JET stone VS TORMEK sg250 review / comparison

How does the JET wet grinder stone to the TORMEK sg250 stone? (whetstone) Review
Tormek is the most expensive but is it really the best?
This is my follow up to my WEN stone review.

[@1998TDM]

Cheers for posting P G. Your videos are Gold! I'm turning my sharpening hobby into a spare time business and it"s a fascinating journey, listening to you talking about the nuts and bolts rather than extolling a certain edge or steel is a breath of fresh air. I've been a chef for best part of 40 years and I'm loving making tired old knives come back to life. You're talking about your tools like I talk about my knives.

[@poolpro92651]

Great Review. However, I think this newer iteration of this wheel is different than past years of Jet making this wheel. This wheel and the Jet Sharpener had been taken off the market for over 4 years prior to late 2019 when the Jet sharpener was re-introduced to market under a different model number(JWS-10) but same design as the orginal. Jet has done this a few times in the nearly 20 years they have been selling the Jet wet stone wheel sharpener. The reason I mention this is that my 2 wheels (the one that came with my grinder and one that I bought about 8 years later) have never shown these large grits that you show. So I have to assume that they have a new supplier of grit. They probably kept the same formula for making the wheel but the supplier of grit has less quality control is my assumption. This is too bad. I have model JSSG-10 that is about 18 years old and again both my wheels the original one that came with the unit and the one I bought years later never showed these large grits. You should send a link to this video to Jet, maybe they'd can the supplier LOL. Also the Jet grinder design is also sold as the "Weldinger NSM 250", and also as the "Maschinen Markt NS 250" in the European market.

[@FREEHAND.WETGRINDER]

This can explain how such a bad stone could have been sold for so long. I would have to deal with the sand about every 30 knives. 7 times a day. Thanks for the info

[@richardspengel5360]

My new Wen squeals loudly every time upon startup. Seems internal. Is this normal or should I be concerned? About how much stone runout is to be expected? It does seem to sharpen chisels adequately except for skewed edges sometimes, especially with narrow chisels. I am still figuring out a workaround. Thanks.

[@FREEHAND.WETGRINDER]

Don’t worry. It has a two year warranty I think. Or call the phone number on the machine. I have trouble with that even with Tormek.

[@daniel.rosina]

Thanks a lot for your knowledge sharing. I saw some of your wideos several times 😊 I have learned a lot from you.

[@TheMangrovejack1]

I dont do anything like your volume , its more a hobby for me, but I also do , chisels, Secateurs, hedge clippers, etc. my first machine a Scheppech, made in china , had a blue compound wheel, that was absolute junk , out of round after 10 knives. i brought a wheel from England , which worked wheel , but had wild grain as the Jet wheel you tried, but lasted well, and didn't go out as fast as the Chinese blue wheel. I find scissors are the killer on the wheel, as i don't have a dedicated machine for them,. many thanks for the videos. very informative

[@MysteryMycology]

You're a cool guy thanks for all your videos!

[@paulgettings4134]

PG Have you tried there diamond stones I would think they would be better for you keep there size throughout ?? Enjoy your videos 👍👍

[@FREEHAND.WETGRINDER]

I've checked them out. Though only a little. What I notice is they are slower at removal. I think this is because they have fewer bits of grit per sq inch, IMO. Also some sharpeners post the longevity these wheels have and it's about 3-4 months each for me. And I expect the last month it will be painfully slow. All that said I would love to have a constant size wheel.

[@BenRobinson-p6s]

I started with the original WEN wheel and found it to be really inconsistent with course parts in the wheel and smooth parts of the wheel. Some parts were "harder" and other parts were soft and shed out faster. Overall, it worked, but I felt that there had to be better stones out there. I moved to the Jet wheel, and thought that was an improvement for sure. It shed nicely, so I wasn't getting that burnishing with metal stuck in the wheel as much. I did notice that my first Jet wheel was super soft on one side and hard on the other so it went out of round quite quickly. The soft side was always course and the hard side was smooth and it made it hard to get a consistent grind on the blade. I bought a second one, and it was REALLY SOFT. I put that away and just called it a loss, and chalked it up to manufacturing inconsistency. My THIRD Jet wheel was really nice and consistent. I could control the grit and grind very well. After truing the wheel a couple times, I'm now into a section of the stone that is SUPER soft. It's usable, but I have to smooth it over a lot or it's too course for the work I do. And you are right about there being little "rocks" in parts of it that you can feel. Not great for a last pass on a knife as it puts large grooves into your fine edge. I've been wanting a stone that is really consistent all the way through in hardness and grit. I just got my first Tormek wheel and I'm excited to get it on. I'm really grateful for your extensive comparison on the wheels; doing your work over months and noting the characteristics of the wheels thouroughly and not just "unboxing". I do a few hundred knives a month at work, and when you're struggling with the stone, you really feel that impact your efficiency. I'll gladly pay the extra money to have less frustration. Anyways... Thanks for the great video.

[@FREEHAND.WETGRINDER]

@@BenRobinson-p6s try a resin diamond wheel from cuttermaster. It is consistent and will last you for ever.

[@paulgettings4134]

Thanks for your reply PJ I wonders why you was not using them now I know . Love your videos

[@52frj]

I might have missed something but couldn't you move the wheel over to the Tormek and true it there?

[@FREEHAND.WETGRINDER]

Yes you can

[@dianebennett8095]

Thanks for this video, it has saved me money and time. Alfred.. 😃😃😃

[@michaelwells1783]

The 13.50 seems to be a manufacturer defect. The Tor out of round could that be from the time in the water in between the uses???

[@FREEHAND.WETGRINDER]

Another subscriber said they changed supplier. My stones travel so water is dumped after 5 hr market. Thx.

[@davidklenk5253]

Thank you for your effort on the video. I have a WEN sharpener, and need a new wheel. I will buy a Tormek.

[@MollydogRadar]

I have gone to CBN wheels for my T-8. I still use the original stone that came with the machine, if I have to profile the blade, but all the finish work is done with the CBN wheels.

[@FREEHAND.WETGRINDER]

What brand? Thx

[@tgates811]

Do you have any opinions on a guided system like a tsprof vs these?

[@FREEHAND.WETGRINDER]

The only one I’ve used was a cheap travel version that had the rods attached to the stone. It sucked cuz the rod was too short and would pop out letting the stone roll over the apex. That’s my entire experience with them. I know they deliver a great repeatable edge. Just pick what seems best. I’d bet the smaller details will set them apart. I’m sure there is a group for these. That’s where I’d search. This

[@MrHackfu]

Great video! Thanks for the info.

[@buffalojones341]

Thanks Pete!

[@blistersteel]

What do you think about the tormek Blackstone wheel sir?

[@FREEHAND.WETGRINDER]

I loved them at first. Cuts faster. Then they started going out of round very fast. If you true your wheels often you might not notice this. If you just run the wheel without needing to true it the going out of round will waste your stone

[@blistersteel]

@@FREEHAND.WETGRINDER thank you kindly. I appreciate the knowledge shared.

[@workshop_oselok_kyiv]

if you work a lot, why not use silicon carbide or cbn 80 grid. I have a cbn 160 and after + -1000 knives it is still quite aggressive. you can use CBN on an arganic bond, they are more tenacious than on a galvanic bond. even though my sharpening cost is three times less than yours, the cbn completely pays for itself in comparison with tormek stones.

[@FREEHAND.WETGRINDER]

I’ve tried a cbn wheel 200g it was used and far to smooth. I thought of trying a 80 grit but doing about 200 knives a day I’m expecting to have wear and having to keep using it thru it’s less productive life. Keep in mind in a square inch of surface a regular stone has far more grit points than I’d expect a cbn to have. This is based on my flat diamond plates I have. If a company offered me a test wheel I’d love to try a very course one. Thx for your advice.

[@workshop_oselok_kyiv]

@@FREEHAND.WETGRINDER 200 knives a day? How much do you charge for 1 knife? cbn on a galvanic bond has its own nuances. you just had a bad experience. for large volumes, it is better to use on an organic binder. there is a working layer of 5-10mm. but as for the economy and convenience, I repeat. my practice has shown that it is more profitable for me to work on expensive CBN than on stones. for me, a tormek stone costs $170, and a cbn costs $230. $60 difference is a penny. besides, there are no problems with the fact that they need to be cleaned or leveled.

[@FREEHAND.WETGRINDER]

@@workshop_oselok_kyiv Price is buy size, average $7-$8 per knife. I work at farmers markets so its a 5 hr day. my wife deals with customers and packing sharpened knives. I only work 2 days a week. SG250 are now $220-230. I just found someone selling them for $200. I bought 4. They last 3 months. The cost of any stone is small unless the stone isn't good. Want to buy a slightly used JET stone?

[@FREEHAND.WETGRINDER]

@@workshop_oselok_kyiv Please explain organic binder? who manufactures make them this way? Are you in Ukraine? (In your name I see "Kiev")

[@workshop_oselok_kyiv]

@@FREEHAND.WETGRINDER an organic bond is when crystals of cubic boron nitrate or diamonds are baked into resin. thus a sufficiently large layer of crystals is formed. the organic bond is stronger and allows you to work with high pressure, is not afraid of corrosion. while the galvanic method of crystal deposition has a thin layer and does not allow work with high pressure on the working surface, as the crystals are detached from the bundle. and anti-corrosion additives must be applied. the crystal lattice itself is also clogged more strongly, but this problem is easily solved. Yes, I'm from Ukraine, and I'm probably the only one who has a mobile workshop for the whole city, if not the whole country. but I have the cost of sharpening $ 1-3 and the work is extremely small.

[@workshop_oselok_kyiv]

I bought a silicon wheel, it has the same consumption as aluminum. the only difference is that the knife does not "fall through" into it. in my work, the circle is enough for + -1000 knives. CBN #80 aggressive work was enough for 1500+ knives, and continues to work further. Of course, they are no longer removing material quickly. wheels made of silicon and aluminum work many times faster. for that, the CBN is not erased, now my mileage is 2500+ knives

[@FREEHAND.WETGRINDER]

My concern is with CBP wheels slow and you need to keep yawing longer for the cost. That said torment sg250 are almost $250 now. I use 3-4 per year. What brand are you using exactly?

[@workshop_oselok_kyiv]

@@FREEHAND.WETGRINDER Zhengzhou Ruizuan Diamond Tool Co

[@larspanky]

Interesting, I just ordered a #3000 grizzley stone. I hope it's good.

[@FREEHAND.WETGRINDER]

I never tried it. The 3000 grit should be faster than the 4000. And 3000 should be fine enough. The 4000 loads up and needs to be dressed. I use the Japanese knife eraser. Sold everywhere. I got mine on Amazon. I used fine grit. It’s like a rubber eraser with diamond grit.

[@jlkenzo7551]

thank you

[@meredeth5260]

𝓟Ř𝔬𝓂𝔬𝐒ϻ 😀