Scott Kuhn wrote:

Rather than the Tormek, consider getting a couple of 8" diamond plates
ranging from xtra course to extra fine and a black Arkansas or a
polishing
waterstone. Even if you get the Tormek later you won't regret having
them. I can generally get from "beat up" to "surgically sharp" faster on
those
than I can using a grinder. Several times in my life I considered a
powered sharpener and asked myself why, and the answer invariable was
"fast stock removal on a really beat up tool" or "fast stock removal to
change the cutting angle", and every time I added a coarser stone to my
collection until finally I had one course enough.

Interesting advice, I will consider it. The Tormek is a lot of
do-re-mi - but my attraction to it stems from my inexperience. Reading
the reviews of the thing I became convinced that it is simpler to use
than stones, because instead of having to move the tool across the
stone at a constant angle, you just have to clamp the tool into the
jig at the correct angle and turn the machine on. Seems to take some
of the required skill out of the equation, no? Not that those skills
wouldn't be nice to develop over time...

The Veritas jig,
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.asp?page=33001&category=1,43072,43078&abspage =1&ccurrency=2&SID=
and many others, work fine. They're really "training wheels" in a
sense--after you get a feel for the correct angle using the jig you'll find
yourself doing without it more and more often.

--Scott

--
--John
Reply to jclarke at ae tee tee global dot net
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)