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I just bought my T-7 a week ago and so far I'm enjoying it! I wouldn't regret buying it before a new model came out. Takes care of all my sharpening needs(just knives).

Will do. Just waiting for my long knife jig to arrive to sharpen some of my bigger knives.

What are some good microscope cameras for knives?(I'm looking for one that produces sharp images). Also, what magnification level do you prefer for looking at knife edges?

I believe the multi grit grinding wheel belief fits the bench stone world more than the Tormek world. Beyond a basic level of sharpness, I believe the primary constraint is the level of skill of the sharpener rather than the grit of the stone. My definition of being a skilled Tormek sharpener would be if one can use the Tormek as effectively as Jeff Farris does, he is indeed a skilled sharpener. For those of us, myself included, who have not achieved that level of skill, I think the place to begin is to improve the skill of the sharpener.

The day to day Tormek is really designed around the 200-1000 grit general stone. In recent years the SB and SJ stones have been added for specialty use. I have used the SB stone for some high speed drill bits.  The SG stone seemed to work as well. I might think differently if I had to sharpen a lot of drill bits; or exotic turning tools; or planer blades.

Ionut, a forum member who sadly no longer posts, has a great set up with the 4000 grit stone.  He has a second Tormek.  I think that is the way to go if one plans to use the 4000 grit stone. The Tormek is most efficient at sharpening.  It will shape turning tools, however, it is not efficient at this.  It will also polish, although, likewise, it is not the Tormek's strong area. The Tormek does a fine job of removing nicks in chisels and sharpening knives.  If that chisel or knife needs to be polished to the nth degree, a rarity, it's time to call in the very fine diamond paste or superfine water stones. In the real world this rarely happens.

I actually have one non Tormek stone.  It's about 600 grit. I fell victim to trying to avoid using the stone grader.  The 600 grit stone is slower than the 200 grit Tormek stone, and not as smooth as the Tormek stone graded fine. I used it a couple times and have not used it since.

My advice would be that when a sharpener is as fluent as Jeff Farris, if that sharpener feels the need for a different wheel, buy it. Until that point, keep working.

Ken

Great advice. So would you say it's better to just use the tormek for putting a cutting edge back on a dull kitchen knife, and then polishing it manually with a benchstone afterwards?

Congrat's on your purchase, I hope your new toy investment meets your expectations? I's still considering my options while saving up.

When I was looking a couple of weeks ago I stumbled across this chap's vid's on the tube (link below), which are very comprehensive, I dont understand Slovak but they are worth a watch anyhow. 

He uses a number of stones and compares the results, among them is a natural stone from Slovakia 'Rozsutec' which is around 6000 grit. It's not that expensive, there's a link somewhere on one of the vids that he quotes about 120 euro's. The other interesting one is a Naniwa Superstone 1000 which is around 200 euro's. From what I can pick up it's about finding combinations of stones what work for the steel to be sharpened.

Sharpening is an art as well as a science and financial black hole...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOAM5HV9NFE&list=PLyvmDLpm98IL5rrQLoLg4pIgvmkDtte1E&index=1

Pretty much. When I first saw the price of the tormek I said no way... but considering that all my japanese water stones added up is around the same price it's a fair deal.

I've seen his videos but I wonder if those carriers will ship to the US. I'll contact them and see what they can do.

Thanks for the tips, I will get to sharpening my set tomorrow and report back.

Would the original 220/1000 grit stone that comes with the Tormek be fine for sharpening hard stainless steel kitchen knives(Zwilling Pro knives made of "Friodur" ice hardened steel)? How about VG10?


Thanks,

John

I finally went ahead and got a torkmek t-7, along with an extra "Japanese 4000 grit stone". Are there any sources that sell other grit stones?(2000, 6000, 10,000...etc)

Grepper could you share the dimensions of the metal tray you have your tormek t-7 on?

Also would I need a very sturdy wooden bench table or would something like work?(generic fold-style utility table). I'm wondering if the motor of the machine would cause the work area to "shake" or wobble during use.

http://www.amazon.com/Office-Star-4-Foot-Resin-Multipurpose/dp/B0015TRJCM/ref=pd_sbs_lg_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=02AC38R8GTJGVVDQ5YYF

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Ohh okay. I'll probably use it in the basement then. Wouldn't want to accidentally have metal/stone sludge get into the food.

Is the T-3 the same as T-7 but just a little smaller? Or are there any particular advantages to the T-7 excluding the extra size?

Thanks for the reply Ken, that was very helpful. Seems simple enough on youtube, and this should be good for when I don't have hours to spend refining an edge on the kitchen knives.

you could just pour a bit of water in the provided water bath

Thanks for clearing that up. So once I'm done sharpening I just throw the water out of the water bath and that's it?(Sorry for the noob questions, but I haven't seen one in person so I'm a bit confused as to how it all works).

Just found out about this product and it looks like it will take care of my sharpening needs. I just have a few questions before buying this system.

How are you exactly supposed to use it with water?(Do you pour it in somewhere, is it hooked up to a hose...etc). Is this system messy for use in the kitchen(will it get abraded metal and stone dust everywhere)? Lastly, do I need to recycle the water each use? Any input would be appreciated.


Thanks,

John