Messages

I agree. Find what works best for you. That's why there are so many different experiences to discuss.

The manual says 20-30 seconds with the stone grader, so I am sceptical about a couple of minutes... Also slightly rounding the stone edges...  I'm always wary of grinding away too much of the stone material, and putting too much pressure on the bushings for too long. I was wondering about the knife jig though, when going around the tip of a knife. I think it works better if you lift the handle as videos show, but the instructions that came with the jig show something else. But that is perhaps discussed in another thread.

Thanks for the kind welcomes. I'm not sure how much I can contribute here, but it's fun to participate a little.

Just to clarify a bit from my earlier post, I wouldn't use all of the "grades" of the stone from start to finish with every tool. It would depend on the blade and the application. Also I'm not sure how effective the Nagura stone is. It does seem to help a little, and maybe that's enough, but at that point the fine side of the stone grader seems to generally be smooth enough for most purposes. Applying different pressure to the stone grader and whether you hold it in one place or move it around (and how quickly) on the surface can create a little bit of difference. I try to feel and listen to what's happening (another benefit of having a quiet machine). The pressure difference might help with the HSS turning tool. My first thought about sharpening very hard steel was to try a slightly coarser grade but with a lot less pressure on the tool, especially on gouges which contact the stone along a very fine edge...

I remember when I used to do some lathe work that I didn't even bother putting much of a shine on the tools. I'd just go right from the high speed grinder to the wood. I actually felt that it helped to have a litte bit of a bur on the tool.

As a side note, I've been shaving with an ice-hardened stainless steel straight razor, and I've found it very much of a challenge to hone and strop well. But my hunch is to be wary of the pressure. I tend to think that applying more pressure on finer grades is the way to go, but I think it's actually the opposite. Less pressure on coarser grades seems better. Hopefully this helps.

Hi. Maybe get the Blackstone only if you sharpen a lot of very hard steel, I'm not sure. You might as well use what you've got now and then see . The Blackstone might be harder to re-grade for different applications, and my guess is it may not be worth the effort if you are mostly doing softer steel.

Hi. I am new to this forum, and have just recently bought a T-7 40th. anniversary machine. I've been using it to grind and sharpen my chisels, planes, and a couple of carving gouges. I think I can offer some first impressions and maybe even some advice. I am a violin maker so I have a variety of tools to work with here. I use the T-7 along side a couple of Japanese bench stones, and I love the fact that my sharpening is now all water based, with the exception of oil on the leather for honing.

I find this topic of the grind stone abrasiveness interesting, and after studying the excellent manual and using the machine for a week I think it might help if I suggested something about the stone grades (for the standard stone). I find that the stone grader block is generally useful in the sharpening stages for tools. It offers good sharpening and final sharpening stages for tools like kitchen knives and probably turning tools as well, though I don't have a lathe (I have used a machiner's lathe for exotic hard woods, but not in my shop).

The diamond truing tool is a MUST, and frankly am a bit surprised the T-3 doesn't come with it. Anyway, the manual explains how important it is to maintain the wheel true. Yes, I do it after every use of the T-7, even if just the slightest bit to clean it up. Others have already mentioned that the trueing tool leaves some deeper scratches in the wheel, and I've also found as others have, that these scratches (particularly when truing at the rate of 30 seconds across) to make the wheel grind steel very quickly. The manual also mentions truing a bit faster, up to about 90 seconds to cross the wheel. You want to do this as slowly as possible without inducing vibrations to the truing tool. At this point the wheel will grind well, but just not as quickly as the 30 second truing.

Then I've found there is a pretty good gap between the 90 second truing and the rough side of the Stone Grader, and I would advise against jumping from the truing tool to the stone grader at every grinding/sharpening session. Instead, plan ahead. Do some rough grinding to a few tool at the same time, and then use the stone grader for your selection of tools. If you find that the rough side of the stone grader is a little too fine, a good solution is to use a medium grade diamond plate instead. Just hold it on the stone for a few seconds and do a bit more grinding. It won't be as coarse as the truing tools gives, but it's somewhere in between.

If you go from the truing tool to the stone grader for every single tool, I feel that you will be wasting a lot of the stone material. Instead, plan ahead, and grade the stone as accurately as possible for the tool requirements. Also, the manual does a good job of explaining pressure. I found this extremely useful as well, even when touching up on my Japanese stones or the leather honing wheel. A smaller tool requires a lot less pressure, and for really wide blades it's really not so much about pressure as it is about stone grade.

So my observation has been that there are about "five" different grades which can be set on the stone. 1. With the truing tool across at 30 seconds. 2. Truing tool at 90 seconds. 3. Medium grit diamond plate. 4. Stone grader on the rough side. 5. Stone grader on the fine side. And you could add even "six" if you briefly take a Nagura stone to it in the end, making it almost unnecessary to touch up on anything finer like a 6,000 Japanese stone.

Anyway, all this learning and grading has been very helpful to me. So keep your stone fresh, and keep your Tormek clean and it should reward you with many years of service. All it takes is a few seconds here and there. Remember that every time you use the truing tool or the stone grader or diamond plate it does remove material from the stone.