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This often comes up from people with unheated workshops.  Here is my experience:
A few years ago I took a discarded wheel and put it in a pan of water on our back porch. Two weeks of freezing/thawing weather later the wheel was no worse for wear. Then...
My last knife sharpening gig was a grocery store lobby on a snowy day about two weeks ago.  I packed hurriedly and put my Tormek T-7 in the car with a full water tray. (Yes, Ken, it was there during the Hartville show.) Weather here has been below zero almost every night since then. Yesterday I made calls on several upholstery shops. At the first one the staff had brought in their knives so I needed the Tormek in addition to my scissor machine. The tray was a solid block of ice.
Fortunately the shop had hot water for tea so I poured in as much as I could.  This thawed the tray enough that I could drop and empty it, but the ice still clung to the wheel. Two more trays of hot water and the wheel was ice free and unharmed. I proceeded to sharpen with no problem.  BTW, this stop brought in over $200, in case anyone is thinking of a part-time business.
I do not advocate leaving water in the tray nor letting it freeze, but we needn't obsess if we accidentally do.

I want to challenge the premise that the oil in the honing compound is adequate to condition a new leather wheel. When I used the tapered wheel set at the show it seemed very dry.  I reapplied compound several times and it never did get dust free.

I then decided to do a test.  I put a dab of compound on a cardboard and a paper surface. After a few minutes I wiped them off. Initially there appeared to be an oil stain but when I let them dry the stain disappeared. Little or no evidence of oil left behind.  I conclude the Tormek honing compound is water based and WILL NOT condition a new leather wheel. IMHO, of course.

Stig, care to weigh in?

I have not had first hand experience with people in wheelchairs but I have discussed it with several people. It certainly can be done. It all revolves around a table at the correct height that extends over the chair so the reach is not too great.

withdrawn.

Sharpeners Report publishes an annual survey of sharpening prices, knives and all else. http://sharpeners-report.com/
The going rate here in Cleveland OH is $1 and inch. My rates are:
Paring $4
5 and 6" knives $6
up to 8" $8
over 8  $9

Thanks Grepper,
I have seen the same results. I used to give every knife a polished edge until a customer showed me that while it shaved it slid on a tomato skin. I gave that knife a couple of swipes on a ceramic steel and it sliced like it was meant to. We use that same ceramic steel in our kitchen to touch up between sharpenings and I now finish 90% of my knives with a 1500 grit ceramic wheel. High-end Japanese knives with 15% bevels I still polish.

At the Hartville Hardware Tool Sale our freshly sharpened turning gouge was used by the Buckeye Turning Club to turn a well aged piece of maple.  The resulting finish was shiny and smooth to the touch without any sanding.

I got a chance to sharpen a gouge with the Ellsworth grind. Piece of cake once you know the formula - 6. 75, A. By way of contrast our gouge was 2, 65, A.

It was a great day for me too.  I learned a lot from you, Rick and Craig. I was most impressed with the tomato slicing demo. The tomato is plopped onto the cutting board and a see-through ( about 1 mm) slice is taken off without holding on to the tomato.  It takes a sharp knife!
Our freshly sharpened turning gouge was used by the Buckeye Turning Club to turn a well aged piece of maple.  The resulting finish was shiny and smooth to the touch without any sanding. On Saturday I got a chance to sharpen a gouge with the Ellsworth grind. Piece of cake once you know the formula - 6. 75, A. By way of contrast our gouge was 2, 65, A.

From the US Distributor:
The warranty follows the machine.
Regards,
Craig Ursell | Affinity Tool Works, LLC

See http://www.hass-safetyproducts.com/hass-safety/products.html

Torgny once told me Tormek compound contains a variety of grains of various size, the smallest down to 0.7 micron. The average effective size is 3 micron.