Sharpener question. Tormek vs Jet

[Archie England]

I've used my Tormek 2000 for nearly six years, and each year I use it a little less (still have the original wheel but it's down to just under 8" now). Tormek is a quality sharpening system!!!!!! It has wonderfully worked every time. (I never keep the wheel in water unless I'm using it.) What it did for me in terms of planes and chisels is this, it defined a level of sharpness that I had never been able to produce. Now with both oil stones or waterstones, I can go way beyond the Tormek's sharp. For prep before stones, purchasing a Tormek is a waste. I can prep most blades on a dry, slow-speed grinder just fine--albeit I'm still a challenged on perfect, 90* consistency (but practicing still). However, if I've got a mangled blade edge or a blade that has been unintentionally skewed (old plane rehabs) or a vintage blade that could be easily blued, I'll use my Tormek in a heartbeat. I use it only for the low stone setting since my stones out perform the Tormek in ultimate sharpness. But, without the Tormek, I'd taken a lot longer (without someone teaching me--thank you Chris Griggs) how to use stones.

One last note, here: as a wood turner, the only sharpening system better for my gouges is a knife making belt sander. It beats a Tormek in every category except for safety. Faster, but not as refined for the finished edge, is the OneWay grinding jigs for slow or high speed. It works quite well for most of my turning tool sharpening needs but fails at producing the better finishing edge that the Tormek excels at. Tormek is a fabulous tool--if you need it!

[Jim Foster]

I'm a novice that purchased a Tormek, and it's a dream to use. I felt good about the purchase the first time I used it. Once a hollow grind is established on a blade, it last for a number of trips to the waterstone for honing. Seems like every once in a while I have a grinding party where I'll grind a number of blades and then the Tormek sits dormant again for a period of time.