Triton T8SH Wetstone Sharpener: Discontinued — What to Buy Instead
Triton's earlier wet grinder. Retired, and the TWSS10 is the current machine in the same slot.
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The T8SH was Triton’s slow-speed wetstone sharpener. It is discontinued; the TWSS10, linked below, is the current machine — a 120 W motor turning a 10 in stone in a water bath, with a jig support arm.
Why a wet grinder exists
Heat. A dry bench grinder at 3,450 rpm will turn a thin edge blue in seconds, and blue steel has lost its temper — it will not hold an edge until you grind past the damage.
A wet grinder turns slowly, typically around 90 to 120 rpm, with the stone running through water. The edge cannot overheat, so a beginner cannot ruin a chisel by being slow or distracted.
The trade is speed. Reshaping a badly damaged edge on a wet grinder takes a long time. For that, a dry grinder with a friable wheel, used carefully with frequent dips in water, is faster.
The jigs are the system
A wet grinder on its own is a slow wheel. What makes one useful is the jig set: a straight-edge jig for chisels and plane irons, a gouge jig for turning tools, a knife jig, a scissors jig.
The jig is what makes the bevel repeatable. Triton, Tormek and Scheppach all use a support-arm system, and jigs from one brand often fit another’s arm — worth checking before buying, because jigs are where the ongoing spend goes.
Grading the stone
These stones can be dressed to run coarse or fine with a grading stone. Coarse for shaping, fine for honing. Most owners never do this and wonder why the edge is not keener than their stones produce.
The strop wheel
The leather wheel on the other end is not decoration. A few passes with honing compound after grinding removes the wire edge and takes the blade from sharp to genuinely keen. Skipping it wastes most of the machine’s benefit.