Work Shop Knife Sharpener

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  • obijohn

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    6   0   0
    Mar 24, 2008
    3,504
    63
    Terre Haute
    I have a Ken Onion edition. Love it. I use it for axes, machetes and big blades mostly. It will not do anything that you cannot do by hand, but it does make a convex edge a bit easier to pull off.
     

    shootersix

    Master
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Mar 10, 2009
    4,280
    113
    be careful with a work sharp!, if you buy one, buy some cheap flea market or goodwill knives to practice on! you can ruin a blade very easily while you're learning to use it!

    that said I like mine, but I find myself using my spyderco sharpmaker more than my work sharp (yes its the ken onion edition)
     

    markholst

    Sharpshooter
    Rating - 100%
    1   0   0
    Jun 21, 2016
    372
    59
    Russiaville
    Thanks guys. Appreciate the responses.

    I have a hard time keeping a consistent angle with stones and my patience lacks with systems like Lasky. Just wasn't sure if the work sharp worked and was worth the money.
     

    jsharmon7

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    119   0   0
    Nov 24, 2008
    7,822
    113
    Freedonia
    Mine works well, but heed the advice upthread about practicing on other knives. It's easy to get too aggressive and grind away significant chunks of metal.
     

    rhino

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    24   0   0
    Mar 18, 2008
    30,906
    113
    Indiana
    be careful with a work sharp!, if you buy one, buy some cheap flea market or goodwill knives to practice on! you can ruin a blade very easily while you're learning to use it!

    that said I like mine, but I find myself using my spyderco sharpmaker more than my work sharp (yes its the ken onion edition)

    And you should (unless you need to keep your convex edges truly convex without a microbevel). An alternative is to strop by hand in between times when the Work Sharp is needed. The Sharp Maker's best role is to maintain the microbevel on an already sharp knife.

    (disclosure: I do all of my sharpening by hand and in general I do not use strops).
     

    Tactical Flannel

    Sharpshooter
    Rating - 100%
    2   0   0
    Jan 28, 2012
    302
    18
    West Central Indiana
    Like you, I had difficulty hold an angle. I have a work sharp and it does the job well enough.
    The wicked sharp looks nice but the price is ".. oh my."
    As the previous posters stated, use cheaper blades to practice. I didn't and paid for it.
    Overall, I'd buy it again.
    Happy sharpening.
    Stay safe
     

    TJ Kackowski

    Let it begin here.
    Site Supporter
    Rating - 100%
    133   0   1
    Jun 8, 2012
    1,877
    113
    Hendricks County
    The Wicked Edge system is on my wish list. Until then, I continue to use the Razor Edge system ... https://www.razoredgesystems.com/ ... for all my knives. I now only use my Work Sharp when I visit the in-laws and they want their drawer full of kitchen knives sharpened ... it's quick, easy, and puts a damn good edge on the cheap knives they use.

    The trouble I have with the Work Sharp is rounding off the tip of the knife. A bit of practice / experimenting and this is almost eliminated. I lift the knife off the belt when the tip is mid-way to eliminate the rounding. Anybody doing anything differently?
     

    halfmileharry

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    65   0   0
    Dec 2, 2010
    11,450
    99
    South of Indy
    be careful with a work sharp!, if you buy one, buy some cheap flea market or goodwill knives to practice on! you can ruin a blade very easily while you're learning to use it!

    that said I like mine, but I find myself using my spyderco sharpmaker more than my work sharp (yes its the ken onion edition)

    BINGO.
    I bought my son one for his birthday. He never mastered the stone and strap so I got him a sharpener for dummies. He screwed up some good knives at first.
    To be honest I'm not too adept at a lot of sharpening systems. I should slow down and figure out the basics of any system before I go slashing and hacking on the sharpener.
    I'm damned good with a stone and strap though.
     

    x10

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    30   0   0
    Apr 11, 2009
    2,711
    84
    Martinsville, IN
    I have a Ken onion version and have to say I love it. I keep a lot of knives sharp and when we process hogs I sharpen everyone's knife. Most of the other peoples knives are junk and have been sharpened wrong. So sometimes I have to take some steel off to get the edge re centered and so on.

    I also have a Stone system that will sharpen a knife to insane sharpness and the best book I've ever read
    https://www.razoredgesystems.com/products/books/product/2-razor-edge-book-of-sharpening

    https://www.razoredgesystems.com/products/kits/product/18-deluxe-professional-kit-w-6-hones

    Any system with quality stones and the user using good technique will sharpen a good knife. The wicked edge system is a great system, but don't get caught up in brand X vs. Brand Y. It's really about time, skill, and need.

    When I have time and want a knife sharp I put an edge on with the stones and it will cut hogs all weekend with only a few touch ups (If I stay out of the bone or the cutting table)

    A poor quality knife won't hold an edge. A good quality knife takes a while to get a good edge.

    That's why i've got 2 setups.

    I've tried several of the other sharpeners on the market and most of them work to some degree. The ken onion version has wider belts and will flat get you a workable edge in a hurry. I've brought my knives into work and put them under 1000x magnification and it's amazing what you see. Anything with grit can only sharpen down the edge to the size of the grit. I find that the belts leave little cuts in the blade where the stones leave the edge looking like a mirror.
     

    rhino

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    24   0   0
    Mar 18, 2008
    30,906
    113
    Indiana
    The Wicked Edge system is on my wish list. Until then, I continue to use the Razor Edge system ... https://www.razoredgesystems.com/ ... for all my knives. I now only use my Work Sharp when I visit the in-laws and they want their drawer full of kitchen knives sharpened ... it's quick, easy, and puts a damn good edge on the cheap knives they use.


    The best part of the Razor Edge system is the book and learning what you're really trying to do when sharpening. The principles are applicable to virtually any method or tool for sharpening.

    I've seen the results from people who believe they are good at sharpening with a Wicked Edge and their customers will agree and rave about their work, who are wrong. They polish the bevels like they're mirrors, which is pretty, but if the knife won't actually cut stuff, it's not sharp. Understanding the goals and processes involved in sharpening would be beneficial to those people (and their customers who have pretty edges that won't cut).



    I've tried several of the other sharpeners on the market and most of them work to some degree. The ken onion version has wider belts and will flat get you a workable edge in a hurry. I've brought my knives into work and put them under 1000x magnification and it's amazing what you see. Anything with grit can only sharpen down the edge to the size of the grit. I find that the belts leave little cuts in the blade where the stones leave the edge looking like a mirror.

    Those little cuts and "micro serrations" left by belts are advantageous for slicing fibrous materials. Polishing them away reduces slicing ability.

    Highly polished edges are awesome for push cutting, such as shaving and whittling hair, wood working tools, axes, and anything used to chop (which is just a fast push cut). For edges that need to slice, you need some roughness on the edge at least, especially with stainless steel blades.
     

    markholst

    Sharpshooter
    Rating - 100%
    1   0   0
    Jun 21, 2016
    372
    59
    Russiaville
    My thanks to all that responded! I appreciate it.

    Looks like I'll be asking for one for Christmas.

    By the way, hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!
     

    kennedy759

    Sharpshooter
    Rating - 100%
    8   0   0
    May 15, 2014
    386
    63
    New Salisbury Ind
    I also use a spyderco for most of my knives, but when I am cutting deer for nine hours it does not leave the best edge for cutting, its too smooth, so a grinding wheel and ceramic steel works best even though I do loose some metal each sharpening. But I have working knives and know they will need to be replaced after thousands of deer cut up.
     
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