New Diamond Wheels and Multi Base

[Sharpco]

https://www.tormek.com/international/en/about-tormek/news-archive/new-diamond-wheels-and-multi-base/

I hope to be able to sharpen concave blades(e.g. karambit) using the edge of the wheel.

[Ken S]

Excellent reporting, Sharpco!

I have long believed that Tormek would eventually include diamond or CBN wheels in its product lineup. I have been very pleased with the performance of my three third party CBN wheels and, more recently, with the DWF and DWC 200 mm wheels originally designed for the T2. (They also work quite nicely with the T4.)

Based on using these related wheels and reading the announcement from Tormek, Tormek seems to have blown all the other wheels out of the water!!!! In addition to a complete line up of grits 220, 600, and 1200), Tormek has made the flat side of the grinding wheel at least an order of magnitude more useful with both a generous (huge) diamond flat area AND, a new jig to fully utilize this flat area. I am excited!

European manufacturers traditionally introduce new products during the Spring Fair in Cologne, Germany. (This was where the 35mm Leica camera was introduced in 1925.) I have been expecting Tormek to follow its tradition of new innovations to be announced in Cologne. Having recently introduced the T4, T8 and T2, I expected the innovation to be more oriented toward jigs and accessories. Just as many of the upgrades in the T8 began with the major redesign of the T3 into the T4, I have thought the diamond wheels of the T2 were the harbinger of things to come with diamond wheels. These three new diamond grinding wheels have certainly far exceeded my expectations and hopes.

One of the things I truly admire about Tormek's loyalty to its customers is its philosophy of non obsolescense. These three new diamond wheels and jig are totally usable on every 250mm model Tormek. There is no need to replace a venerable SuperGrind to utilize the latest technology. I call that customer care.

Tormek has truly outdone itself this year. They have made a world class machine markedly better. I will also note that even with all of these exciting new accessories, the basic Tormek with the SG 200 or 250 grinding wheel remains a premiere grinding system. The range of grits available with the included stone grader remains almost as extensive as the three diamond wheels. The SG wheel will serve Tormek users of the future as well as ever. If I was not a Tormek junkie, the Tormek of either diameter with an SG would more than satisfy all of my sharpening needs. However, my inner Tormek junkie looks forward to pushing back the frontier with the four latest additions to the Tormek line.

Well done, Sweden.

Ken

[Ken S]

More thoughts....

As an old Tormeker, I have become spoiled by Tormek's water cooled, dust and spark free working environment. When I started doing my CBN testing, I wanted to test them both wet and dry. I consulted two manufacturers. One flat out told me CBN wheels do not work with water. His company later announced that using water with their wheels would void the warranty. The second manufacturer told me his wheels work wet or dry, although he uses them dry on a high speed grinder. They do work well wet, however, the steel reducing bushings and balancing hole areas will quickly rust unless a rust inhibitor like Honerite Gold is added to the water. This is not a game changer, however, it does add slightly to the cost and set up procedure.

Some notable expert users seem to be happy to dispense with the water trough. I lean toward the water preferences stated by Glenn Lucas and Nick Agar in the recommendations. I like the clean environment provided by water. Used dry, there is little heat problem with the Tormek. Used wet there is no heat problem, and the lubrication of the water may actually produce a finer finish. With no wheel debris and a magnet to capture the steel particles, the water trough should stay very clean. This is a nice pairing with the lowerable water trough of the T8.

Stig has informed me that the new diamond wheels include a bottle of rust preventative additive.

The found connecting surface on the new multi angle jig looks like it is based on the much improved jig setting surfaces of the SVD-186. I consider this the most outstanding improvement of the SVD-186.

No doubt more information will come to light as this jig and three wheels become available in June. We are witnessing a major step forward in the ongoing evolution of the Tormek.

Ken

[Rem]

Does anyone have an idea as to what these new diamond wheels might sell for?   I'm assuming they are not yet available to the retail market as I can't find them listed with any Canadian retailers.  Nor could I find this information in the email / website I received from Tormek this morning.

Just curious.   Thanks.    Soared up to minus 15 yesterday in Whitehorse.   Damn near tropical.   RR

[cbwx34]

https://www.tormek.com/international/en/about-tormek/news-archive/new-diamond-wheels-and-multi-base/

I hope to be able to sharpen concave blades(e.g. karambit) using the edge of the wheel.

For recurves (concave blades), a wheel you can round the edges on would be a better choice.  From the pics/video of the new diamond wheel, it looks like a pretty sharp corner, which is what you want for many things, but not necessarily recurves.

I think if you bought and dedicated a standard wheel for recurves, with nice rounded edges, you'd get better results, (and I'm bettting a cheaper solution).

New diamond wheels look nice though... and I'm really interested in the "Multi-Base"... I already see an "outside the box" use for it.

[Ken S]

I have seen concave sharpening stones designed to directly sharpen cambered plane blades. Why not a convex grinding wheel designed to sharpen concave knive shapes? (An almost worn out SG-250 might be an excellent candidate?)

Ken

[Tournevis]

Hello From France,
Today I received Tormek's pre announcement of New Diamond Wheels.
Surprisingly I am frustrated by the fact that they seem to be in 250 mm diameter only. So unusable by T4's owners.
The second frustration is that the French email is very bad translated with various "gender " problems. A "Wheel" in French is Female. So you can guest how many time this word was repeated in the message !
As support, I can help Tormek's Communication team to translate, in French if needed.
Ken, do you have some backdoor information about 200 mm Diamond Wheels ?
Or an Upgrade program for T4's to T8 ?
Have a nice week end.
   

[cbwx34]

I have seen concave sharpening stones designed to directly sharpen cambered plane blades. Why not a convex grinding wheel designed to sharpen concave knive shapes? (An almost worn out SG-250 might be an excellent candidate?)

Ken

Yup.  My thoughts too.

There is "radius edge" CBN (and maybe diamond?) wheel already available... that fit the Tormek... and would probably do the trick also... but a profiled SG wheel, should work as well.

[Ken S]

My thought would be related to volume. For frequent use professionally, I would look into an alternative. For the very occasional concave knife, I would repurpose an almost worn out SG-250 worn to perhaps 200mm.

Ken

[cbwx34]

My thought would be related to volume. For frequent use professionally, I would look into an alternative. For the very occasional concave knife, I would repurpose an almost worn out SG-250 worn to perhaps 200mm.

Ken

I agree, but I would caution against using a wheel worn too small.  One thing you need to do when sharpening recurves, is raise and lower the handle as you move thru the curve.  If the wheel is too small, the handle might end up hitting the casing.

Don't have one to test... but it's something to consider.

[AKMike]

Rem - The announcement says the diamond wheels will go on sale in June.

Tournevis - Ken found a Tormek retailer in the US that sold the diamond wheels for the T-2 as spare parts, and the wheels are a perfect fit on the T-4. I don't know if the T-2 wheels have the flat sides with diamonds. Perhaps a retailer in the EU also has the T-2 wheels.

Ken - I think the course diamond wheel is 360 grit, not 220.


Mike

[Tournevis]

Tournevis - Ken found a Tormek retailer in the US that sold the diamond wheels for the T-2 as spare parts, and the wheels are a perfect fit on the T-4. I don't know if the T-2 wheels have the flat sides with diamonds. Perhaps a retailer in the EU also has the T-2 wheels.

Mike

Perhaps I am wrong but it seems that T2 diamond wheel do not have flat sides with diamonds, Multi base neither.
Regards

[cbwx34]

Tournevis - Ken found a Tormek retailer in the US that sold the diamond wheels for the T-2 as spare parts, and the wheels are a perfect fit on the T-4. I don't know if the T-2 wheels have the flat sides with diamonds. Perhaps a retailer in the EU also has the T-2 wheels.

Mike

Perhaps I am wrong but it seems that T2 diamond wheel do not have flat sides with diamonds, Multi base neither.
Regards

You're correct, the T-2 Diamond Wheel does not have diamonds on the side.

The "Multi-Base" should work on the T-4... (if you found a stone that worked).

[cbwx34]

A bit more info....

If you go to Tormek's Instagram feed... they're answering questions over there...


Q: Will the diamond wheels be available for the T4 in the future?

A: At the moment it's only available for the T-8 and previous Tormek models with a 250mm wheel diameter.  That's what we can say for now.


Q: Any idea on price yet?

A: The exact price will be released when the products out on the market in June.  But we can say it will be similar to the SJ-250 Japanese Waterstone.

[Ken S]

I have started several replies today, only to have them interrupted. I will try to post re. diamond wheels and the T4 tomorrow.

Ken