Noobie Advice About Stones

[Dulcmrman]

Hello all.  New member Dennis here.

Please forgive me if this subject has been covered.  I tried the search function with no success.

I currently sharpen my knives using a set of Japanese water stones, 400 grit, 1000 grit, and 3000 grit, followed by stropping on leather using a 2.5 micron and a 0.5 micron paste on the strops.  I am striving for a consistent 15

I am reasonably satisfied with my current process, but it is time consuming and I am struggling to maintain consistent angles, hence my decision to buy a Tormek.

I am about to buy a used T-3 and set it up to sharpen my kitchen knives for a start.

Can I get the same quality of edge using the SG-200 stone and stock honing wheel?  Or should I start looking for a finer stone on which to finish my knives?  If so, what stone(s) would you recommend and why?

Thanks in advance for any advice you can provide.

Dennis

[Ken S]

Welcome to the forum, Dennis.

If you watch the Tormek youtube video classes, you will notice that the Tormek instructors prefer the SG wheel for sharpening kitchen knives. The SG can vary the grit when used with the stone grader. The T3 you are planning to purchase probably comes with a stone grader. If not, they are easily purchased separately. You shouldn't need any other grinding wheels for sharpening kitchen knives.

I recommend that you watch the Tormek online class videos, especially the first one. Although they generally demonstrate with the T8, the information applies equally to all models, including the T3.

Keep us posted.

Ken

[tgbto]

Hello Dennis,

I think it will depend what you are aiming for.

If you want a consistent 15dps edge that is sufficiently sharp and remains so for a long time, the stock SG with the honing wheel will be sufficient.

If you want a polished bevel that is very shiny and good looking, edge retention and sharpening time notwithstanding, then you may want to add the SJ to your arsenal.

However, it your used T3 doesn't come with a SJ wheel, I'd advise waiting for a few months before making sure you want to purchase one : the edge left by SG+thorough honing is very nice if not mirror-like, and the cutting performance is outstanding.

In any case, contrary to what Tormek says on the SJ webpage, the SJ does leave a burr that you'll have to remove on a honing wheel.

[Sir Amwell]

Hi Dennis.
Completely agree with 2 previous replies.
I would get used to using the SG wheel, practicing and becoming entirely competent with it.if you are happy with the results then stick there.
Only consider investing in diamond or CBN wheels later, if you find yourself sharpening more and more knives ( friends and family will come out of the woodwork once they discover you're set up, you may decide to start a small business?!). For personal knives with occasional sharpening the basic set up is more than adequate.

[Dulcmrman]

Thank you for the advice.  I will work with the stock SG wheel until I become somewhat proficient and then decide if I want to acquire other stones.

Dennis

[John Hancock Sr]

Agree completely with the previous answers. Just a couple of additional thoughts. Tormek say that the SG when fine graded gives you 1,000 grit. If you want to then you could then hand sharpen on the 3,000 stone then strop as you normally do since you would not be changing the bevel. What I do on high end knives is to strop on the Tormek wheel then hand strop with a quality green compound. On my nice chisels and plane irons is to do a few strokes on my 5000 grit ceramic stone and then hand strop. It is maybe 30 sec extra but seems to give me a slightly better edge. I also often refresh the edge on my woodworking tools on the 5000/hand strop which keeps it fresh and go back to the Tormek for major sharpenings. 

[Dulcmrman]

Thanks for the advice, John.

I just picked up the used T3 today and it looks to be in good shape.  I lowered the support bar until it nearly touched the SG-200 stone and rotated it manually and it looks like it is running true.  While doing this I decided to measure the stone's diameter with a tape measure and it is very close to 6.5 inches.  The Tormek website says the diameter of the SG-200 stone for a T4 is 8 inches.  Am I missing something?  Are the stones for a T3 smaller than those for a T4?

[integrale]

The "200" bit is a reference to the diameter when new (200 mm). Tormek lists the T4 specs as "Ø 200 × 40 mm (7.87 × 1.57")". It appears your stone has been well used I do not know if it is too worn to use, but I am sure someone else on this forum will chime in and enlighten us.

As to the choice of stones, I too used to sharpen my (and friends') knifes on Japanese waterstones. Last year I got a bit more time on my hands and ventured into the Tormek land. I am very happy with the system, the Tormek community and the results.

Most of my knifes are multilayered Japanese knifes, and just for the fun of it, I also purchased a SJ200 stone (I am on a T4), and that gives me a nice and shiny bevel - do I need it? No, the SG stone is more than enough, but I like it

I will second the suggestion above that you use the SG stone (or a replacement if it is too worn down) for a few months and see if that is sufficient for your use.

Welcome aboard!

[Dulcmrman]

Thank you, Integrale.  After some further research I found a number of threads that lead me to believe that my stone IS very worn, so I have a new one on order.  I may try the existing stone in the meantime just to see what happens.

[Dulcmrman]

Today I made my first attempt at sharpening a knife on my new-to-me T-3 with the well-worn smaller diameter SG-200.  I chose an old, mistreated military K-bar knife that I've misused over the years.  It had a number of small chips in the blade and was not much sharper than a screwdriver.

I used the KS-123 angle setter to set a 20 degree angle and had at it.  In just a few minutes all of the chips were gone and the edge began to look pretty good.  Unfortunately, I discovered that the small stone diameter resulted in the knife handle bumping against the honing wheel, preventing me from obtaining the same bevel on both sides of the blade.

I stopped sharpening and I am now awaiting my new SG-200 stone which should arrive this coming week.  I believe that I will be able to get symmetric edges on the blade after I have the larger diameter new stone.

To say that I am thrilled with my first foray into Tormek-world would be an understatement.  The work I did today on my T-3 took minutes and would have taken hours on my water stones.  I am hooked!

I will continue to practice on my older knives to improve my technique before moving on to maintaining my precious favorites in the kitchen.

Best regards,

Dennis

[John Hancock Sr]

I may try the existing stone in the meantime just to see what happens

You can use the SG so long as the jigs et all allow you to use it. The only difference is that the hollow is slightly deeper due to the reduced radius.

[Ken S]

I learned how to drive with a stick shift on a VW Bug in the 1960s. It was great fun, and met all my driving needs. I won't disparage all the improvements over the years; however, if I was still driving, that VW would still fulfill my needs.

My sharpening needs have always been simple. I sharpen only my own tools and knives. My kitchen knives are Victorinox and Henckel. Other knives are an assortment of basic SAK, Mora, and Buck. I have no desire to own more exotic higher priced knives. I fully acknowledge that my sharpening needs might change if I sharpened more exotic knives or sharpened professionally. I don't see that happening.

For my needs, the SG is all that I need. ( I have noticed that the Tormek instructors on the online classes almost universally prefer the SG, although they have full access to any of the Tormek grinding wheels.) Gradual wear in the SG is really not a big deal. Nor is using the stone grader to adjust the grit. Foro forty years, that was the only choice for Tormek users and just accepted, just like manual transmission. The SG offers advantages the superabrasive wheels do not have. The wheel can be reshaped with radiused corners, something I recommend for general use. Surface damage can be repaired as well as bringing up fresh grains. The SG has a lot to offer. For those needing to sharpen harder steels frequently, the SB offers these advantages in a wheel designed for harder steels.

Ken

[RichColvin]

There are ways to extend the useful life of a grindstone.  I've catalogued some here:  https://sharpeninghandbook.info/Grindstones-StoneLife.html. 

[Ken S]

Rich,
As a thrifty person, I understand wanting to squeeze all of the juice from a grinding wheel. However, I would interject another point of view. The late Terry Beech was one of the most prolific Tormek knife sharpeners. He was also one of the thriftiest. His mobile shop was an ancient VW bus. His Tormek was an ancient model he purchased used. In addition to his local sharpening he also coached sharpeners. Here is a link to his obituary:

https://montereybayfarmers.org/market-news/the-sharpest-guy-at-the-market

He routinely replaced his grinding wheels once they were worn to 220mm, because beyond that point they became inefficient. Surface speed is circumference x RPM. Below 220mm he felt the wheel slow down interfered with grinding efficiency.

Ken

[RichColvin]

Ken,

That is an interesting point that I've not considered.  Thank you.

Rich