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I completely agree. The tools were produced by fine craftsmen for craftsmen and when we put the edge back their history sings to us when we use them.

OK lose the word bog....it must be an English term....or replace with a "regular bench chisel"

Had to laugh when I read this! Yes, it's an English term - North of England particularly. It's used to mean 'common' or 'regular' - hence it's usually used in conjunction with 'standard'.

It's not uncommon to hear 'dead boggo' either...

Anything else I can help with?

There is this one on Ebay:
ebay.co.uk/itm/Tormek-Supergrind-1200-/161109949369?pt=UK_Crafts_Other_Crafts_EH&hash=item2582e6bbb9

It's a slightly older model than mine, but presently £50 and no bids! It's only about 25 miles away from me, so I can colect and courier at cost if anyone wants to dip a toe in the water...

[not]

Not a lot of folks here with T3 experience.  Glad you're here. Welcome.

I've just joined the forum, so hello Everyone!

I'm a Supergrind 1200 (aka T3) user...

I went through the same heartache when I was looking for a sharpening machine... wanted a Tormek but couldn't find one at a price I could justify... looked at all the 'rival' machines and decided they just were not a Tormek... and I very fortunately found this T3 for sale about 25 miles away. I think I paid £130 and it came complete with a planer blade jig, general use jig, short knife jig, angle setter, grading stone and the hardback handbook. It was well used, but had been cared for and used properly. My only advice would be - don't buy anything but a Tormek... and if you are doing anything but the heaviest and regular sharpening a T3 is a superb machine.

My Dad (now on the other side...) was an Electrical Engineer. Although when he did his trade trailing a good deal of general building skills were included, to him a wood chisel was a multi-use tool and could easily double up as a paint-can opener/stirrer, screwdriver, floorboard lever... well, you get the idea. Curiously he wasn't a half-bad woodworker on occasion, but didn't have enough to pass on to his sons. For many years hence I was convinced that woodworking was beyond me...

Then One day I was in my workshop (I'm a leathergoods designer/ maker and harness repairer) and I had a job to do for a client that needed some tough, heavy leather... and my round knife simply wouldn't cut it - literally. Now, years ago I was taught to sharpen leather tools properly. I have a great oil stone and a super home-made strop, but even so you get to the point that you just can't get an edge going. If I were to liken it to music then most days I could get top 10. On good days I could get Rolling Stones or Bob Dylan, but just not quite there. The edge had got thick and I never had time to sort it out. This was enough to spur me (finally) into the search for something better... and ultimately to the Tormek.

Okay, I confess; I was too wary to attack one of my best knives (the one in my profile pic belonged to my great-grandfather - there's a story for another time), so I started off with a very old but good quality wood chisel. To give a fair comparison, I sharpened my best edge using my hand tools... not bad at all. Then I used the method as described in the book (I didn't know any better) to re-sharpen and hone the same chisel...

It didn't cut. It slipped through the same piece of wood effortlessly. I heard the voices of angels...

I now sharpen scissors, knives, chisels and plane blades... anything that needs an edge. And yes, I finally had the courage to sharpen a round knife. I started on an old one to get the action of rotating the blade pretty much freehand (there isn't a jig... yet), then onto the honing wheel, and after two or three careful stages my knives are more than sharp - they're deadly and this actually makes them safer and more accurate to use. And I found that woodwork was such a trial for me because the tools I needed were never sharp.

If you want to know why not to buy a non-Tormek, I'll be happy to elucidate...

This is a long way of saying don't worry about buying a 1200 / T3 if that's all you can find; the step up in sharpness will be astonishing. Then if you find you need a T7 there will be a queue behind you waiting to buy the T3!