We stick our neck out and claim that the Tormek T-1 Kitchen Knife Sharpener is the first real knife sharpener for home chefs. Why do we claim that, and what do we mean? Here are some quick answers!
In a hurry? Here is a summary:
If you don't have time to read the whole article we have picked out the most important reasons why we call the Tormek T-1 the first real knife sharpener for the home chef.
- Easy to use.
- Regrinds the entire bevel.
- Motorized.
- Stepless adjustment of the sharpening angle.
- Separate honing.
- Low speed – no risk of overheating the steel, does not grind away more material than necessary, doesn’t dust.
- Low noise level (45 dB).
- Collects metal dust with a magnet and protects the knife blade from scratches with felt material.
- Calm, controlled sharpening process without the risk of vibration marks.
- Sharpens ceramic knives – the diamond grinding wheel can sharpen all materials.
- Stands firmly on the kitchen counter when sharpening - fully cast zinc housing.
- No need to change grinding wheel (or belt) during sharpening.
Modernly Motorized
In order for a knife sharpener to be called a real knife sharpener in the 2020s, we mean that it should be motorized. This makes it fast and easy to use for everyone. The motorized friction drive in the Tormek T-1 Kitchen Knife Sharpener is self-adjusting under load, so it maintains a smooth, low 200 RPM to achieve optimal results. In addition, it gives the machine an exceptional service life.
The low speed of the Tormek T-1 ensures that you do not grind away more material than necessary, while also ensuring that your knife does not overheat. Knife sharpeners with a high rotation speed risk overheating the blade, which can result in the knife losing its hardening. If a knife sharpener also has small grinding wheels of an inch or two, you risk vibration damage on the bevel and an impure edge.
Another advantage of sharpening one's kitchen knives with a knife sharpener with a low RPM is that the sharpener does not throw around and spread grinding dust. This makes the sharpening process clean and pleasurable. The Tormek T-1 Kitchen Knife Sharpener also runs very quietly and does not disturb conversations in the kitchen.
Pinpoint Angle Adjustment
Some sharpeners and whetstones have some type of attachment to help you maintain an even angle. Often it is a fixed angle of 15 or 20 degrees. We know that different knife manufacturers often set specific angles on their knives according to steel quality and what type of knife it is. Therefore, we believe that a real knife sharpener like the Tormek T-1 should have a stepless angle setting, so that you can choose the angle that suits you and your knife best. Additionally, the patented angle guide ensures that you keep the same angle throughout the sharpening and get an evenly resharpened bevel along the entire blade. The fact that you sharpen one side at a time allows you to sharpen single beveled knives.
The Tormek T-1 Kitchen Knife Sharpener has a magnet in the patented guide that collects the dust and steel particles you grind away. There is also a felt material in the guide that catches any dust that does not stick to the magnet, so that your finer knife blades are kept free from scratches.
Separate sharpening and honing
What is the difference between sharpening and honing, really? Surely you have seen professional chefs pull up a steel rod that they casually drag the knife against like a ninja a couple times every now and then. Sure, it looks slick, and sure it keeps the edge sharp, to a certain extent. What the sharpening steel or honing rod does, is to realign the edge, which acts as maintenance, but it's not true sharpening.
After several passes on the honing rod, the edge is rounded off and you need to establish a new bevel. The Tormek T-1 has a fine-grained diamond grinding wheel at 600 grit, that thoroughly resharpens the entire bevel and gives the knife a completely new edge. When you have sharpened to a burr, and made sure to sharpen an equal amount on both sides of the blade, you deburr the edge and polish the bevels on the separate composite honing wheel with integrated polish. So, you don't have to keep changing grinding wheels or belts on your machine, but have one grinding wheel and one honing wheel that cover all your needs.
Many sharpening methods lack a separate honing, which is extremely important to obtain a sharp knife. In addition, the honing wheel works for maintenance of your knives between sharpenings. This means that you don't have to play ninja with a honing rod and can still be sure that the knives stay professionally sharp.
The Tormek T-1 Kitchen Knife Sharpener is a machine that does it all simply put. That's why we call the Tormek T-1 the first real knife sharpener for the home chef.