Ken,
Your question is valid, and I suspect your skills on the Tormek surpass mine, otherwise I might just do everything there. Note that I've never measured the sharpness coming off the Tormek, but the reason I don't use it for full sharpening isn't that, rather it's that if I use the leather wheel on chisels I inevitably "unflatten" the back, and I want my chisels to be perfectly flat, especially when paring. And the reason I don't use it for plane blades is that I sharpen them the way I sharpen chisels! (IOW, for no particularly good reason.)
I do use the Tormek leather wheel for stropping my woodcarving tools, usually with good results. But for those I don't use it for grinding, since I want a flat or convex edge; concave edges don't pull out of cuts with the same control.
And finally, for turning tools, I use only the tormek, unless I need to do some serious reprofiling, where I find the Tormek just too slow on HSS (I only have the stock/standard wheel).
As far as the Tormek grit, I think it normally behaves much finer than the 1000 they advertise. Mine doesn't seem to stay coarse for very long, and when it's smooth I think it produces a finer scratch pattern than my 1000 grit stones. And the leather wheel with the Tormek paste also seems finer than the 3 micron they advertise, so I have no need to refine past that. But my eyes aren't so good, and I often misjudge the angle and dub the edge, so it's not my go-to tool of choice for things like knives.
Don't worry about offending me (which you didn't), I'm here to learn, and critical questions are always best for that. If I'm doing something stupid, I don't mind if someone tells me (well, I do mind, but I still prefer it to remaining stupid).
I've reread your last paragraph, thinking about how it applies to me, and realized that when I'm sharpening woodworking tools, my goal is to get back to woodworking, so while my skill with the Tormek is lacking, my current method is good enough and quick enough that I wouldn't be motivated to make that intense effort that you have. But when I sharpen knives, my goal is to understand the steel, the geometry, and to further my skills. I don't sharpen knives on the Tormek, but with that nudge from you I might give it a shot, and see what I can learn. Thanks.
Steve
Your question is valid, and I suspect your skills on the Tormek surpass mine, otherwise I might just do everything there. Note that I've never measured the sharpness coming off the Tormek, but the reason I don't use it for full sharpening isn't that, rather it's that if I use the leather wheel on chisels I inevitably "unflatten" the back, and I want my chisels to be perfectly flat, especially when paring. And the reason I don't use it for plane blades is that I sharpen them the way I sharpen chisels! (IOW, for no particularly good reason.)
I do use the Tormek leather wheel for stropping my woodcarving tools, usually with good results. But for those I don't use it for grinding, since I want a flat or convex edge; concave edges don't pull out of cuts with the same control.
And finally, for turning tools, I use only the tormek, unless I need to do some serious reprofiling, where I find the Tormek just too slow on HSS (I only have the stock/standard wheel).
As far as the Tormek grit, I think it normally behaves much finer than the 1000 they advertise. Mine doesn't seem to stay coarse for very long, and when it's smooth I think it produces a finer scratch pattern than my 1000 grit stones. And the leather wheel with the Tormek paste also seems finer than the 3 micron they advertise, so I have no need to refine past that. But my eyes aren't so good, and I often misjudge the angle and dub the edge, so it's not my go-to tool of choice for things like knives.
Don't worry about offending me (which you didn't), I'm here to learn, and critical questions are always best for that. If I'm doing something stupid, I don't mind if someone tells me (well, I do mind, but I still prefer it to remaining stupid).
I've reread your last paragraph, thinking about how it applies to me, and realized that when I'm sharpening woodworking tools, my goal is to get back to woodworking, so while my skill with the Tormek is lacking, my current method is good enough and quick enough that I wouldn't be motivated to make that intense effort that you have. But when I sharpen knives, my goal is to understand the steel, the geometry, and to further my skills. I don't sharpen knives on the Tormek, but with that nudge from you I might give it a shot, and see what I can learn. Thanks.
Steve