tormek good or bad

[goaway]

Folks, No this is not another attempt to stir the pot. Basically, I need to keep kitchen knives sharp. I have tried the proven method of sharpening stones and have proven I do not use them well. And yes I have read all the books on this the library has to offer. I just stink at it. It seems at first glance that the Tormek will do what I need, help me keep a reasonable edge on my kitchen knives. The question is, have any of you actually used the Tormek for this purpose? Like most of you, I part with my money carefully. Note, I am not looking to perform surgery or shave razor thin slices of chicken, just looking for a decently sharp knife when I am done. And one note of particular worth, the biggest pain to keep sharp is my 12 inch thin carving knife, blade is thin and bends easily. Thanks

Paul

[beecrofter]

For the money if you want to sharpen cutlery and other tools a 1x42 or even a 1x30 belt sander is the way to go. a selection of belts from 320 to 180 will handle most any cutlery job and a worn out 320 can be charged with rouge and used as a strop. The whole kit in 1x42 can be done for les than $200

[goaway]

Thanks for the tip. Grizzly sells a 1 x 72 belt sander made for ....Knives.. Found a source of belts that they can supply up to 600 grit. I know I can use a shorter belt sander. Now it is time to figger out which way to go.

[Lew Hodgett]

Option 1:

Butchers rent knives from a sharpening service.

Use a sharpening service to properly sharpen your knives, then buy a good sharpening steel and using it to maintain them.

BTW, I'm referring to forged blades, not starmped.

Trying to maintain a stamped blade is more work than it is worth except for a paring knife and a wavy blade slicing blade.

Option 2:

A knife sharpening jig.

I have a sharpening jig that is at least 40 years old that clamps the back of the blade providing an angle reference for sharpening. It was designed and built by a guy in the neighborhood in his garage.

Lots of ways to skin this cat that don't require the investment in a Tormek.

Lew

[DJ Delorie]

Yes. Tormek good! Unlike the other suggestions, the Tormek gives you a consistent cut angle (no skill required), so if you care about those things (always the perfect angle), Tormek is for you. I've used it for filet and carving knives, scissors (my wife's previous hairdresser had me sharpen hers, the Tormek did better than the pros their salon uses), pocket knives, and non-serrated steak knives. Plus the full range of shop things - planer and jointer knives, plane irons, chisels, turning tools, axes, awls, scrapers, etc.

We did Thanksgiving dinner at my parent's house one year, my dad asked me to bring a "sharp, I mean really sharp" knife. We used that knife for pretty much all the carving and cutting, and one of the last things we cut up with it was a tomato. Paper thin, too.

The slow speed lets you keep track of what you're doing. I use the "color the edge with a marker" trick so I know what's been sharpened and what hasn't, and when I've sharpened all the way to the edge. Since the Tormek holds the blade at the right angle, even a flexible knife is ground consistently, just don't press so hard that it twists. Since it's all jig-based, you can even move the jig to a different part of the knife if the knife is too big, without messing up the jig's settings.

Note: There's a Tormek knock-off on the market too. I don't have any experience with it, but if it does the same things as a Tormek, that would work for you also.

[Smaug Ichorfang]

"goaway" wrote in news:PazSi.4776$ [e-mail]:

I highly recomend the Lansky Sharpening system. I've been able to sharpen everything from 14" butcher knives to 2" pen knife blades. It doesn't take much practive to be able to put a razor sharp edge on almost any blade. Once you get the blade sharp, a couple of strokes with a hone steel before each use will keep the blades sharp. The Lansky system is a "manual" (not powered like the Tormek) consisting of a clamp with guide slots that holds the blade, guide rods that attach to the stones, and a set of various grit stones or diamond hones. You can choose a variety of angles on the guide depending upon the type of blade and the intended use. More here:

[Anonymous]

[Lew Hodgett]

THey must be the people that bought out my neighbor.

Same jig, except gussied up a little bit..

Has done a good job for me for a long time.

Lew

[LDR]

keep kitchen knives sharp. I have tried the proven method of sharpening (snip and piggyback)

If you're sharpening only kitchen knives, the Tormek is overkill and more complicated than you may like. An almost dedicated tool for kitchen knives is the Edgepro, worth some research on your part. I'm not affiliated in any way.

>

[Dave In Houston]

I've been using Spyderco's Triangle Sharpmaker

for over 20 years and given a handful as gifts during that same period of time. And while their website shows a $75 price tag, there are any number of sites, many in the $40-45 range.

[Rod & Betty Jo]

For years I've sharpened knives, not always easily or successfully but once I tried a 1 inch belt sander I'm a bonifide expert......I have a cheap

1X30 model (works fine) but next time around I think I'd do a 42 incher.... I like the slack above the backer plate. I dabbled with belts up to the 1000 grit micron or so but probably the 320 with a leather strop finish is most effective for me. Rod

[S R]

I have not used the Tormek. I use the

my kitchen knives and am very pleased with the results. I am not a pro at sharpening, nor do I want to learn on my kitchen knives. I also would not go near a belt sander for sharpening knives. I do agree though, if you do lots of sharpening, a belt sander is invaluable if used correctly.

Stephen R.

[Maxwell Lol]

I bought one used for my woodworking tools, but t does a great job on kitchen knives. Normally you can re-sharpen and match the same angle for repeatability. IN kitchen knives, the curve at the tip is a little tricky. You need to clamp the jig onto the knife at the proper point. Move it closer to and farther away from the point, and the curve will change. I've only sharpened our $200 set of kitchen knives a couple of times. Perhaps I should make a mark on the back of the knives to indicate when the jig clamps on.

You will probably need both knife jigs.

The long knife jig for sure.

[Maxwell Lol]

I have not used the Jet, but I own most of the Tormek jigs. Some of the jigs also have patents (which probably haven't expired) and these jigs have advantages that may not be obvious to a casual shopper.

i.e. The flat plate used for chisels, etc - does not have a round hole. It's "egg" shapped, which have a much stronger holding power over a simple circle.

The Tormek is really well thought out, and the book is very thorough. Some of the users have has problems, and the first rule is " check the book to make sure you are doing the steps in the right order and in the right way.

[Maxwell Lol]

I have a Lansky and Tormek. The Lansky isn't bad (and inexpensive). I used it for years. The Tormek is faster, and I suspect more accurate for long knives. You don't need to change stones.

On the Lansky, the clamp is fixed. On the Tormek, the guide bar extends for the length of the knife blade, allowing a consistent bevel.

As an example, if I had a Chinese-style cleaver, the Lansky would have to add a curved profile to the blade edge, (arcing around the point ot the clamp) while the Tormek would be consistent in bevel for the lengthof the blade.

[mac davis]

My wife used to run a sharpening service out of the house and did knives for several restaurants..

I don't have an opinion of the Tormek, but she used a 1" belt grinder from Foley to do both knives and saw blades.. For your purpose, you don't need Foley quality, any 1" sander will do the job..

I can't remember where it was (senior moment) but someone was selling a 2" setup that used two 1" belts... So you could have 2 grits without belt changes..

mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

[ROY!]

I have a Tormek and think it is overkill for kitchen knives. Here's what I use on the kitchen knives and considering I don't use them as shaving utensils, this gadget works fine for me:

[Leon]

Yes, it works great, but it is expensive for this sole purpose. You can get your knives sharpened many times over for less than the price of a Tormek. The big advantage of the Tormek over many cheaper sharpeners is that it will restore a "butter knife dull" edge to razor sharp very quickly. Having said that the sharpener helps to pay for itself if you get the extra jigs for sharpening "everything" else that you have.

The Jet may be a considerable cheaper alternative.

[Leon]

With practice the ceramic rods are good for maintaining a sharp edge but as you well know the Tormek is superior for restoring an edge quickly.

[Max]

I buy good quality knives and I use a sharpening steel. It's nice to be able to slice very thin slices of tomato or onion or whatever.

Max