Grizzly vs. Tormek

[aggromere]

I have been looking for a sharpening system and was thinking about getting the Tormek (the cheaper one, http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/2021050/24250/Tormek-T3.aspx

If I buy the Tormek, which I think I will do, what jigs do I need to sharpen oval skews, skew chisels and gouges?

Then I ran across this one from Grizzly http://www.grizzly.com/products/10-Wet-Grinder-Kit/T10010

The Grizzly is a good bit cheaper than the Tormek. I was wondering if anyone had experience with both of them. Would the Grizzly be as good as the Tormek or is the Tormek worth the extra $200.00.

The Grizzly machine weighs almost 3 times as much as the Tormek, so I probably wont get it.

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[ThomJ]

I have the Tormek, but I got it for my carving chisels. Been carving for 25 yrs, pen turning for 2 yrs. I like my Tormek.

 

[ctubbs]

Peter, I have the Grizzly and like it a lot. The Tormek has advantages, namely Woodcraft offers sharpening seminars that use the Tormek. Both have a slew of jigs to do about anything you need to do. I did spend the extra money, but it all went to the jigs. You can spend the $200 on the bare machine or on the jigs to sharpen everything from axes to pin knives and scissors.
The thing about weight, the heaver a grinder is, the less it will move around as you use it. Remember, these are both wet grinders. The table will get wet. When wet, table tops tend to loose traction. In the long run, it is your money, buy what will make you happier.
Charles

 

[ed4copies]

I don't know about pricing. But Jason Swanson demonstrated sharpening at our last IAP meeting in Milwaukee. He used the Jet sharpener, which looked nearly identical to my Tormek. The Tormek jigs fit the Jet, as Jason demonstrated.

So, before purchasing---check on the Jet.

 

[JimMc7]

<snip>
If I buy the Tormek, which I think I will do, what jigs do I need to sharpen oval skews, skew chisels and gouges?
<snip>

Tormek SVD-185 for fingernail grinds on gouges.

SVS-50 Multi-jig to sharpen skews. I also use this to sharpen roughing gouges and it would also work for straight grinds on other gouges. I use skews & roughing gouge more than any other tools so I have 2 of the SVS-50 jigs -- one set up for skews & a 2nd for gouges -- saves a lot of time switching the jig. You can buy the SVS-50 housing as a part from sharptoolsusa (Jeff Farris' (sp?) store) and save a bit versus new jig.

Other things I use often sharpening turning tools:

TTS-100 turning tool setter to set support arm distance from grinding wheel & tool projection from grinding jigs.

TT-50 truing tool to true the grindstone.

Edit to add: SVD-110 support rest to sharpen scrapers. Sorry, I don't use scrapers often so I forgot about this one. You can also get the turning related jigs in the TNT-708 kit (don't know the savings, if any, from buying as a kit).

Tormek recommends re-grading the stone -- start with rougher (220?) and then smooth with grading stone for a better edge. I never use it. I grind on the rougher setting and finish on the leather honing wheel and happy with the edge I get on tools.

You might also want to look at the BGM-100 bench grinder mount which lets you use Tormek jigs with a bench grinder.. I use one to set the initial shape of tools with the bench grinder & Tormek jigs, then finish grinding/honing on the Tormek. I did a review on this here if you're interested:
http://www.penturners.org/forum/showthread.php?t=49643

The SE-76 square edge jig is handy for chisels & plane blades -- although you'll probably still need to finish honing on water or oil stones for plane blades. For general use chisel sharpening, I stop at the Tormek.

I know you can use the Tormek jigs on a Jet sharpener but not sure about using on the Grizzly.

Tormek system is expensive (I have the T-7) but I have no regrets about purchasing one.

 

[Padre]

I personally had the Tormek T7 Ultimate. I sold it because I didn't use it that much and I was frustrated by how slow it was. But the edge on my skews was unbelievable. But slow. So I sold it for what I paid for it.

I went to a slow speed bench grinder/Wolverine System with the Varigrind. For MOST of what I do that is fine. I use high grade wheels. But I missed the absolutely super duper scary sharp grind on my skews.

So I now personally have the Grizzly 10". Puts the same super duper scary sharp grind on my skews as the Tormek. Most of the Tormek stuff works on the Grizzly. Just as slow as the Tormek.:wink:

Buy the Grizzly 10".

 

[Padre]

I have been looking for a sharpening system and was thinking about getting the Tormek (the cheaper one, http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/2021050/24250/Tormek-T3.aspx

If I buy the Tormek, which I think I will do, what jigs do I need to sharpen oval skews, skew chisels and gouges?

Then I ran across this one from Grizzly http://www.grizzly.com/products/10-Wet-Grinder-Kit/T10010

The Grizzly is a good bit cheaper than the Tormek. I was wondering if anyone had experience with both of them. Would the Grizzly be as good as the Tormek or is the Tormek worth the extra $200.00.

The Grizzly machine weighs almost 3 times as much as the Tormek, so I probably wont get it.

Any advice would be appreciated.

A fairer comparison would be the Tormek T7 vs. the Grizzly 10". Those are very similar. You are comparing a smaller machine with a much larger one when comparing the T3 and Grizzly 10".

 

[manatee]

I have a Tormek and my tools have never been this sharp. It has a learning curve but comes with DVD'd and a manual. I also use it to sharpen all my wife's kitchen knifes. I believe the difference between Tormek and the clones is the composition of the wheel which is a trade secret.

 

[BigShed]

Peter, I have the Scheppach Tiger 2500, the exact equivalent to the Grizzly machine. I am very happy with it, particularly as the Tormek T7 is 3 times the price here in Oz.

I use it with the Tormek jigs, as listed above, as they are far superior to the Scheppach/Grizzly ones.

As for being slow, I use it in combination with my bench grinder. The bench grinder is used with the Tormek BMG100 jig to enable me to use the Tormek jigs on the bench grinder for shaping the chisel, the Scheppach slow grinder is then used for sharpening the chisel. Sharpening the chisel takes no time at all once the shape has been set.

I made my own version of the Tormek BMG100 jig, using a bar from the Jet wet grinder (same diameter, different spacing of the bars).

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