientific approach - An exceptional edge for the lowest possible price.
knifegrinders.com.au knifegrinders.com.au
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Not with the factory hardware they don't.

I can guess the custom blocks and jig they have for holding them cost more than the Tormek, and again they're not only using another stand alone piece of hardware to finish, they're using two Tormeks just to set the edge.
 
Wet grinders are powerful tools but are in general best for those not dealing with high volume commercial sharpening. I would love it if someone made a small 2" width grinder optimized for use with a large 8"-12" contact wheel where the top of the wheel is fully accessible/workable. I use the top of my Grizzly 2x72 like that by tilting the arm so it's pointing slightly downward, but it's the only setup I know of that's able to do that without having to mount the base of the unit on some sort of wedge.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
Wet grinders are powerful tools but are in general best for those not dealing with high volume commercial sharpening. I would love it if someone made a small 2" width grinder optimized for use with a large 8"-12" contact wheel where the top of the wheel is fully accessible/workable. I use the top of my Grizzly 2x72 like that by tilting the arm so it's pointing slightly downward, but it's the only setup I know of that's able to do that without having to mount the base of the unit on some sort of wedge.
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I've thought about grinding down the shoulders of the drive wheel on my Multitool, but that would be a lot of work and maybe throw the balance off. It runs great at high speed, I'd be crying if I introduced wobble in the works. Still...will probably get around to it at some point.
 
I will chime in here instead of creating a similar thread. I am looking to set up for some high quality sharpening for myself for fun. It may develop into knife making to some extent.

While stones are fun I am too impatient for those, so I'm looking at powered options. I have burned through 2 worksharp Ken Onion tools which both broke at the attachment lug of the blade grinding attachment. This happened after maybe 50 knife sharpenings each time. They replaced the unit under warranty the first time. I tried to remedy this problem with a simple benchmounting but I can't get the belt to track correctly. So I'm looking at a heavier duty option.

I loved the edge I could create and maintain with the worksharp.

I think I am going to get the Tormek T8 with a couple of disks and then a bench grinder for paper wheels. Looking at the T8 I realize they are sharpening edge-first which surprises me and shows how little I know. I like the idea of avoiding heat that I think I would get with a belt.

My other option is a belt grinder, the common 1" or 2" type, in place of the Tormak. Maybe I will end up with all of the above.

I have a couple of Benchmades (S30V and CruWear), and kitchen knives to include a Watanabe and a Global. Also I do every other knife I can sharpen just for fun.
 
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Re: Knifegrinders, they are using a lot of extra equipment, but they're also producing extraordinarily sharp knives -- like close to double-edge razor sharp -- so not a direct comparison to the average shop churning out factory-sharp results off a belt grinder.

I don't have a Tormek but I've been nosing around them for a while and I don't understand the speed comments. From the many videos I've seen it looks like you should be able to produce a sharp knife in 5-10 minutes with the stock wheel, once you get the hang of it. If you're going much faster than that with a belt grinder I'd wager you're burning the edge and reducing wear resistance.
 
Ryansknives said:
Hum. So I am intending to save up and purchase a 2x72. Part of the reason I’m thinking about restarting this knife sharpening gig. I do have one 1x30 that I use for sharpening knives grinding bolsters ect. I’m intending on purchasing a second either 1x30 or 1x42. I’m really eyeing the Viel machines. I would leave the leather on one then use the other for the sanding belts.
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Ryansknives, did you change your mind on the T8? If so, I would like to know why before I go that route.
 
I hate the Tormek because it is so difficult to keep the knife stable. Very prone to error. It's not even something I want to try to get better at.

My focus is now on creating a new jig for the T4. I really want to get away from the EdgePro style of sharpening system. Speed of re-profiling and getting a different angle on the tip of the knife are the reasons I went with the T4.
 
nevertakeadayoff said:
I hate the Tormek because it is so difficult to keep the knife stable. Very prone to error. It's not even something I want to try to get better at.
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Don't watch YouTube videos and try to semi free hand sharpen like so many videos show. Always keep the flange on the knife sharpening jig against the universal support. Keeping the flange on the support at all times will keep you from having the edge get a new facet for each sharpening pass.
 
I am holding it against the universal support as they do in the official Tormek videos.

If you're not good at free-hand sharpening with a belt sander or something, then you're not going to be good at the Tormek. I have never been a fan of that way of sharpening and didn't expect it to be essential for using the Tormek.

The jig is designed poorly. It relies entirely on the operator, which is why I compare it to free-handing. My only option is to improve that design. Wish me luck.
 
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