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#11
Tormek T4 and T4 Bushcraft / T-4 compatibility in the 200mm...
Last post by Hobbit72 - March 24, 2026, 01:14:14 PMAs pointed out by Ken S in the previous thread - the 200mm stone size of the T-4 is highly prevalent across many grinder brands and models.
I have a T-4 Bushcraft and have added the Japanese stone, All 3 (DC, DF and DE) diamond stones for scandi grinds and modern steels (Magnacut, Elmax et all, the large guide, the hand tool kit and the new angle finder - a great system
Love the system but would like another machine to reduce the number of inevitably time consuming stone changes as I move through grits.
If I had a T-8 the situation would be simple - I could by a bare "T-8 custom" without the stones or base kit for half the full set price (in UK terms at least) and crack on but that option is not available for the T-4 and I am loathed to pay double the implied price of a base unit for extra jigs and stone etc that I already have.
I am not aware of any uk second hand forums that cover Tormek's and eBay hasn't thrown much up that doesn't include a value destroying 300 mile round trip to collect.
Are there any simple but reliable machines that are known to be compatible with a Tormek stone? Apologies if that is heresy on this site btw
I might contact Tormek about a bare/custom version btw
I have a T-4 Bushcraft and have added the Japanese stone, All 3 (DC, DF and DE) diamond stones for scandi grinds and modern steels (Magnacut, Elmax et all, the large guide, the hand tool kit and the new angle finder - a great system
Love the system but would like another machine to reduce the number of inevitably time consuming stone changes as I move through grits.
If I had a T-8 the situation would be simple - I could by a bare "T-8 custom" without the stones or base kit for half the full set price (in UK terms at least) and crack on but that option is not available for the T-4 and I am loathed to pay double the implied price of a base unit for extra jigs and stone etc that I already have.
I am not aware of any uk second hand forums that cover Tormek's and eBay hasn't thrown much up that doesn't include a value destroying 300 mile round trip to collect.
Are there any simple but reliable machines that are known to be compatible with a Tormek stone? Apologies if that is heresy on this site btw
I might contact Tormek about a bare/custom version btw
#12
General Tormek Questions / Re: Hollow ground messes up sw...
Last post by Ken S - March 23, 2026, 11:28:33 PMTwo thoughts:
The actual cutting is only done by the very edge of the blade. I agree with the secondary bevel. I understand the desire for the entire bevel to be shiny; however, this shine is mostly for looks. Spending time with the leather honing wheel will help narrow the gap.
A possibility is purchasing a new SG-200. That will make the two wheel diameters much closer. Use your present SG-200 for tools which don't require the SJ-200.
Ken
The actual cutting is only done by the very edge of the blade. I agree with the secondary bevel. I understand the desire for the entire bevel to be shiny; however, this shine is mostly for looks. Spending time with the leather honing wheel will help narrow the gap.
A possibility is purchasing a new SG-200. That will make the two wheel diameters much closer. Use your present SG-200 for tools which don't require the SJ-200.
Ken
#13
General Tormek Questions / Re: Hollow ground messes up sw...
Last post by Kemrot - March 23, 2026, 11:15:15 PMThanks for the advice. Yeah, that was was I was basically thinking. The Japanese stone seems to mostly polish the edge so I'll see how well I can get a secondary bevel on my chisels.
#14
General Tormek Questions / Re: Hollow ground messes up sw...
Last post by RichColvin - March 23, 2026, 10:53:22 PMI agree about using the micro bevel. It is a better practice anyway as it will use up less of your SJ grindstone.
Here's what I've compiled about micro bevels https://sharpeninghandbook.info/MicroBevels.html.
Here's what I've compiled about micro bevels https://sharpeninghandbook.info/MicroBevels.html.
#15
General Tormek Questions / Re: 10 inch honing wheel for T...
Last post by Dan - March 23, 2026, 04:40:40 PMQuote from: Rossy66 on March 23, 2026, 12:19:57 PM...As I said in the beginning, my goal is not to offend or disrespect anyone and maybe I shouldn't have asked the same question multiple times as I have gotten some great information from this forum but, I feel a controlled honing system would out perform a freehand one, the guy's at Tormek even say so in their videos.Pretty sure no one is offended or disrespected. You asked a similar question multiple times and got lots of answers.
I hope this post is taken in the spirit of education on my part and as mentioned in my previous posts, a 250mm honing wheel would negate the need to remove the grinding wheel when using the KS-123 to set the same angle when honing using the US, this may only work with the diamond wheels as the do not change in diameter, not sure how that would work on the stone wheels as they get smaller. Thanks.
It seems to me that you have or had unrealistic expectations. Machine 'X' should be like this and do this... and still you want a simplistic answer to an unrealistic suggestion "a 250mm honing wheel would negate the need to remove the grinding wheel when using the KS-123 to set the same angle when honing using the US'
It has already been explained why the honing wheel on the T8 is not 250mm. As has been suggested, if you want to, you can buy a 250mm honing wheel and mount it on the machine.
It is not going to change the fundamental problem that you have either. So why keep repeating the same thing?
You just appear to want the T8 to be something it is not.
In reality, sharpening is much more nuanced and complicated than you seem to want it to be. Especially on a machine which caters for a huge range of blades - from tools of all sorts, knives and others. The T8 is how it is and you either accept it how it is or do something about it instead if you don't like it.
There are heaps of other sharpening systems out there just made specifically for knives which are able to give excellent results if you don't want to use the T8.
I, and others, have given you concrete solutions to have a "controlled honing system" while using the T8 at specific exact angles and yet you don't seem to want to entertain these ideas.
Danny
#16
General Tormek Questions / Re: Hollow ground messes up sw...
Last post by tgbto - March 23, 2026, 04:22:52 PMIf you're willing to go down this rabbit hole, you will want to check this thread, which includes a useful spreadsheet in the first post, along with very a detailed discussion of how it was elaborated by @Gilles.
#17
Knife Sharpening / Re: Knife modification - Spyde...
Last post by kwakster - March 23, 2026, 04:20:40 PMIt was actually a project to find out if it was possible to change a saber grind blade into a hollow grind blade, and do it completely cold on the Tormek.
I had never tried this before, and although not perfect in execution it did work.
A diamond wheel would most likely have done a better & faster job, but the SB-250 Blackstone was and is all i have.
The clamp i used can be seen here:
https://forum.tormek.com/index.php/topic,4780.msg34190.html#msg34190
Rhe window cleaner helps to keep the pores of the SB-250 stone open, which is especially helpful when not enough force is applied to the stone surface to release fresh grits at a normal rate.
Which would occur when just sharpening a new edge, but much less so when grinding wider surfaces.
What i was after was the best material removal rate i could get together with the smallest change in stone diameter during the process.
I had never tried this before, and although not perfect in execution it did work.
A diamond wheel would most likely have done a better & faster job, but the SB-250 Blackstone was and is all i have.
The clamp i used can be seen here:
https://forum.tormek.com/index.php/topic,4780.msg34190.html#msg34190
Rhe window cleaner helps to keep the pores of the SB-250 stone open, which is especially helpful when not enough force is applied to the stone surface to release fresh grits at a normal rate.
Which would occur when just sharpening a new edge, but much less so when grinding wider surfaces.
What i was after was the best material removal rate i could get together with the smallest change in stone diameter during the process.
#18
General Tormek Questions / Re: 10 inch honing wheel for T...
Last post by tgbto - March 23, 2026, 04:16:49 PMJust my $.04 :
With regards to removing the leather wheel being a breeze, I agree ... with a caveat : if you need to remove the leather wheel when sharpening, you probably also need to remove the grindstone when honing with a jig, right ? This was the whole reason behind the "hone your knives freehand at an angle" method before the KS-123 was advertised for honing. And when the KS-123 was demonstrated, Sebastian had to remove the grinding wheel.
Well, it doesn't rely (much) on feel for planer blades or drill bits. But knives are an entirely different matter anyway : aside from the occasional Nakiri (and even then... but I digress), I don't know of many knives that are perfect rectangles from blade heel to blade tip. So the protrusion distance varies, and so does the angle when you hold your knife in a jig resting on the USB.
Moreover, due to blade geometry choices discussed at length on this forum and countless others, some knives require just lifting the blade when coming closer to the tip, some require combining this with a clockwise rotation of the blade, some with a counterclokwise rotation. And that even further depends on your choices as a sharpener : constant edge angle, constant bevel width, or something in between.
So even with a 250mm honing wheel you will have removed only one step requiring "feel". One step which, as @WimSpi pointed out, can also be streamlined with the Tormek honing wheel at the expense of using more accessories or even calculators.
There will still be many factors requiring decision-making, feel, skill and experience that no jig will help you with.
Those are much more critical than a couple degrees difference when honing : you won't "negate all the work done in the sharpening stage by a very basic mistake by rolling over the edge" with small, short variations : at worst, you will degrade your initiel BESS score but your overall edge retention should be fine if you're not careless. You *will* mess up a knife by not caring what you do beside the flat part of the blade. Same thing if you don't hone (^^) your skills when it comes to laying down the blade on the grindstone properly, or adjust sharpening pressure, or lateral speed, or ...
And although I hone as much as possible at a controlled angle, I am glad I have spent time honing freehand as it allows me to estimate how efficient my controlled honing step is, using the visual and tactiles cues mentioned by @Herman_Trivilino.
With regards to removing the leather wheel being a breeze, I agree ... with a caveat : if you need to remove the leather wheel when sharpening, you probably also need to remove the grindstone when honing with a jig, right ? This was the whole reason behind the "hone your knives freehand at an angle" method before the KS-123 was advertised for honing. And when the KS-123 was demonstrated, Sebastian had to remove the grinding wheel.
Quote from: Rossy66 on March 23, 2026, 12:19:57 PMI have spoken to a few of my engineer friends and they have the same opinion, a machine that has jigs and is designed and sold as a "precision" sharpening system relies on "feel" for what I have read and watched as possibly the most important sharpening steps in the process.
Well, it doesn't rely (much) on feel for planer blades or drill bits. But knives are an entirely different matter anyway : aside from the occasional Nakiri (and even then... but I digress), I don't know of many knives that are perfect rectangles from blade heel to blade tip. So the protrusion distance varies, and so does the angle when you hold your knife in a jig resting on the USB.
Moreover, due to blade geometry choices discussed at length on this forum and countless others, some knives require just lifting the blade when coming closer to the tip, some require combining this with a clockwise rotation of the blade, some with a counterclokwise rotation. And that even further depends on your choices as a sharpener : constant edge angle, constant bevel width, or something in between.
So even with a 250mm honing wheel you will have removed only one step requiring "feel". One step which, as @WimSpi pointed out, can also be streamlined with the Tormek honing wheel at the expense of using more accessories or even calculators.
There will still be many factors requiring decision-making, feel, skill and experience that no jig will help you with.
Those are much more critical than a couple degrees difference when honing : you won't "negate all the work done in the sharpening stage by a very basic mistake by rolling over the edge" with small, short variations : at worst, you will degrade your initiel BESS score but your overall edge retention should be fine if you're not careless. You *will* mess up a knife by not caring what you do beside the flat part of the blade. Same thing if you don't hone (^^) your skills when it comes to laying down the blade on the grindstone properly, or adjust sharpening pressure, or lateral speed, or ...
And although I hone as much as possible at a controlled angle, I am glad I have spent time honing freehand as it allows me to estimate how efficient my controlled honing step is, using the visual and tactiles cues mentioned by @Herman_Trivilino.
#19
Knife Sharpening / Re: Free disposable blade prot...
Last post by smcinco - March 23, 2026, 04:12:01 PMSorry these have been claimed locally
#20
General Tormek Questions / Re: 10 inch honing wheel for T...
Last post by WimSpi - March 23, 2026, 01:46:50 PMThere are two options. The first involves using the Tormek leather wheel, which has a slightly smaller diameter. In this case, you need to adjust the angle slightly with the KS-123, as the wheel diameter is smaller.
If you don't want to do this, you can use the 250 mm leather wheel, as mentioned here. That's the one I use too. When sharpening a long knife, you'll need to take it off for a moment. No problem, it's back on in a jiffy. With my 250 mm leather wheel, there's also a margin when you buy it, meaning the diameter can be a millimetre larger or smaller. So the KS-123 comes in handy again.
But there are also situations with my 250 mm leather wheel where I need to adjust the angle slightly, because the type of steel needs to be honed at a slightly larger angle (example: sharpening at 15 degrees and honing at 16 degrees). So the KS-123 comes into play again.
I think it's a utopian-dream to assume that there's ever a situation where both the grinding wheel and the leather wheel always use the same grinding angle and where the leather wheel can always remain on the Tormek.
If you don't want to do this, you can use the 250 mm leather wheel, as mentioned here. That's the one I use too. When sharpening a long knife, you'll need to take it off for a moment. No problem, it's back on in a jiffy. With my 250 mm leather wheel, there's also a margin when you buy it, meaning the diameter can be a millimetre larger or smaller. So the KS-123 comes in handy again.
But there are also situations with my 250 mm leather wheel where I need to adjust the angle slightly, because the type of steel needs to be honed at a slightly larger angle (example: sharpening at 15 degrees and honing at 16 degrees). So the KS-123 comes into play again.
I think it's a utopian-dream to assume that there's ever a situation where both the grinding wheel and the leather wheel always use the same grinding angle and where the leather wheel can always remain on the Tormek.