- Joined
- Jul 11, 2010
- Messages
- 103
Hello all, first I apologize for not leaving some thank-yous and replies here and there. I am rarely on here due to work but I do sincerely thank everyone and appreciate all the advice over the years.
I've had this WorkSharp Ken Onion Edition for about a year. Started off decent, I liked the edges and the mirror polish I could get on it, and then it just got worse over time. It seems that one side of the knife guide lets your knife contact the belt, the other, not so much. I am having trouble getting a bur lately, and the belts have worn fine with good grit left. I was concerned with the belts being stretched over time, maybe the tolerances were not right in the beginning, bad belts? Maybe not unheard of. Machine tolerances slipping? I don't know. It's past the warranty, and every company video has the same frustrating white-haired Darex guy flipping knives through the machine so damn fast it will make your head spin. They also tell you to "read the book," which is supposed to solve all your problems, but the short book only touches on stuff knife guys already all know (types of bevels, how to get a bur, different knives vs applications etc.) and goes into how the controls of the machine work and what the various parts are called etc, but the book (and online resources) are sorely lacking in actual instructional tutorial. Pretty useless for learning the nuances of this machine-- because there ARE nuances that NOBODY will tell you. ***No it is not quick and blindfold easy or idiot proof, if there is a tweak somewhere or something isn't right, you don't get a razor edge.*** The product video is just about as useless as Anne Frank's drum set. I never really liked the way the machine worked even in the beginning, it's supposed to be user friendly and quickly get the job done, but I've learned that (at least mine) wasn't perfect, and I've always had trouble with folding knives (3.5" or less). Once you pull the knife through and the blade runs out of groove to guide it, you're essentially sharpening the last third of the knife freehand on a belt. The blade roller itself is no help so I don't use it for folders because of thumb studs or blade stop on the tang of most folding knives (ones which don't have a stop pin) causing the machine to recurve your edge, the springy blade guides are not much help at that point either because there are several facets to them (which are also rounded) and the preciseness of the rounded springy guide edges does not match the preciseness required for a razor edge (remember we're freehand here on the last third of the knife because the edge guide runs out). No they don't tell you that when the older gent is quickly sharpening a 13" Rambo knife-- and nobody ever asks "how's he getting the third of the knife near the tip sharp?" The system does not guide the blade through the machine from ricasso to tip. It can't, because the guide has to stop before the belt. Problem is, when the guide stops because the belt is there, the machine becomes unguided, leaving it up to the steady hand of the user. I thought I had fixed this problem by just flipping the machine around to do the last third of all of my knives, and that worked great for a while, until I started having this problem where the belt tension was more when using one side of the machine than the other. I don't know what's going on. The only troubleshooting videos there describe how not to sand the point off your knife (which I know already), and how to achieve a bur (which I also know-- which the machine nolonger does). I've tried today and still can't get a proper bur anymore with S35VN (American Lawman), H1 (Spyderco sheepsfoot Salt model), 420HC Bos (112 drop point) , 440C (older Presidio), and 8CR13 (one of the numerous ambiguous bland cheap Kershaws). I used various angles from 17 to 20 degrees and the knives I tried with were full-flat, hollow, saber-flat and saber-hollow. I didn't even attempt a full-convex and the machine is not meant for scandi. Weirdly, for some odd reason I can shave hair off my hands (with some effort, after using the machine and then stropping), but the edges won't push-cut paper *at all.* No problems slicing once started, but push-cutting just crumples the paper (no matter what type the paper is). Getting fairly expensive since I am terrible at consistently maintaining an angle freehand with stones and I don't have the cash for an Edge Pro, a Wicked or a Viper. Who has $800 for a sharpener? Which is why I probably got duped by Amazon's 5,000+ 4 star ratings for this product which apparently everyone but me can use in their sleep. I don't know if I got a bad one, or one that gradually went bad, or if there is a problem with the belts. I was never concerned with sharpness out of the box, or edge retention, because I had this fantastic user friendly sharpener that I could just sharpen anything that arrived a little dull or got dull from use. I talked to Darex's customer service (at least the woman I talked to was not a knife person) and she kept asking if I had read the books and watched the painfully inadequate DVD the machine comes with. No other help. I've watched about 20 YouTube videos where people had no problems at all, and all of them never went into finer details or tips or quirks of the machine. Most lacked explanation or were too fast with fantastic repeatable results (making me think even more that I was the problem). I've also searched every tag I could on here related to Work Sharp Ken Onion or the original model, and read every single word of every BF post even remotely related to these machines. I can't find anybody where their machine slowly got worse despite how good the grit on their belts was. I'm not thrilled about being forced to put a convex on all my edges anyway, which these belts do, but at least the machine was working properly at one point and I had SOMETHING to sharpen with. I know how to use stones, how to get a bur, sharpen, use ceramic, strop etc., I'm just bloody awful at maintaining an angle. I was kind of hoping somebody with the company was a member here that could provide some insight because when I called I wasn't given any explanation other than to buy new belts, buy a new machine (because mine was out of warranty), and make sure I read "the book" because it's probably my lack of knowledge that is causing me to do something incorrectly. Very frustrating for someone to suggest you're an idiot because their product stopped working over time. Any help or insight would be great. Yes, the belts have grit on them. Yes, I read the book. Please don't suggest "just get a Wicked Edge super comprehensive kit for only $1,000" with a thumbs-up icon and a Bro comment. I know this was long but Thanks. Once again, all your help is very much appreciated and respected.
I've had this WorkSharp Ken Onion Edition for about a year. Started off decent, I liked the edges and the mirror polish I could get on it, and then it just got worse over time. It seems that one side of the knife guide lets your knife contact the belt, the other, not so much. I am having trouble getting a bur lately, and the belts have worn fine with good grit left. I was concerned with the belts being stretched over time, maybe the tolerances were not right in the beginning, bad belts? Maybe not unheard of. Machine tolerances slipping? I don't know. It's past the warranty, and every company video has the same frustrating white-haired Darex guy flipping knives through the machine so damn fast it will make your head spin. They also tell you to "read the book," which is supposed to solve all your problems, but the short book only touches on stuff knife guys already all know (types of bevels, how to get a bur, different knives vs applications etc.) and goes into how the controls of the machine work and what the various parts are called etc, but the book (and online resources) are sorely lacking in actual instructional tutorial. Pretty useless for learning the nuances of this machine-- because there ARE nuances that NOBODY will tell you. ***No it is not quick and blindfold easy or idiot proof, if there is a tweak somewhere or something isn't right, you don't get a razor edge.*** The product video is just about as useless as Anne Frank's drum set. I never really liked the way the machine worked even in the beginning, it's supposed to be user friendly and quickly get the job done, but I've learned that (at least mine) wasn't perfect, and I've always had trouble with folding knives (3.5" or less). Once you pull the knife through and the blade runs out of groove to guide it, you're essentially sharpening the last third of the knife freehand on a belt. The blade roller itself is no help so I don't use it for folders because of thumb studs or blade stop on the tang of most folding knives (ones which don't have a stop pin) causing the machine to recurve your edge, the springy blade guides are not much help at that point either because there are several facets to them (which are also rounded) and the preciseness of the rounded springy guide edges does not match the preciseness required for a razor edge (remember we're freehand here on the last third of the knife because the edge guide runs out). No they don't tell you that when the older gent is quickly sharpening a 13" Rambo knife-- and nobody ever asks "how's he getting the third of the knife near the tip sharp?" The system does not guide the blade through the machine from ricasso to tip. It can't, because the guide has to stop before the belt. Problem is, when the guide stops because the belt is there, the machine becomes unguided, leaving it up to the steady hand of the user. I thought I had fixed this problem by just flipping the machine around to do the last third of all of my knives, and that worked great for a while, until I started having this problem where the belt tension was more when using one side of the machine than the other. I don't know what's going on. The only troubleshooting videos there describe how not to sand the point off your knife (which I know already), and how to achieve a bur (which I also know-- which the machine nolonger does). I've tried today and still can't get a proper bur anymore with S35VN (American Lawman), H1 (Spyderco sheepsfoot Salt model), 420HC Bos (112 drop point) , 440C (older Presidio), and 8CR13 (one of the numerous ambiguous bland cheap Kershaws). I used various angles from 17 to 20 degrees and the knives I tried with were full-flat, hollow, saber-flat and saber-hollow. I didn't even attempt a full-convex and the machine is not meant for scandi. Weirdly, for some odd reason I can shave hair off my hands (with some effort, after using the machine and then stropping), but the edges won't push-cut paper *at all.* No problems slicing once started, but push-cutting just crumples the paper (no matter what type the paper is). Getting fairly expensive since I am terrible at consistently maintaining an angle freehand with stones and I don't have the cash for an Edge Pro, a Wicked or a Viper. Who has $800 for a sharpener? Which is why I probably got duped by Amazon's 5,000+ 4 star ratings for this product which apparently everyone but me can use in their sleep. I don't know if I got a bad one, or one that gradually went bad, or if there is a problem with the belts. I was never concerned with sharpness out of the box, or edge retention, because I had this fantastic user friendly sharpener that I could just sharpen anything that arrived a little dull or got dull from use. I talked to Darex's customer service (at least the woman I talked to was not a knife person) and she kept asking if I had read the books and watched the painfully inadequate DVD the machine comes with. No other help. I've watched about 20 YouTube videos where people had no problems at all, and all of them never went into finer details or tips or quirks of the machine. Most lacked explanation or were too fast with fantastic repeatable results (making me think even more that I was the problem). I've also searched every tag I could on here related to Work Sharp Ken Onion or the original model, and read every single word of every BF post even remotely related to these machines. I can't find anybody where their machine slowly got worse despite how good the grit on their belts was. I'm not thrilled about being forced to put a convex on all my edges anyway, which these belts do, but at least the machine was working properly at one point and I had SOMETHING to sharpen with. I know how to use stones, how to get a bur, sharpen, use ceramic, strop etc., I'm just bloody awful at maintaining an angle. I was kind of hoping somebody with the company was a member here that could provide some insight because when I called I wasn't given any explanation other than to buy new belts, buy a new machine (because mine was out of warranty), and make sure I read "the book" because it's probably my lack of knowledge that is causing me to do something incorrectly. Very frustrating for someone to suggest you're an idiot because their product stopped working over time. Any help or insight would be great. Yes, the belts have grit on them. Yes, I read the book. Please don't suggest "just get a Wicked Edge super comprehensive kit for only $1,000" with a thumbs-up icon and a Bro comment. I know this was long but Thanks. Once again, all your help is very much appreciated and respected.
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