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Brilliant Ken. I'm so glad you kept the item your Father made. That's a lovely memory.

I'm liking the direction of this thread

Rob,
  Good to hear from you and that you are doing well! Thanks for inquiring. I'm doing well. Have been staying busy with other things such as gardening, etc. Haven't used the Tormek for quite sometime. Have done a fair amount of chainsaw chain sharpening but that has slackened  off since my son got out of the tree service buisness.

Ken,
  Thanks for the message alert! It's a good thing that I had the password recorded as I didn't remember it.

Elden

Hi Mate

Dam good to hear from you too. Crikey, at this rate, Jeff Farris will poke his head round the digital door any minute now 😂.

I too spend a fair time in the garden Elden and built a greenhouse 2 years ago which I absolutely love. I also have a wood burning stove so regularly sharpen my chainsaw blades too. In fact just last October I treated myself to the Stihl MS 550 which is the fuel injected model. My word that thing is an animal, especially with a 20" bar. So much power and a doddle to start. I've long had the Oregon sharpening tool for chains and I will buy an Alaskan mill once my kids are at University. I can't wait to mill my own lumbar. I think underneath it all I'm a frustrated horticulture lumberjack!  The two things I like doing the most are gardening and cutting logs!

Morning all from across the pond. Hi Herman, nice to hear you're still grabbing a square and a saw every now and then. That's more or less my level of use today too. That will remain until I reach the luxury of retirement. The Holy Grail!!

I remember your jig, no wonder you wouldn't consider a T1. I on the other hand am still possessed of the opinion that "he who dies with the most tools, wins" 😎

Also my workshop is a fair stroll from my kitchen and I don't have a wonder jig.

Right, gotta go..  work calls. Have a lovely day chaps and never forget, Robert is your Mothers brother!

Hi, Rob.

Welcome back. It is good to hear from you; you have been missed. While you were missing, your Uncle Bob has been busy. In fact, he was mentioned in the Agatha Christie Death on the Nile episode my wife and I watched this morning.

I happen to have a T1. I like it; I think you would, too. It is a specialty machine designed for the serious home cook. Instead of just my occasional user thoughts, I think Samuel Stenhem does a much better job of describing it in this Tormek online class. I met Samuel during my week long visit to Tormek last August. We had several opportunities for in depth one on one conversations. In addition to being a good guy, Samuel is the CEO of Tormek and uses his T1 daily in his home kitchen. Here is a link to the video:

https://www.youtube.com/live/nqD0cefN0yU?si=pA1zYPBFWIeORWAA

Don't be a stranger, Rob. You are a friend and part of this family.

Ken

You're very kind Ken and I don't believe there can be another forum on the planet when one gets welcomed back with such warmth and humanity, like the return of the prodigal son. Again, you are too kind 😊

Staying on topic for a minute, don't be too hasty to reduce your own experience with the T1. Ironically it was that Tormek video you linked that first alerted me to the T1. I think the Internet knows I'm a sucker for a new gadget and slams me with messages the moment one hoves into view! 

So my needs are very simple, I'm a bloke and need to post rationalise the purchase of a new gadget. Hang on, that's not right...I mean...er...I'm interested in an effective knife sharpening system.

Seriously though, I am a bit of a frustrated chef and have the lovely shiny Global set of knives. I have used the T7 a few times but the setup is a bit of a faff and it means a trip to the workshop etc.

Is the T1 as simple to use and does it leave a genuinely tomato slicing (no toothy) finish as the posh demos portray?  Your own experience is in a way more valuable than Sweden because you will give a "mortals" perspective. Those Gods in Sweden can make things look very easy.

Also what's all this talk about composite honing wheels?  All new in my absence??  This is a wheel with paste integrated right?  How does that work?

I think in a nutshell, I want one, the question is, does it really work well, quickly and with minimal fuss?  Is Bob really my Uncle? 

By the way are Herman and Elden still with us?  Is Jeff Farris still OK?

All the best
R

Hello Tormekky's

Long time no post.  I do hope you're all well 😎

I've just seen an ad for the home kitchen sharpener. Should I buy one?  They look awfully nice 😊

Love to all.

Ken, I trust you're well?

Rob

I'm also a guitarist and I've been using the Tormek for circa 10 years.  I'm sorry to be a party pooper but......."pilot error" springs to mind.

if you're that ham fisted then actually wearing those thin workshop style rubber gloves that you buy in packs of 6 from Costco would probably help.  Just find another means of thinking through your burr.  in fact, thinking about it, I never "touch" the burr along the length of the edge, only across it.  it sounds like your technique is dangerously off.

I drink mine....they breed 'em tough in Yorkshire :-)

LOL...reminds me of the movie "Spinal tap" where the highest guitar amp volume has to be 11 not 10 but 11 :-)

I like jig setting "6".

Literally off the scale :-)

Hi,
   This seemed like a good topic to make my first post in this forum. I've just recently taken delivery of a new T8 and the SVM-45 knife jig with the intent of keeping my workshop chisels, planes and of course the kitchen knives in a much better state of sharpness then I've managed so far with other methods (mostly hand sharpened on diamond plates). I dutifully trued up the stone as recommended and started with some of the chisels and plane blades. I then moved on to doing the kitchen knives after first practising on a couple of cheap ones I bought from Kmart for a whole $8 each.
Initially (and before I discovered your forum) I did all the sharpening using the traditional Tormek way with the angle setter and freehand honing and I was able to get great results , there is no question in my mind that you can and will get good results with the "out of the box" Tormek kit with a with even just little practise.
One of the best "add-ons" I introduced was a 10x Loupe Magnifier to check the bevel as I was going along, both for grinding and honing. I also used this in conjunction with the "Sharpie" method on the bevel to see what I was actually grinding/honing. This gave me great feedback as to how I was doing and what I needed to correct to get a better result. (My aging eyes betray me a little these days)
After lots of reading on the forum about all the different angle calculator programs and equipment I have started using TormekCalc (thank you jvh) with just the standard USB in vertical and horizontal position.  What this seems to give me is benefits in setup time and accuracy and more consistent results especially for honing. Sharper results? Somewhat yes, but I agree with Ken that without doing at least some practise using basic methods and monitoring my results as I go along I would not fully appreciate what I am gaining using these "extras".

Richard

I'm a little late to the party guys...whats Tormek calc?

It's a peculiarly male trait isn't it?  We go into a "shop".  Doesn't matter if it's fishing kit or a chandlery for boating related stuff, a decent knife shop or indeed woodturning.  The fact is we of the male species seem to have a near primal urge to consume vast quantities of shiny things :-)

We (I know I do) frequently then post rationalise the purchase on some flimsy pretext that we might "grow into it over time" and have genuine need for whatever the esoteric function is :-)

It's usually either money or my wife that bring me back to reality in this flirtation with the "devil of temptation".

I made that mistake with a Harley Davidson heritage Softail Classic in 1999 and I still have her sat in my garage to this day.....with a staggering 2.6K miles on the clock!!!  (I bow my head in shame) :-)

Rob,

I replaced my SB-250 with another one.  I looked at the diamond wheels, and here's what I determined:  https://forum.tormek.com/index.php?topic=3805.0

But, I must add that I'm thinking about moving to the new Turner's Edge gouges from Robust.  And, if this is indeed the case :

To make Turner's Edge gouges, we start with premium high-speed steel (M2).  After machining, the tools are heat treated to 64 Rockwell C.  The hardened tools then go through the Nitriding process, increasing cutting edge hardness to 1880 Vickers (75+ Rockwell C).
  - http://www.turnrobust.com/product/turners-edge/

I may have to move to diamond wheels to sharpen those tools.  That is a pretty hard steel!

Kind regards,
Rich

Very interesting.  I didn't actually read that thread before I made my decision but I guess I've pretty much arrived at the same conclusion with a lot less research :-)  My only use of Tungsten category hardness is for very small bits that attach to deep hollowing tools and I sharpen those on a linisher style sharpening system which works really well.  I also haven't explored the Norton wheels at all and my guess is they would be a lot less pricey.  I've upgraded to a CBN wheel on an Oregon compound angle chainsaw sharpener I bought last year because the turning club I'm with often harvest our own wood.  Whats really nice is not having to dress and not having to adjust because wheels dont change shape.  On balance, I also shape with the linisher as I long ago recognised the Tormek's real forte is in sharpening not shaping.  Feeds n speeds springs to mind!  So I guess the reality is I just have no pressing need for diamond on either a shaping level or M2 or carbide level.  But you never know.....I might :-)

Interesting thread.

There is another perspective on roughing gouges that can "go round corners" which I guess is one of the purposes of grinding the wings back.  There is a health and safety issue because they're never meant to be used on face grain work (ie bowls) but strictly only on spindle, between centre work.  The reason is the metal is tanged into the handle rather than solid stock so is relatively weak.  it's considered highly dangerous to be used against the potentially massive catches you can get from a bowl.  The only reason I even mention this is because I think the moment you grind the wings of any gouge back, it immediately makes it tempting to use it on face grain work.  Now, I appreciate that we're not actually talking about grinding the wings off specifically with this jig setting recipe.  I just thought it worth mentioning that's all.

The positive benefit to having a wide tool like a roughing gouge with smooth wings is of course you can go round corners .......but on spindle blanks.  But if you're putting gentle curves into big stuff like a table lamp or similar, the big gouge is a great tool to go trundling in and out of curves because it removes a lot of stock and is easy to guide.

Slightly confused.

Roughing gouges are traditionally ground straight across at 45 degrees.  If you use the SVD then you'll get an elliptical grind.  Is it your intention to sweep the wings of the roughing gouge back?  If so....it's not strictly speaking a roughing gouge any more.  Not sure what you'd call it.....a wide spindle gouge maybe??

Those gouges do sound awesome but I simply dont put enough hours in at the lathe to warrant moving away from HSS.  I suspect my current crop of gouges will outlive me so other priorities will doubtless claim my disposable income first :-)