Recent posts

#11

Knife Sharpening / Re: Toremk stone

Last post by Ken S - January 06, 2026, 01:36:24 AM

I question the importance and accuracy of grit numbers with Tormek sharpening. The concept of being able to adjust the grinding surface of a single wheel finer or coarser seems very useful to me. The minimum and maximum numbers of 220 and 1000 seem a fictitious over simplification to me. I believe Tormek interjected them to make it easy for the typical user to understand with minimum/maximum thought. This seems like another example of trying to aligning Tormek wet sharpening with dry grinding and/or bench stone sharpening.

Smoother ground surfaces can be achieved by using lighter grinding pressure. Smoother honed surfaces can be obtained by moistening the composite wheel, lightening the honing pressure, or extending the honing time.

In the years since I joined this forum (2009), I have seen numerous sharpening  frontiers pushed back by forum members. We still have room to grow.

Inexpensive diamond cards are a good way to expand the grit range of the non diamond Tormek grinding wheels.

Ken

#12

General Tormek Questions / Re: Weird sound T8 motor

Last post by Joakim.O - January 05, 2026, 07:20:57 PM

Thanks for your reply, i haven't heard from Tormek yet. Probably due to the holidays.

But i did decide to send it back, hopefully i have another machine in not too much time.

#13

Knife Sharpening / Re: Any experience with the Bu...

Last post by John Hancock Sr - January 05, 2026, 01:27:29 PM

It has a 1/2" arbor bore, so it would need a bushing to fit the Tormek 12mm shaft.  That is a difference of 0.472" vs 0.500", or 0.028" total and 0.014" wall thickness tube.  Good luck finding that.

That is 0.7mm or 0.35mm wall thickness.  Just get a 0.35mm shim of plastic.

#14

Knife Sharpening / Re: Newbie question: chef kniv...

Last post by tgbto - January 05, 2026, 11:21:37 AM

Martha, welcome to the forum. Your knife exhibits a common issue with Western knives: they often have what is sometimes called a "full bolster".

It is a safety feature intended to prevent the user from nicking their fingers with the heel of the blade. In Japan, where cooks are usually more educated with knife handling, there are usually none. The issue with full bolsters is precisely what you are encountering : it's a PITA when it comes to sharpening, and the gap that gets created hinders cutting.

There are several threads about this, such as this one.

TL/DR : You can reduce the bolster using your Tormek, but it will be time-consuming and will cause increased and uneven wear to your wheel. A belt grinder (preferred) or a bench grinder will make it faster.

Cheers,

Nick.

#15

General Tormek Questions / Re: Weird sound T8 motor

Last post by tgbto - January 05, 2026, 11:10:44 AM

While my first advice would be to contact tormek support, if they haven't answered I'd simply return it and order another one.

All the T8 I know have a low humming sound, not this. It sounds like there is some lose debris somewhere in a bearing or whatnot.

#16

Knife Sharpening / Re: Any experience with the Bu...

Last post by RickKrung - January 05, 2026, 06:29:05 AM

It has a 1/2" arbor bore, so it would need a bushing to fit the Tormek 12mm shaft.  That is a difference of 0.472" vs 0.500", or 0.028" total and 0.014" wall thickness tube.  Good luck finding that.

#17

Knife Sharpening / Re: Toremk stone

Last post by John Hancock Sr - January 05, 2026, 04:41:43 AM

Tormek do offer a 5,000 grit wheel, The SJ series. You can also get higher grit wheels from third parties to fit the Tormek.

I will hand hone on a ceramic bench stone if I want a finer edge. Usually on my quality bench chisels, Japanese knives, or Plane blades for finishing work such as my smoothing planes.

#18

Knife Sharpening / Re: Any experience with the Bu...

Last post by John Hancock Sr - January 05, 2026, 04:36:20 AM

From the appearance it looks like Aluminium Oxide. This should be excellent for carbon steel but will not perform well on harder steels such as HSS, hard Japanese knives, or specialty steels. So it really depends on your application.

#19

Knife Sharpening / Any experience with the BuckTo...

Last post by truthrider - January 04, 2026, 08:18:46 PM

I have a T8 and came across this stone.  It looks like a good height polish option and a reasonable cost.  Has anyone had experience with it that they could share?  Thanks

#20

Knife Sharpening / Re: Consistenty of sharpening

Last post by Rossy - January 04, 2026, 05:12:44 PM

I am also new to the Tormek system and everyone here have been super helpful, I bought the DE 250 diamond wheel and find very little pressure is needed, the main thing is a nice even speed across the whole knife and checking for a burr across the whole length of the knife. Many a time I would feel a burr at the first 1/3 of the knife but not at the back but as soon as I continued to sharpen a few more strokes and felt the burr along the whole knife, then I noticed it was ready to turn over. Also, I have watched tons of videos and the general consensus is, deburring on the honing wheel is where you seem to get your sharpness so watch lots of videos on that, I tried free hand deburring but I don't seem to have the skill to do it well so I bought the MB 102 and deburr using the jig method, now my knives are screaming sharp.