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- Aug 2, 2010
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Ok, I thought that putting this in a new thread would be easier than keeping the intital thread about the Work Sharp going, because this is about the aftermarket belts for the Work Sharp, not the tool itself.
So a group of us went together and did a bulk buy on 12" belts for the Work Sharp tool. (Thanks Ben!)
We ordered the following belts:
MX means micromesh ,AO means aluminum oxide, and WS means Work Sharp factory belts.
MX 240, 320, 400, 600, 800, and 1200 and AO2400, 4000, and 12,000.
First thoughts are that the belts are very similar to the belts that Work Sharp provided with the tool. The WS 80 grit and 220 grit belts have different backing than the aftermarket belts do (WS belts are much stiffer), but the WS 6000 grit belt has the same cloth backing as the MX and AO belts.
The test knife was an old Outdoor Edge Wedge fixed blade in 420J2 steel. It's a beater of a knife that stays on my work bench for whatever I need to cut. Not the highest quality blade, but I figured if I can get a hair popping edge on it, I can do it to any knife.
First, I used the old HF 1x30 with a worn 120 belt to take the edge off. I just ran the edge against the belt lightly a few times until there was NO edge at all.
I used the 20 degree guide on the Work Sharp with all belts to maintain consistency.
The WS 220 grit belt is noticeably rougher than the MX 240 is, even though they are similar grits. Even a WS 220 that has done at least 50 sharpenings is rougher, IMO. I wondered if the MX240 would cut as well as the WS 220 does?
I started with the MX240 (I already know what the WS belts can do). It produced a very nice, clean grind. It took 11 passes on each side to work up a burr. After this, the belt felt much smoother to the touch than an unused MX240 does. It seems to me that the WS 220 belts cuts much faster and will last longer. Time will tell, I suppose.
I moved to the MX 320 and took 5 passes on each side. The edge was clean and burr free and would shave hair.
Moving to the MX 400 and 5 passes on each side refined the edge appearance and the ability to shave. It would draw cut newpaper easily. I have never had the knife this sharp before (never put this much effort into it, LOL).
Moving to the MX 600 and 5 passes on each side further refined the edge appearance and resulted in a near mirror polish to the edge. At this point, it would make hair pop from my arm and push cut newpaper.
Moving to the MX 800 and 5 passes on each side resulted in a good mirror polish, to the point where I could read news print in the reflection on the edge. Cutting performance increased as well.
Moving the MX 1200 and 5 passes on each side resulted in a great mirror polished edge with exceptional sharpness. Shaving hair, push cutting newspaper was effortless.
Progressing through each of the MX belts produced an outstandingly sharp, mirror polished edge.
It took a total of around 15 minutes to accomplish this, including testing the knife between belts, removing and replacing the guide, and changing/inspecting the belts.
That's not going to happen with any other hand held sharpener. When you take into account that I went through 6 different grits, it makes the speed even more impressive.
After I finished with the MX, I switched to the AO belts. The AO 2400 felt noticeably rough compared to the any of the MX 400-1200 belts.
5 passes per side confirmed this. The AO 2400 removed all of the polish from the edge. Yikes! The blade would still shave and draw cut newspaper though.
Moving to the AO 4000 belt and 5 passes per side restored a lot of the polish and sharpness, but not all. It would pop hair and push cut newspaper, but not as easily as before.
Moving to the AO 12000 and 5 passes per side resulted in a polish almost as good as what was accomplished with the MX belts. A few more passes would have restored the edge completely, more than likely.
As far as I'm concerned, the belts are fabulous. Well worth the minimal investment you make.
Right now, I definitely like the MX belts better than the AO. They seem to make the edge much keener, IMO, and give it a better polish.
Do you HAVE to have them? No, not at all. The WS does an outstanding job with just the three grit options offered, 80, 220, and 6000. I get a wickedly sharp edge with just the 220 and 6000 grits, more than able to easily push cut newspaper. The extra belts just allow you to refine the edge even more. Having some options between 220 and 6000 allow you to achieve a better quality edge and a better appearance to it (if that matters to you).
So a group of us went together and did a bulk buy on 12" belts for the Work Sharp tool. (Thanks Ben!)
We ordered the following belts:
MX means micromesh ,AO means aluminum oxide, and WS means Work Sharp factory belts.
MX 240, 320, 400, 600, 800, and 1200 and AO2400, 4000, and 12,000.
First thoughts are that the belts are very similar to the belts that Work Sharp provided with the tool. The WS 80 grit and 220 grit belts have different backing than the aftermarket belts do (WS belts are much stiffer), but the WS 6000 grit belt has the same cloth backing as the MX and AO belts.
The test knife was an old Outdoor Edge Wedge fixed blade in 420J2 steel. It's a beater of a knife that stays on my work bench for whatever I need to cut. Not the highest quality blade, but I figured if I can get a hair popping edge on it, I can do it to any knife.
First, I used the old HF 1x30 with a worn 120 belt to take the edge off. I just ran the edge against the belt lightly a few times until there was NO edge at all.
I used the 20 degree guide on the Work Sharp with all belts to maintain consistency.
The WS 220 grit belt is noticeably rougher than the MX 240 is, even though they are similar grits. Even a WS 220 that has done at least 50 sharpenings is rougher, IMO. I wondered if the MX240 would cut as well as the WS 220 does?
I started with the MX240 (I already know what the WS belts can do). It produced a very nice, clean grind. It took 11 passes on each side to work up a burr. After this, the belt felt much smoother to the touch than an unused MX240 does. It seems to me that the WS 220 belts cuts much faster and will last longer. Time will tell, I suppose.
I moved to the MX 320 and took 5 passes on each side. The edge was clean and burr free and would shave hair.
Moving to the MX 400 and 5 passes on each side refined the edge appearance and the ability to shave. It would draw cut newpaper easily. I have never had the knife this sharp before (never put this much effort into it, LOL).
Moving to the MX 600 and 5 passes on each side further refined the edge appearance and resulted in a near mirror polish to the edge. At this point, it would make hair pop from my arm and push cut newpaper.
Moving to the MX 800 and 5 passes on each side resulted in a good mirror polish, to the point where I could read news print in the reflection on the edge. Cutting performance increased as well.
Moving the MX 1200 and 5 passes on each side resulted in a great mirror polished edge with exceptional sharpness. Shaving hair, push cutting newspaper was effortless.
Progressing through each of the MX belts produced an outstandingly sharp, mirror polished edge.
It took a total of around 15 minutes to accomplish this, including testing the knife between belts, removing and replacing the guide, and changing/inspecting the belts.
That's not going to happen with any other hand held sharpener. When you take into account that I went through 6 different grits, it makes the speed even more impressive.
After I finished with the MX, I switched to the AO belts. The AO 2400 felt noticeably rough compared to the any of the MX 400-1200 belts.
5 passes per side confirmed this. The AO 2400 removed all of the polish from the edge. Yikes! The blade would still shave and draw cut newspaper though.
Moving to the AO 4000 belt and 5 passes per side restored a lot of the polish and sharpness, but not all. It would pop hair and push cut newspaper, but not as easily as before.
Moving to the AO 12000 and 5 passes per side resulted in a polish almost as good as what was accomplished with the MX belts. A few more passes would have restored the edge completely, more than likely.
As far as I'm concerned, the belts are fabulous. Well worth the minimal investment you make.
Right now, I definitely like the MX belts better than the AO. They seem to make the edge much keener, IMO, and give it a better polish.
Do you HAVE to have them? No, not at all. The WS does an outstanding job with just the three grit options offered, 80, 220, and 6000. I get a wickedly sharp edge with just the 220 and 6000 grits, more than able to easily push cut newspaper. The extra belts just allow you to refine the edge even more. Having some options between 220 and 6000 allow you to achieve a better quality edge and a better appearance to it (if that matters to you).
