Tormek T-1 Kitchen Knife Sharpener

Botch

The woodworkers on the forum are already familiar with Tormek; they make high-quality, expensive sharpeners with a large range of accessories to sharpen almost anything.
Well, they've made a kitchen knife-specific sharpener, only $350!  Pretty damn huge, though...
 
https://www.sharpeningsupplies.com/Tormek-T-1-Review-W313C309.aspx?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2022AJAN
 

 

RRP

MACHO! Besides that price to over come I think I'd also have an issue just where to store that beast in my kitchen or pantry! Garage maybe?...

BTW I sent you a PM earlier tonight which you MIGHT want to read!

Hungry Joe

@Botch
Did you or anyone else ever buy one of these?
I'm asking because as usual I did some research and just ordered one.
This will the third time I ordered my last knife sharpening system.

Botch

I haven't (gone back to waterstones); make sure to let us know how you like it.  

Hungry Joe

Will do.
Tormek has a good reputation but I until this unit came out most of their set ups did too much with a high price to match.
I'm afraid to use stones on my good knives because I know I'll mess them up.

Maybe having this I'll start toying with stones knowing I have a recovery route.

Ozzie_Isaac

Looking forward to your review.

nolaegghead

I ordered one too.  I’ll post my review once I get a chance to use.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

I ordered one from Santa and she forgot 👎. I’ll just order it myself. 

lkapigian

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

I ordered one from Santa and she forgot 👎. I’ll just order it myself. 

LoL

Ozzie_Isaac

This is a terrible, no good, bad place.  I cannot store anymore devices.

YukonRon

I am curious I am curious as well. I will certainly look forward to the reviews. I have several, and all are past their prime, definitely in the market.

Hungry Joe

Tormek T-1 came today!

I'm heading out right now, but my initial trial tells me I'm really going to like this thing. 
Real quick, I hit a few of the more forgiving blades I have and they are noticeably sharper what I did using the Worksharp last weekend. This thing is really simple to use.

Also, the guide seems to really hold the blade nice and snug, so with me having less then steady hands I feel comfortable I'm not going to mess up my expensive knives.

I'll post more later. I can't wait to play around some more.

Ozzie_Isaac

We are waiting 😀

Ozzie_Isaac

@Hungry Joe has decided to leave his career and the forum to perse a new passion.  Sharpening knives at Farmer's Markets.

We wish you the best!  Please remember where it all started.

Hungry Joe

LOL, there are no new careers coming down the road for this guy. Especially reviewer/writer.

I'll start by noting I sharpened most of my knives last weekend with the Worksharp.

The T-1 did a really good job on some 40 year old Chicago cutlery that have been my workhorse knives for most of my adult life, definitely sharper done with the T-1. I think I ended up at about 18-19 degrees on those. They slice paper nice, we'll see how long the edge lasts.

Next I have various Japanese knives. None that are really pricey but harder steel then the Chicago cutlery. I messed with the angle and ended up around 14 degrees on these. They all shave paper and the hair on the back of my hand and seem as sharp as I need them to be, again I'll see how the edge holds.

Finally I have a Shun 8" chefs knife and another high priced Sudoku 8" chefs knife my wife had bought for me about 8 years ago.
These are why I wanted something more controllable so I wouldn't lose the bevel.
The Shun had and still has a couple of small knicks in it. I settled on 14 degrees on that one. I didn't take the nicks totally out mainly because the knife does what I want it to do and I figure I'll eventually work past them. As of right now I can make really thin strips of paper with no effort, so, good enough for me.

Finally to my favorite chefs knife. I've never used anything but a sharpening steel on this knife. It still was my sharpest blade but it was starting to wear. I ended up around 12 degrees on this one. I didn't have time to really run it through its paces but it appears extremely sharp. It passed the paper/hair shaving test with flying colors.

The T-1 is super simple to use though I'm sure I'll get better the more I use it. 
The edge it puts on looks better than the Worksharp but it's not polished like you would get with water stones.
I went through 7 knives in under an hour once I figured everything out.

The guide works great and seems hold the knives steady which is a big plus over the Worksharp.

 It's a little pricey but well worth it to me when you take into account some of the other systems out there. It does all they intended it to do, that is make sharpening simple for average people like me.

Hope this helps anyone decide which way to go who might be on the fence about getting one of these.

Hungry Joe

Ozzie_Isaac said:

We are waiting 😀

Somehow I got a vision of Ted Knight in Caddy Shack when I saw this.

Dawgtired

I ordered one myself for Christmas. Directions were not that good and I scratched up a Shaun pretty nicely. After I figured things out it works like a champ. RRP…it’s not that large. 7w 7d 10t maybe

RLS

I purchased the T-1 last month used it once on all my knives. Hands down the best edges I’ve ever produced. Two other systems I have, thanks to this forum😉, Ken Onion and Wicked Edge. IMO both due ok, KO not as sharp and WE setup time and a learning curve, of which I have not mastered.   I know a few folks talked about the size and storage of the T-1, I would say about the size of a small two slice toaster. With a few more runs I think the edges will be even better from the T-1. 

Rick

Ozzie_Isaac

Hungry Joe said:

Ozzie_Isaac said:

We are waiting 😀

Somehow I got a vision of Ted Knight in Caddy Shack when I saw this.

Not far off 🤣

Thank you for the excellent write-up.  I wish it had only been so-so.  Instead I am really trying hard not to buy one.

Is the speed variable?  I wonder how much heat it puts into an edge.

Hungry Joe

Ozzie_Isaac said:

Hungry Joe said:

Ozzie_Isaac said:

We are waiting 😀

Somehow I got a vision of Ted Knight in Caddy Shack when I saw this.

Not far off 🤣

Thank you for the excellent write-up.  I wish it had only been so-so.  Instead I am really trying hard not to buy one.

Is the speed variable?  I wonder how much heat it puts into an edge.

It's one speed, 200 rpm which is slow enough to keep the blade from heating up. I don't think even I can mess up enough to over heat the blade. And believe me, if someone can find a way to make things go wrong it's me. Which is what I like about this thing.

I just cut up a whole chicken and don't ever remember cutting up a chicken being so easy.

One thing I don't understand is why I got a small package of four dark blue band-aids. They aren't listed in the contents, and I haven't seen any mention about them in my searches. Tormek must know me.

Langner91

I hate this forum.....  But, I love sharp knives....

UNSCRIBE!

Dang!

Botch

@Hungry Joe, did any of the knives you sharpened have a thicker bolster down towards the heel of the blade, as shown below?
 

 
 
My Henckel's have that, and it goobers up using a motorized sharpening system; I'm assuming your Tormek would do the same, but I can't be sure.

alaskanassasin

RLS said:

I purchased the T-1 last month used it once on all my knives. Hands down the best edges I’ve ever produced. Two other systems I have, thanks to this forum😉, Ken Onion and Wicked Edge. IMO both due ok, KO not as sharp and WE setup time and a learning curve, of which I have not mastered.   I know a few folks talked about the size and storage of the T-1, I would say about the size of a small two slice toaster. With a few more runs I think the edges will be even better from the T-1. 

Rick

That’s a hell of an endorsement.  I thought the gold standard was wicked edge, with all that is going on with that system, a bench grinder hands down beats it hands down?

Ozzie_Isaac

Botch said:

@Hungry Joe, did any of the knives you sharpened have a thicker bolster down towards the heel of the blade, as shown below?
 

 
 
My Henckel's have that, and it goobers up using a motorized sharpening system; I'm assuming your Tormek would do the same, but I can't be sure.

You can grind down the bolster.  Any sharpening method is handicapped by those bolsters.  My favorite Henckel has it too.

HeavyG

Ozzie_Isaac said:

Botch said:

@Hungry Joe, did any of the knives you sharpened have a thicker bolster down towards the heel of the blade, as shown below?
 

 
 
My Henckel's have that, and it goobers up using a motorized sharpening system; I'm assuming your Tormek would do the same, but I can't be sure.

You can grind down the bolster.  Any sharpening method is handicapped by those bolsters.  My favorite Henckel has it too.

Systems like my Apex Pro or the Wicked Edge would deal with those type of bolsters without any real problems.

Ozzie_Isaac

HeavyG said:

Ozzie_Isaac said:

Botch said:

@Hungry Joe, did any of the knives you sharpened have a thicker bolster down towards the heel of the blade, as shown below?
 

 
 
My Henckel's have that, and it goobers up using a motorized sharpening system; I'm assuming your Tormek would do the same, but I can't be sure.

You can grind down the bolster.  Any sharpening method is handicapped by those bolsters.  My favorite Henckel has it too.

Systems like my Apex Pro or the Wicked Edge would deal with those type of bolsters without any real problems.

Didn't realize you could get right up and sharpened all the way to the bolster.  That is pretty cool.  I usually wind up with slight scratches.

Hungry Joe

Botch said:

@Hungry Joe, did any of the knives you sharpened have a thicker bolster down towards the heel of the blade, as shown below?
 

 
 
My Henckel's have that, and it goobers up using a motorized sharpening system; I'm assuming your Tormek would do the same, but I can't be sure.

None of my knives have a bolster like that. I could see where it might be a problem, I have no firsthand experience with anything like that. I can see where in might be an issue though.

On a side note, I forgot how nice this knife once was. 


And a dinner shot. Chicken cacciatore.

RLS

alaskanassasin said:

RLS said:

I purchased the T-1 last month used it once on all my knives. Hands down the best edges I’ve ever produced. Two other systems I have, thanks to this forum😉, Ken Onion and Wicked Edge. IMO both due ok, KO not as sharp and WE setup time and a learning curve, of which I have not mastered.   I know a few folks talked about the size and storage of the T-1, I would say about the size of a small two slice toaster. With a few more runs I think the edges will be even better from the T-1. 

Rick

That’s a hell of an endorsement.  I thought the gold standard was wicked edge, with all that is going on with that system, a bench grinder hands down beats it hands down?

Trust me I’m not a pro at knife sharpening at any level, I found this one to be user friendly and somewhat mid level skills needed. I never been able to get the WIcked Edge dialed in. Not their fault, it’s mine for lack of patience and focus. 

Rick

Ozzie_Isaac

Here are the bolsters on my favorite knife.  They are pretty scratched up from sharpening.

Botch

Ozzie_Isaac said:

Here are the bolsters on my favorite knife.  They are pretty scratched up from sharpening.

Okay, we're getting somewhere now.
The bolsters on my knives wouldn't even fit into the grinder I bought (Trizor-something-something), so the grinding stopped about 2, 3" further up the blade.  
I got the Trizor (based on som mag's high recommendation, can't remember who) to grind my already-old Henckel's german knives to a narrower Japanese angle, which I did to all my knives save my heavier chef's knife (which I only use for squash/hacking cheekun bones).  Worked pretty much okay except for my main chef's knife, there was a divot that tore my sl

caliking

Hungry Joe said:

Ozzie_Isaac said:

Hungry Joe said:

Ozzie_Isaac said:

We are waiting 😀

Somehow I got a vision of Ted Knight in Caddy Shack when I saw this.

Not far off 🤣

Thank you for the excellent write-up.  I wish it had only been so-so.  Instead I am really trying hard not to buy one.

Is the speed variable?  I wonder how much heat it puts into an edge.

It's one speed, 200 rpm which is slow enough to keep the blade from heating up. I don't think even I can mess up enough to over heat the blade. And believe me, if someone can find a way to make things go wrong it's me. Which is what I like about this thing.

I just cut up a whole chicken and don't ever remember cutting up a chicken being so easy.

One thing I don't understand is why I got a small package of four dark blue band-aids. They aren't listed in the contents, and I haven't seen any mention about them in my searches. Tormek must know me.

Not knife related... A few years ago, I bought a pool part (Pentair multiport valve) made in Canada. There's a big circular sticker for the valve settings. There were 2 stickers in the box, and I said something along the lines of "Stoopid Canuckians. Why would anyone need a second sticker?" 

Ten seconds later, I realized I had placed the sticker incorrectly, and gazed sheepishly at the second sticker as it lay there mocking me.