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A few more notes.

If you buy the SG- which I recommend strongly, this will do almost everything you need, then also get the SP-650 grader to grade between fine and coarse.

For removing chips I use a belt sander (keep a water container handy for keeping the tool cool) and gently work away at the primary bevel until you have removed the chip.

Make sure you remove the wheel between sessions. It is easy to get the wheel stuck if you leave it on.

Keep the machine lubricated. I use the adage a little often.

Seek out the videos recommended by Ken from the official Tormek channel. Watch those relating to chisels and plane blades first, obviously. They are well worth the time.

Be sure to come back and post any more specific questions here. There are plenty of knowledgeable, experienced  and helpful people ready and willing to help.

The T1 is an excellent choice for sharpening your standard kitchen knife. The diamond wheel and composite hone will give you more than satisfactory knives of any hardness.

On the down side it will not handle specialty knives. You are pretty much limited to standard shape knives. You may find you loose custom to sharpeners who offer a wider range of services. You will also not be able to repair chips or breaks. These take additional equipment.

If simply sharpening your standard kitchen knife is what you are after then the T1 is ideal.

As for price google knife sharpeners in your area and see what the going rate is.

So you'd have to measure the protrusion distance ...

Even then it would not be accurate since the jig is specifically designed to use with the knife jigs which center lines are sitting a specific distance above the bar. I have not checked but if the Square Edge jig is a different distance above the bar then the geometry will be out.

I personally find it quite ironic how people can discuss (and argue) about how various types of natural stones need to be used for sharpening a knife

My training was electronics and I have been interested in Hi-Fi all my life. It is the same there but far worse. Some of the claims are interesting to say the least!

From a google search "Commercially pure grade 1 titanium has a Rockwell B Hardness of 70 – 74"

Seems like a gimmick to me. I would stick with wood myself. Relatively cheap, anti bacterial, easy to clean and maintain and low impact on knives. Also looks good IMO.

If it is softer than you knife the surface will end up with scratches all over it. If that is the look you are going for ...

but not ideal as the abrasive in the wheel is softer than the carbides in the blades.

Yes. A pretty basic principal in sharpening. Sharpening is in its most basic form scratching to remove material in order to create an edge. The finer the scratches the more refined the edge. De-burring is, again scratching away at the burr to remove it leaving a clean edge. In order to create the scritches you must use a harder material for the abrasive in order to scratch the softer material being sharpened.

In practice I found that I was glazing the SG wheel with harder steels which quickly rendered it ineffective.

I have been surprised with the small number of posts about convexing with the KJ-45

When I sharpened my hatchets and axes by hand I would always convex since it was really easy, not for any other reason. I know professional competitors will hone their axe face to ultimate precision but for me it is pretty much "get it cutting". I got to the point where I could shave with the axe pre Tormek but that took so long. Now I can get the same result in a fraction of the time and am soo looking forward to trying out the new jig.
For me the idea of concave vs convex vs flat is a moot point.

I have long felt that the 220 and 1000 numbers were arbitrary and certainly not "digital" (either/or).

As you are probably aware the grit system is best described as "it depends". What the actual number means depends on which standard you are using and even then it is a range, not a fixed number. Assuming that the maker complies with whatever standard they are using the particle size will be within a specified range.

And to be blunt we are really talking about creating an apex. In the vast majority of applications so long as the apex is clean and consistent the tool will perform more than adequately, even if some scratches have been left behind.

Mine is on order!

Nice to see some familiar names mentioned from the chat.

There is a YouTube channel called Tormek Innovation and they have many useful videos that go through using the Tormek and contain a lot of useful tips.

Is it fine to re-use the distilled water

Yes. However you don't need to use distilled water. Any water is fine. As for reuse - again re-use is perfectly fine. I decant mine into a bottle and I simply wash away the dregs in the bottom after using the magnet and scraper to clear out the shavings.

How do you tip out the water?

There is a knob on the back that you can use to wind the water tray down. When it is fully down you can slide the tray out since it clears the wheel.

The wheel is currently stuck on - I can't undo the thumb screw

Facing the front of the machine grasp the honing wheel with your left and and the grinding wheel with your right push the grinding wheel away from you (it has a left hand thread) at which stage it should come loose.

You should remove the wheel from the machine between use. It can become stuck if left on for too long. Avoid loosening the wheel by rotating the knurled knob.

Is it fine to use this wheel for grinding/shaping rather than only sharpening?

So long as you are not too aggressive. Be very gentle. Softer materials can clog the wheel so be aware of that.

A review from Sharpening Supplies

https://youtu.be/b-q53A8-qBg?si=J-XZAVVJKV5acz2Y

Once again, the Tormek Development Team has cleverly built ...

I agree. Just watching now and this will definitely be added to my jigs. Looks nice.

I have sharpened many hatchets and an axe in my short time using the Tormek. One had about a 3 mm round over on the edge. This latter was being used by my son's neighbour who was wondering why it was not cutting. TBH I will not miss the old Axe jig. Not a huge fan.

I once attempted to watch a 42 minute youtube about a supposedly already reasonably sharp knife being "sharpened" with only a 4000 grit SJ-250. It was painful to watch.

I think we have all been there. Saying to myself "really!!!".