Recent posts

#11

Hand Tool Woodworking / Stanley #1 plane

Last post by TomA - March 26, 2026, 07:44:16 PM

Hello, I recently acquired a Stanley #1 plane. I am looking for advice: 1) how can I date it, and 2) should I flatten the sole, which currently is rusty, but not deeply pitted, and 3) how much restoration should I do, e.g., use electrolysis to remove rust on the body and blade, repair chips on tote. Thank you for your advice. Tom

#12

Knife Sharpening / Re: ****CLAIMED**** Free dispo...

Last post by Rossy66 - March 25, 2026, 04:23:31 PM

Thanks

#13

General Tormek Questions / Re: Hollow ground messes up sw...

Last post by Ken S - March 25, 2026, 02:22:15 AM

Good post, John.

Ken

#14

General Tormek Questions / Re: Hollow ground messes up sw...

Last post by John Hancock Sr - March 25, 2026, 01:17:43 AM

If it were me ... at the risk of restating other people's posts! ... I would heel and tip grind on the SJ which is all you need really. It creates the secondary bevel with one advantage. You can hand sharpen just the secondary bevel on a hand sharpening stone between regrinds on the Tormek by placing the heel/tip on the stone. This gets you back to work much faster.

This is what I do with my woodworking tools. I use a 5,000 Shapton and leather strop to get me back to work without breaking out the Tormek. I rest the tip and heel on the stone which makes it easy to refresh the edge. It only takes about 30 seconds to re-establish an edge. The hollow grind makes this an ideal technique for keeping tools sharp. After a while I can break out the Tormek and re-establish the hollow grind on multiple tools I find this much more efficient.

#15

Tormek T4 and T4 Bushcraft / Re: T-4 compatibility in the 2...

Last post by Ken S - March 24, 2026, 10:24:49 PM

Hobbit,

Good question. Many years ago, my T7 was stolen during a break in while I was moving. I contacted a friend who was a former US importer for Tormek. He referred me to a large US dealer who also stocked spare parts. While there was no official "custom" program at the time, he sold me a stripped down version of the T7 at a fair price. Neither he nor I got rich on the deal.

I have no knowledge of UK dealers. I would suggest you contact the UK importer and several larger dealers. Include the dealer who sold you your present T4. Explain your situation and that you are looking for a second T4, either regular or Bushcraft (they are identical). Watch for sales and the second hand market.

Unlike the T8 Original, the T4 does not include any jigs in the original box. Essentially, you would end up with a spare SG-200, leather honing wheel, and marker, all of which you would probably end up using.

Ken

#16

Tormek T4 and T4 Bushcraft / T-4 compatibility in the 200mm...

Last post by Hobbit72 - March 24, 2026, 01:14:14 PM

As 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

#17

General Tormek Questions / Re: Hollow ground messes up sw...

Last post by Ken S - March 23, 2026, 11:28:33 PM

Two 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

#18

General Tormek Questions / Re: Hollow ground messes up sw...

Last post by Kemrot - March 23, 2026, 11:15:15 PM

Thanks 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.

#19

General Tormek Questions / Re: Hollow ground messes up sw...

Last post by RichColvin - March 23, 2026, 10:53:22 PM

I 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.

#20

General Tormek Questions / Re: 10 inch honing wheel for T...

Last post by Dan - March 23, 2026, 04:40:40 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.

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.

Pretty sure no one is offended or disrespected. You asked a similar question multiple times and got lots of answers.
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