I have the Tormek T4 with an 8-Inch Stone it is a great system. It is easy to use, and it puts a superior edge on any knife, shop tool, chisel, plane, it refurbishes screwdrivers, and much more. Do not bother with the Japanese Wet Stone unless you have show knives or want your edged implements to have a mirrored edge. The standard whetstone which comes with the machine includes 220 grit and 1000 grit surfaces which is plenty to achieve a better than factory edge once you honed on the rotary leather strop. The machine is quick, precise and while it seems expensive, it isn't. I have 20 kitchen knives, and a week ago I realize they were all dull and I needed to get my Lansky sharpening system out and touch up the blades. The problem was I had not sharpened the edges for more than a year, some for many years. Also, the knives get tossed into the dishwasher at times, so the blades were not just dull but nicked and dinged. It would have taken me two days to get all of my knives back to form, nicks and dings stoned out, sharpened, and honed. Plus, the edge is quite imprecise on the Lansky. So, I called around and found that it costs under $10 per knife to have them sharpened (that was a ballpark average, the cost was by the inch, after assessing how much work was necessary. I expect my knives would have cost me more than $200 or 2 full days of me hand sharpening to acceptable/journeyman edges. Plus, I have a shop full of tools needing to be re-edged. Instead, I bought the Tormek. In a couple of hours, all 20 knives have incredibly sharp edges. I did not sharpen all of them to 1000 grit/strop honed. Most I just sharpened to 220 grit and strop honed them. The first time I wanted to take my time and make sure I knew how the machine worked. So, now every few days I will take a few knives and touch them up on with the 1000 grit and carefully hone them. They are better than factory edge now; I can't imagine how nice they will be after I touch them up. I did not want to spend all day sharpening, and I have chisels (wood and stone), axes, hatchets, adzes, and many other tools that need to be resurfaced. I wanted to take the next few days, learn how to sharpen each tool and put a working edge on all of them. For the tools, I would like to have a finer edge, like my kitchen knives, pocket knives, wood chisels, etc. I will come back later for a second pass in a week or two. This will let me learn the system then build on my working knowledge. Two of the kitchen knives need to be re-bellied. Over the years, they have become slightly swaybacked so, I will need to grind out some of the material to return the knives to their approximate original shape. I have had those knives since 1982 and used them daily. Before you buy the T-4, understand that you will eventually need to buy the TT50 Truing Tool which costs another $90. If you have chisels or plane irons, the advanced flat jig costs $70. The reason I bring this up is both are included with the T-8 which costs $715 but not with the T-4 which costs $409. The T-8 is a bigger machine with a few additional features. These accessories make the price difference only about $150 if you will be using them. The machine and kit below is the package which suited my needs the best. There are other kits, or you can buy a few jigs as necessary. The jigs fit both machines. Tormek TBT401 T-4 Sharpening System Hand Tool Kit by Tormek I will check back in after I've re-edged my hatchets, axes, adzes and other tools and once I've put a fine edge on some of the knives. Today I used three separate jigs: 1. The Knife Blade Sharpening Jig Tormek SVM-45. The Knife Jig that Turns Your Tormek Sharpening System T-7, T-4, T-3, etc. into a Professional Knife Sharpener. 2. The Long Knife Blade Sharpening Jig Tormek SVM-140. The Long Knife Jig That Handles Longer, Thinner Knives and Works With Your Tormek Sharpening System T-7, T-4, T-3, etc. 3. The Tormek SVM-00 Small Knife Holder for use with SVM-45 Knife Jig. This jig was a big surprise, I assumed it would be a so-so jig since it is a duplex system, but I have a little pocket knife which I always hated. The problem was the knife edge was dull from the factory, the steel hard and was challenging to edge, and the blade is small and likewise problematic to edge. This jig put a perfect edge on the knife after a few passes over the stone. I was shocked. All were easy to use and gave me professional results. I am a reasonably good freehand knife sharpener, and I am relatively quick with the Lansky system, but I am not a YouTube Star level. The Tormek eliminates the distinction. My knives now have professional, better than factory edges, look great, and all without the hassle of dropping the knives off at a professional sharpening service, waiting a few days, dropping off the other half of the knives, waiting a few days and spending an amount equal to the Tormek machine. After I finish with all of my sharpening needs, I suspect the cost will be a wash, and I will have a machine I can use twice each year to make sure my knives and tools are wicked sharp. I recommend the Tormek machines and jigs without reservation. They all worked great.
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