Tormak, Jet, Makita sharpeners

[Tom Maple]

I've read with great interest the discussions on Tormek and Jet sharpeners. They appear to have a common design with a vertical wheel that is cooled with water. The grinding is done on the outer edge of the stone. Then there is the type with a horizontal stone, such as the Makita, in which the grinding is done on the flat side of the stone.
Then there are the ones with an adhesive disk on a rotating plate.
My question is whether all of these sharpeners are just different ways of doing the same thing? Or is one type better for some types of sharpening than the other? Is there a sharpener that is suitable for everything from chisels to gouges to plane irons to jointer and planer knifes?
Thanks for your input, I'm open to all suggestions.
Tom

[Eddie Darby]

My question is whether all of these sharpeners are just different ways of doing the same thing? Or is one type better for some types of sharpening than the other? Is there a sharpener that is suitable for everything from chisels to gouges to plane irons to jointer and planer knifes?


A lot of things in woodworking are pretty standard, but when it comes to sharpening, everybody sooner or later finds a different approach to it.

A lot of what you are asking depends on how far you want to go, and how important "sharpness" is to you and your goals.

Just remember the saying, "Jack of all, Master of none", as this sums up a 'one machine does all' approach. The marketers love this 'one machine does all' approach, as it makes their machine seem to be better than the other guys, and justifies the added $$$$$.
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Tormek - Gives a Hollow Grind. Only 220x and 1,000x, before going to the honing. Buy before the end of this year, and get 3 stone changes free. 10" stone needs to be under 7" to exchange. Not a real great lapping machine. Lots of jigs.

Jet - Gives a Hollow Grind. Only 220x and 1,000x, before going to the honing. I hear some like the wheel better than Tormek. Not a real great lapping machine. Lots of jigs, probably the most jigs.

Makita - Gives a Flat grind. Has more stones. This type of wheel has the outside of the wheel cutting faster than the inside. Not a lot of jigs.

LV Mark II - Gives a Flat grind. Good number of grits. Can be dusty. This type of wheel has the outside of the wheel cutting faster than the inside. Not a lot of jigs.

Lap-Sharp - Gives a Flat Grind. Has a multitude of various grits available. Reversible for knives, can use waterstones from Makita. This type of wheel has the outside of the wheel cutting faster than the inside. A couple of jigs.

Scary-Sharp - Gives a Flat Grind. Cheap! Lots of grits. Did I say Cheap! No jigs, unless you make them or borrow them.

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If I were just starting out, and wanted something that was flexible, would do a good job of getting a real sharp edge, and do a real good job of lapping, then I would go with the Lap-Sharp, even though it costs $$$$.

Don't have the $$$$, then go with Scary-Sharp. Did I say Cheap?

I think that Lap-Sharp presents the fewest limitations, so you will not have to add to it for quite a while. Then when you will have found your own approach to sharpening, you can add to your system as needed. This has to be the best Lapper, and someone just starting out with new tools has a lot of lapping to do....... unless you buy lapped blades.

[Guy Germaine]

I'm not sure that you'll find a "one size fits all" sharpening machine. At least, not one that's affordable for the hobbyist. The Jet and Tormek sharpeners are all good for chisels, plane irons, and jointer knives up to about 6" (I think)

Using the outer edge of the stone on the Jet and Tormek gives you a hollow grind. Using the Makita type of sharpeners gives you a flat grind. (You'll get arguments as to which is best). I have both. I don't use many hand tools, but I use my Jet to sharpen knives, chisels, and (rarely) a plane iron. I also have the Grizzly Universal Knife Grinder (http://www.grizzly.com/products/Universal-Knife-Grinder/G2790) that I use on my jointer knives.

[Bill White]

I have had the Makita forever. Has done everything I've needed, and costs a WAY BUNCH less than some of the others.
Bill

[Michael Gibbons]

I have the Tormek and have had it for about 5 years( I think). It's truly a geat machine and wouldn't give it up for the world. I've used it quite a bit on knives ,chisels, axes, and plane blades. Now, that being said, I wish I had a few things on it that they haven't come up with yet like someway to flatten the backs of chisels. Yes, I have tried the side of the wheel like they have mentioned but it hasn't worked to my satisfaction, there is no way as of now, to flatten and true up the side of the stone. So I use the flat glass/sandpaper/waterstone trick. Tormek seems to listen. When I bought my machine, it was at the time when you had to purchase the horizontal support separately. On the customer comment card I wrote that the support should have been included because you need that to use a few of the jigs. Well, low and behold, a few months later it was included, Woodcraft now sells the Tormek T-7 system which has even more accesories which are really needed to use the machine to it's fullest for just slightly more money. I also have 4 grits of waterstones and a jig, and flat glass and sandpaper.

[Tom Maple]

Thanks everyone, I appreciate the advice. I'm just starting to get serious about woodworking and find the experience of everyone on this forum to be invaluable.
Thanks again,
Tom

[Steve knight]

I use the makita with sandpaper. I have worn out way to many wheels and find the paper far better. You can adapt the makita to use all of the tormek jigs with a little work. but with practice a flat grinder is very easy to use to flatten backs.
but if you really want a sharp edge the above three are more grinders then sharpers. you will get a finer longer lasting edge finishing off on the right stones. this can be very fast and give a better edge.